Mugged: Bloom Coffee Roasters

Subject: Bloom Coffee Roasters
Coffees Mugged and Rating [see key]:
- Ethiopia Ayele Dula 5+
- Kenya Chania Estate 5+

In the northern expanse of Michigan, a solid coffee is one of the best tools to survive the long winter. Naturally, Michigan has its share of coffee roasters, but only a few really deserve your money. Fortunately for the consumer, these roasters really work hard to keep the lower mitten and upper peninsula of Michigan well-stocked.

Lemonjello's Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Lemonjello's Coffee
Location: Holland, MI
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

Often when visiting Chicago, I would look across Lake Michigan and wonder about what existed on the other shore. Not a frequent Michigan-goer, I finally got my chance to see the eastern shore and see what the area had to offer. Fortunately, I quickly stumbled into the gorgeous town of Holland. Settled by Dutch settlers and modeled after their native Netherlands, the town holds tons of charm and plenty of things to do (including the beach in nice weather). Naturally, my soul longed for good coffee and found it at a shop called Lemonjello's.

Philter

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Philter
Location: Kennett Square, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

The Philadelphia area possesses quite a few great holiday attractions. Yet if I had to distill them down, the two must-see stops are definitely the Christmas Light Show in Philadelphia's Old Wanamaker Building and nearby Longwood Gardens. Both have been a long-standing fixture in my life and if the mobs are any indication, their popularity has done nothing but grow over the years.

Strange Matter Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Strange Matter Coffee
Location: Lansing, MI
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

A lot of capital cities have interesting histories, but not many possess one as strange as Lansing, Michigan. Originally settled by an assortment of families scammed into buying marshland in a nonexistent Biddle City, these swindled New Yorkers ended up settling a mile north of the marsh, naming their new town after their home village of Lansing. Some years later, when Michigan sought to move the state capital from Detroit, there was such furious competition by the other cities that it was thrown to little Lansing out of frustration. Today, the city has grown to house some great institutions, such as Michigan State University and a coffeehouse fittingly-named for the city, Strange Matter Coffee.