When I was in undergrad, we had a joke that we should start a coffee shop in the Ross Theatre Building where we had our classes. We had even had a joke naming session of what it would be called and what drinks it would serve:
The winner was Schindler's Latte
Names not shown in the picture are were The Lord of the Beans, It’s a Wonderful Latte, The Treasure of the Sierra Grande, Donnie Darkroast, Chai Hard, and La Venti e Bella.
Well, at USC, we DO have a coffee shop in the school. The Coffee Bean. This was the first photo I ever saw of it when I was scouting the school online:
Return of the Java? Americano Graffiti?
I admit it. It’s really rad to have a coffee shop in the school. When I’m sick and still have to go to school, a giant cup of tea puts me back on track. I even had a cupcake and a cup of coffee this morning myself.
But there is a dark side to the Coffee Bean. CBD means Coffee Bean dinner. This is when you’ve booked your day too tight and can’t even leave the school to go get food. You have to pray that there is a bagel or a gross sandwich left at the coffee bean upstairs for you to eat. I once really pissed off Gabe Blanco by taking the very last bagel of the night.
Here is how much I’ve spent at the coffee bean since I’ve entered mint.com/USC:
Update: So…I double checked with my wells fargo. Turns out that the 110.40 was just my debit card. Since January 2010, with credit card, the new total is $264.77 over 70 purchases. The average is still the same (not surprising).
$264.77
That’s really not TOO bad. But considering that it costs me $.05 cents to make coffee at home, that’s pretty silly. And a bagel at home is only $.50 verses $1.25.
The average amount I spend at the coffee bean is $3.80, which sounds right as well. And I’ve only used my card there 29 times.
Here are some pro tips on how to best utilize the Coffee Bean:
- Get the granola and pour some milk into it. What milk? Why, the milk people usually put in their coffee! Delicious.
- If you ask for hot water in a cup, they will give it to you for free. Just bring your own tea bag and you get free tea!
- If you already have a thermos or mug, you can get it “refilled” for only $.60!
- There are two types of cream cheese, the whipped kind and the regular kind. They are the same price. Ask for the whipped kind.
- The super tall guy plays basketball with cinema students sometimes. And he’s from San Francisco. So be nice!
- Don’t get the sandwiches. From all accounts, they are gross.
- There are honey sticks that they will give you for free to suck on. (That’s what she said)
AND MOST IMPORTANT TIP: IF you bring food to school, steal forks and spoons from the coffee bean, rather than bring your own.
How does this rank with the other fast food options on campus? If you just need to get something in your belly for under $4, this is a one stop shop. Unless it’s 8am or 4:30pm. Then it’s a 20 minute line of entirely dental students. Get your own coffee shop, you blue scrubbed coffee snatchers! You guys will actually make money when you get out of school. Have some respect for the person who only has 5 minutes to eat dinner before going back to the dungeon.
