Muddy Waters, Geneseo, New York

Its only fair, after reviewing coffee shops in Florida, Canada, and Albany, that I conduct a review of the coffee shop in my own college town. Muddy Waters has been a hit since it opened last year (?). Today was no exception- Muddy Waters is a busy, happening coffee shop. Not to the point where one cannot loiter on their laptop with the free wifi, and I guess that's part of the beauty.

Muddy Waters, on Main Street in Geneseo, NY, is part of a chain of two. Local artwork covers the walls, black chalkboards advertise the coffees and sandwiches, and great music plays just below the volume of conversation. Muddy Waters is a perfect college student coffee shop. Macbooks and Biology textbooks (or, more appropriately, a moleskin poetry notebook) complement your coffee here. Loitering is almost encouraged, as chess boards wait near the creamer for you to procrastinate away idle hours.

I ordered (as usual) a medium Guatemalan brewed coffee with two shots of espresso. It is the an eye opening pleasure. My girlfriend ordered a Latte (with an extra shot of espresso). Muddy Waters isn't cheap, and that is without a doubt the single criticism that sticks to this place. The sandwiches, cookies, and coffees are great, served in a nice atmosphere, and the place is worth a leisurely visit.

Be sure to look out for the concerts and events hosted by Muddy Waters, Amnesty International hosted a great concert here this past winter, and its great to see a coffee shop dedicated to a good cause.
All the coffee is fair trade.

More Sentient Bean

The Way Your Not Supposed to DIY an Online Business

So much of learning is making a mistake and learning not to repeat the error. Case in point, one should not DIY (do-it-yourself) an entire online business with an in progress bachelors in political science and no business experience.

To lay out the business strategy for downtotheground.com, we buy an Idiot's Guide to starting an online business, purchase Adobe Creative Suite 4, think of a cool domain name, and desperately hope that creativity and perseverance take us the rest of the way.

I mean, there is some talent and good opportunity available to us as we start this venture- we have writers in New York City, New Orleans, Italy and France. We have a knowledge of global coffee culture that extends from Ghana and Brazil to Finland and Australia. We have several witty, talented writers who make for a good read, and we have a vision of a digital coffee shop which currently does not exist and for which there is a market. So its not shooting in the dark...at least not completely.

Probably the best thing we have going for us is the simple and sheer love of coffee. We have our reasons, some love the taste, others love the effects of caffeine, and still others love the social atmosphere of a coffee break, like a less cancerous cigarette attraction, if you will.

So maybe the adventure of getting to an up and running a digital coffee shop will be as entertaining and engaging as the finished product, who knows, but I hope you stick around for the ride.

Thanks,

-Nicholas