Due CappucciNEED

Leaving my thrice-weekly Medium Skim Hazelnut Latte in Champaign had me feeling a little anxious. How was I going to get my daily caffeine fix without the luxury of $5 coffees or a drip machine with ample Coffee Mate creamer? The answer ending up being simple: Bonsai Bistro cappuccino two steps outside of my apartment building.

For only 90 eurocents I can run into the bustling little "bar" (where they now know me!) and sip on the best coffee drink I have ever sipped. I could never dream of adding sugar, cream, or syrups into these espresso drinks. It would ruin the richness and body of the roast. I feel like such a snob talking like that because I don't know anything about coffee, but somehow it's true. This coffee is just on a different level.

The experience definitely makes a difference too. Even in the morning bustle the cafe owner almost always draws me and Danielle (my new "coffee mate") pictures in chocolate syrup on top of our foam. You also don't have a cardboard to-go cup-- but a real mug with saucer and teaspoon. Pastries (for 70 cents, not $3) line the glass shelves tempting, and occasionally winning, my taste buds. The smells of coffee, butter, and the promise of a new day waft throughout the shop.

This atmosphere is something that in my opinion the U.S. is really lacking. Most coffee shops now are full of people in a hurry. People that have never asked the barista about their day. Baristas that think it's tedious to put whip cream on a mocha, much less draw a Colosseum in chocolate syrup onto foam. While coffee still wakes me up and provides a much-needed morning jolt, the Italian coffee experience has also given me a happy start to the morning that has little to do with caffeine: an owner who extends daily kindness, dogs left just outside the shop door with tails wagging, and Italian chatter circulating between sips of espresso.