Comfort brews at coffee shops

Sometimes all you need is a study break. Starbucks, Soma, Copper Cup, Borders and Barnes and Noble are all excellent study breaks, friendly hang out spots and a good place to go on either a hot summer day, or a cold winter night. Even the Hoosier Café offers Starbucks coffee where students find themselves studying, eating or just chilling with their friends. Students can either curl up in a comfortable chair and read a book, or write a paper on a table that looks like a chessboard.\nStarbucks, based in Seattle, is one of the most common coffee shops of today. It is located at 110 S. Indiana Ave. next to the IU Visitors Center and Roly Poly Wrap Shop. Starbucks offers a cool atmosphere with soft music in the background. There is a constant buzz inside coming from people chatting, reading or pencils scribbling on notebook paper. Everything from the "Morning Blend" coffee to the newest Créme Frappaccinos is offered to drink. \n"I went (to Starbucks) once my freshman year to study," junior Michelle Henning said. "It relaxed me for some reason. I felt alone even though I was in public at the same time. I also like the smell of coffee."\nSoma, 322 E. Kirkwood, is underneath the Laughing Planet Café. It is another popular locale to get some studying done. It is more of an artsy place, and students can go there for group meetings or just to hang out.\n"My L141 teacher held his office hours there, but I went there a lot just to be with my friends," Henning said.\nLocated in the back, next door to the throne of a toilet in the bathroom, is a room where groups can meet. Although there are tables in the front, the music is louder, and it is closer to the door where people come in and out to crash on the comfortable couches and chairs.\n"I go to Soma more than Starbucks because I don't like complete silence," junior Emily Butryn said. I get more accomplished and get it done faster when there is background noise."\nA new coffee shop, Copper Cup, is another place people go to take a load off. It is smaller than the other two, but there is a bar with chairs to work on, and tables spread throughout the shop. It is more of a stop and go place. People can run in to grab a quick coffee and be gone.\nJunior Ann Maryanski has gone to Starbucks frequently to study. \n"I like to go to Starbucks, because I usually do not know anyone there, so I am not distracted. When I go to places like Barnes and Nobles or Borders, I always end up meeting someone I know, or I dive into books," she said.\nWith the new Copper Cup opened on the corner of 3rd Street and Jordan Avenue, and Read's Hoosier Café right across the street, students in that area of campus are never lacking a caffeine boost.\n"Since I live closer to the Copper Cup than I did last year, I go there a lot now, too," Maryanski said.\nStudents also find themselves escaping the dorm activity by going down to the Hoosier Café in dorms such as McNutt and Read. Students who want to grab a quick eye opener in the morning, or leave the floor without actually going outside, can run downstairs and hang out.\n"I liked going to Starbucks because no one could ever find me there," Henning said. "I could escape the room and get more accomplished."\nAlthough Henning, Maryanski and Butryn all have their own apartments this year, and do not necessarily need to escape the everyday hustle and bustle of dorm life, coffee houses are still a great place to relax, be with friends and get a little studying done.