BY MORGAN PRACHAR (’17)

Another weekend calls for a coffee shop adventure, yet again Macey and I found ourselves traveling to another cute coffee shop. After about 30 minutes we ended up at Java Central located in downtown Westerville, upon entering you see what looks like a typical small coffee shop with the counter and then a few tables, but once you walk back there is a few rooms with couches, tables and comfortable chairs.

Some coffee shops feel very crowded when busy, but on a busy Monday afternoon I didn’t feel like I sitting right next to the other people in the shop. Macey and I had our own table with enough room where we could have our own conversation and the table next to us could have theirs without all of us battling to be heard by the person sitting right across from us. There was music playing lightly in the background which was perfect for the times we were just sipping on our coffee and admiring the shop.

Not only is Java Central a relaxing place to be, but many days of the week they have live performers. Tuesday’s they have what they call “Jams,” John Morgan plays acoustic music from 8-9:30; once a month they have a songwriter circle on the second Wednesday of every month and Friday and Saturday they have live entertainment to start the weekend off right. Acoustic music screams coffee shop music to me, so the fact that Java Central also is a place for performers to share their art with the locals makes it even better.

The menu has plenty of options for coffee and non coffee drinkers as well as gluten free options for those who prefer to stay away from gluten options. I ordered the cinnamon chai because chai is one of my favorite hot drinks when I don’t need too much caffeine, they added latte art to the top which added a cute little detail to add to the list of positives about this coffee shop. The cinnamon chai didn’t have too much cinnamon and was also not too sweet, it is the perfect drink to curl up with a good book and drink on a rainy day. By the first sip I could tell this was the drink for me.  

Macey ordered a vanilla bean latte not knowing that there was coffee in it, since she is not a fan of the taste of coffee we ended up switching our drinks. The latte had a equal balance of espresso and vanilla flavor, although I do enjoy the taste of espresso I didn’t mind the extra hint of flavor. This drink took me back to my childhood when all I would order was a vanilla bean frappuccino from Starbucks, but I see this as the more grown up version of the frappuccino since it was hot and had coffee in it.
Both of us split a giant chocolate chip cookie while we were enjoying our drinks, the cookie was the perfect size for friends to split. Overall Java Central is the type of coffee shop that I would go visit on the weekends when I’m in that area. It’s the perfect place to study for exams or catch up with a friend. The only downside was the difficulty of parking, but the positives definitely outweigh that one negative. If you ever happen to find yourself in downtown Westerville try to stop in to Java Central for a nice relaxing break from our hectic lives.