Walking into a coffee house — a real coffee house, not Starbucks — is like walking into another world. Fresh-ground beans and the aroma of all the freshly baked pastries assault you and give you your first hint of what the house will be like.

Next, comes the atmosphere. I hate to say that the best coffee houses are the ones that are busy. If you are walking into a shop for the first time, a good indicator of how good the coffee is the line. If people are willing to wait a bit for service, then it will almost definitely be worth your time to wait and try the goods.

Order your coffee, find yourself a comfy chair, and enjoy the atmosphere. Let the soft music wash over you and take in the people around you; my favorite thing to do when I am alone at coffee shops is people watch. From locals to tourists, it is so interesting to observe the different types of people that come through.

For instance, the older man sitting next to me is typing away on his laptop even more furiously than I am, but by the face he is making I don’t think he is enjoying whatever it is he is working on very much.

The woman who stood in line in front of me waited for fifteen minutes just to buy a bag of coffee grounds — and by the taste of the house brew I am sipping on right now, I can see why.

There is a couple sitting at a table a little way's down from me, feeding each other their breakfast; I think that disgustingly cute is how I would like to describe them: adorable in their own sense, but so much so that I almost want to vomit. I’m just silently thanking them for not making out over the table in front of everyone in this packed place because there really isn’t anywhere else to go in here to get away from them.

A little boy and his mom just walked in together, and the boy is complaining about having to wait in line. I have to say, his mom is doing a great job of calming him down and talking to him — I tend to see a lot of parents ignore their children to the point that they throw massive (and preventable) temper-tantrums. He has calmed down enough that he is starting to get excited about the prospect of ordering his favorite smoothie.

Two older gentlemen just sat down at a table nearby and are reminiscing about their time as teenagers and young adults. They are remembering when they used to go out on dates with girls at this very shop in their twenties, and how their wives now laugh they come back here to reminisce together every week.

All kinds of characters walk through here. Some choose to sit and stay for a while, while others grab their coffee and go. Regardless of the amount of time each person spends inside the shop, I find it amazing that something so simple as coffee can draw so many different types of people in so many different stages of life to one place.

So I think I will just sit here and sip on my cup for a little while longer before I join the others who have passed through this place today.