For most of us living in Orono, Minneapolis is only about a 30 minute drive away. There is so much more to see and experience than in our small suburb of Orono. I am setting out to see and experience more of Minneapolis – something I have been around my entire life, but have not always taken the opportunity to really see the metropolitan city that is (almost) right outside my door.

Recently, I have become somewhat obsessed with coffee. I find myself drinking it every morning, so I thought what better way to see different areas of Minneapolis than through coffee shops. I can fuel my caffeine addiction while seeing the city. There seem to be an endless amount of coffee shops in Minneapolis, and I got to try three of them- Spyhouse, Vicinity Coffee and The Urban Bean.

My first stop of the coffee shop tour of Minneapolis was Spyhouse coffee. Spyhouse has four locations in the Minneapolis area, and I tried the Uptown shop located on Hennepin Avenue. Their prices were similar to most of the other coffee shops I went to- about five dollars for most of the handcrafted drinks and lattes.

I have heard lots of buzz lately about this coffee shop, and I wanted to see and try it for myself. I was not disappointed. I ordered the “Spygirl” latte which is made with lavender and honey. Spyhouse offered a quiet place to work on homework or study, I would recommend taking the drive to Uptown to try this coffee shop if you want a change of pace.

The next stop on my coffee shop hunt was Vicinity Coffee. Like Spyhouse, they have two locations in the Minneapolis area; one is located on Nicollet Avenue and the other on Lyndale Avenue. This coffee shop is just a little farther away than Spyhouse, but still about 25 minutes away. At Vicinity Coffee, I ordered a vanilla latte and a donut.

Vicinity coffee offers a larger menu for specialty lattes and other drinks, and they also have more bakery items and lunch options. I was also impressed by this coffee shop. There was more creativity in the drink options, and the industrial feel put a different twist on the classic coffee shop. They prepare homemade baked goods as well as gluten free donuts from Sift bakery. Not to mention the coffee drinks here are nothing short of excellent. The average price for their drinks was about five dollars.

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The environment at Vicinity allows a great place to study. The music playing provided a nice atmosphere, but many one could easily use this space as a great work environment. There were also couches and tables which provide a great combination of a quiet work space, along with a warm coffee shop feel.

Last stop on the coffee tour is The Urban Bean located on Lake Street. There is a second location on Lyndale Avenue- very close to Vicinity Coffee. This shop was completely different from the other two. The modern look and feel was almost a 180 degree difference from the darker, industrial feelings of Spyhouse and Vicinity. A great perk to this coffee shop is that they are open until 10 p.m. at both locations.

Along with the other two, I enjoyed this coffee shop. They took their own spin to their specialty drinks, and the art and atmosphere in the space was something very different than other coffee shops. The price for The Urban Bean was comparable to the other shops, staying at about five dollars a drink. I kept with the latte theme, but this was one with lavender infused coconut milk. I would also recommend this to any coffee lover looking to try a new drink or coffee spot.

I would encourage any coffee lovers to ditch their usual coffee shops and venture to Minneapolis to try a different take on the usual cup of coffee.