One sip, and you might be hooked on this club.
Bradley’s Coffee Club gives students the opportunity to discuss and drink coffee (and tea for non-coffee drinkers) together.
Connor Beaton, the club’s president, said that the goal of the club is to bring people together and create a space where students can enjoy their favorite beverage with one another.
“The biggest thing for me was realizing that, especially on a college campus, who enjoys caffeine more than undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty?” Beaton, a junior mathematics major, said.
The process of brewing and crafting the perfect cup of coffee is much more complex than it seems. There are many factors involved in creating a harmonious blend of flavors and textures. In the organization, members visit local coffee shops and discuss the beverages they chose, why they chose them and their opinions on the taste.
“It allows people to develop their personal palette for what they find good in a cup of coffee,” Beaton said.
But Coffee Club isn’t just about coffee. It’s also about providing the opportunity for students to get to meet new people and form connections.
“It’s supposed to be this catalyst for people to meet new people and make new friends,” Beaton said. “That, to me, is one of the biggest experiences of going to college.”
By sharing ways they like to enjoy coffee, members can learn new ways to brew and explore different types of beans and flavors that they can enjoy both at home and at a shop. Vice President Aaron Coulumbe shared that by making his own cold brew, a cup of coffee costs no more than 50 cents.
“The biggest thing is being able to enjoy high-quality coffee on a college student budget,” Coulumbe, senior nursing student, said.
The idea of a coffee club at Bradley has been in development for about a year, and the Constitution for the club was written up last summer. However, the club didn’t become active until recently.
Since the organization is still in its infancy, the executive board wants to ensure that the club grows with a solid foundation and multiple ideas for events and functions that both members and interested non-members can attend.
“We’re working on nailing down a couple more things to be able to adequately expand while still being mindful of the user base that we’re expanding to and making sure they have a quality experience,” Coloumbe said.
The Coffee Club will be hosting an introductory event from 1-3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 24 in the Student Center. The event will feature a raffle and coffee prepared by a local barista.
In the future, the club hopes to visit nearby Hanna City to see a shop called COFFEE CAN and the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Chicago.
To learn more about the Coffee Club, check them out on Instagram and Presence.
