Gimme Coffee Gives Me Coffee

For my first real post on our blog, I’m going to pay homage to the amazing Gimme! Coffee company, originally from Ithaca, where I’m in school, and now in Brooklyn and Manhattan as well. When I arrived in Ithaca in the fall, my barista-extraordinaire boyfriend Daniel, a former employee of Gimme’s Farmer’s Market station, politely made it very clear to me that I wasn’t going to be drinking just any ol’ cup of coffee anymore, at least not on his watch. I’m terribly grateful that he’s brought me into the magical Gimme world. Here are some reasons why (and some photos from mei from our nyc gimme! stop).

mei’s macchiato of love

1. Aesthetically pleasing, simple, straightforward graphics and designs. They sell cute tumblers and drinkware (including saucers with a little Gimme exclamation point on them), display their menu on a simple black-and-white board, and distribute free Gimme! stickers to their loving customers.

2. Hipster baristas (not like those posers from Starbucks) who wear sleek black t-shirts and Onitsuka tigers. I think that covers that.

3. Buy nine, get one free cards. My first nine are usually lattes, coffees, or teas, and free drink is usually an iced mocha. Daniel’s is usually a quad-shot cappuccino.

4. Local pastries and art. Their coffee comes from far away, but their pastries are local and delicious, and their wall art, which changes every two or three weeks, is local and unique too.

5. Lots of varieties of amazing coffee, including fair-trade and organic roasts. Their 22 kinds of coffee come from India, Central America, South America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands, and the website tells each coffee’s story. The coffees also have great descriptions. Their classic, La Union, has body that resembles a “red ribbon pony,” and their Platinum Blonde blend finishes like a “wild vanity fair of surly miscreants.” Ideal, right?

6. Real dishware, and other waste-reducing practices. Gimme! offers filtered tap water in solid plastic cups, and supplies clean metal spoons with which customers can stir their drinks, and a dirty spoons bucket in which they can discard them when they’re done. Like most progressive coffee shops, Gimme! also gives a discount for bringing your own mug or thermos.

7. Two kinds of whipped cream: cappuccino, and plain, delicious vanilla.

8. Drink art (like this beeyoootiful latte).

9. A helpful website. Complete with guides to buying their coffee, ordering espresso drinks, and making your own coffee, Gimme!’s website leaves no customer behind.

You can usually find me and Daniel chillin’ on State Street before class on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, eating raspberry breakfast bars, drinking delicious coffee, and feeling glad to be caffeinated in such a local, sustainable, hip’n’tasty way. 

 

Case in point. Glad, caffeinated, hip'n'tasty.

 

So if you’re in Ithaca, Lansing, or the city, stop by Gimme! and give’em some love for us.

final photo: mei, irene, and cousin lexi on our coffee refueling pit stop during our nyc food tour. a group post on our delightful edibles coming up soon!