Author: Soo Jin Kim
The Green Bean, named after the Green Family Dining Room, is, put simply, a triple threat. As a student-run business, the café allows students to learn and develop business (and barista) skills, and creates an intimate and relaxing environment for students to hang out in. It also aims to be more environmentally friendly.
In spring 2009, several student leaders, with Dean of Students Dr. Barbara Avery as their advisor, presented a proposal to the Board of Trustees to create a student-run café that would allow students to develop a business sensibility. The proposal argued that the café would help students learn the way the business world is run. After the proposal was approved, construction began in August 2009, and the Grand Opening was last Friday, Oct. 23. The Green Family Dining Room is now officially the Green Bean Café.
Since its opening, the Green Bean is definitely impressing Oxy students. The décor is simple, elegant and homey at the same time, and it feels just like a real coffee shop. It’s a great place to just chill with your friends-the seats are comfortable, and the café accepts meal plans, which is a bonus. Not only is there a wide variety of drinks, they also have a range of mouth-watering pastries from Portos available for purchase. On the night of the Grand Opening, my friends and I stayed there for a full four hours, doing nothing but talking and having a great time. The Green Bean offers a place at Oxy that allows you to sit down and just hang out in a more intimate environment than, say, the Marketplace or the Cooler.
The coffee is great (definitely better than the Cooler), and they also have interesting specialty drinks, such as the “Skotcheim,” the “GC-4 a.k.a. ‘Green Dynamite'” and the “Son-of-a-Veitch.” Feeling adventurous, I ordered the “Son-of-a-Veitch” without knowing the ingredients that are put into it. After my first sip, the first thing that came to mind was, “Son-of-a-Veitch! What is this!?” Beware: The drink contains a lot of spices that haunt your throat after the first sip. The Son-of-a-Veitch, a play on our new president’s name, is made with Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate sauce, steamed milk with froth, cinnamon, paprika, chile ancho powder and cayenne pepper. Although the combination is interesting, I left my cup of iced Son-of-a-Veitch alone after a few sips.
The Skotcheim is made with Monin Butterscotch syrup, steamed milk with froth, espresso, chocolate truffle syrup and hazelnut syrup. Butterscotch chips and whipped cream can be added as a topping. The Green Dynamite is made with Monin cherry syrup, Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate sauce, espresso and steamed milk with froth.Not only is the Green Bean a great place for students to relax, it also aims to go “green.” The utensils, plates and napkins come from recycled papers or organic materials, and the café does not have plastic bags. The coffee is bought from suppliers that endorse 100 percent fair trade, shade-grown and carbon-free coffee. The Green Bean also donates ground coffee remains to Oxy’s Sustainability Committee to use as compost in the F.E.A.S.T. Garden.
Unfortunately, the Green Bean experience isn’t without its drawbacks. Firstly, the Green Bean is way too crowded. I don’t think I’ve seen them without a customer in line the three times I’ve been there. Bustling with business is a good thing, but waiting for 20 minutes to get your drink is not. However, since the Green Bean is new, I expect the lines to shorten after a few weeks.
Secondly, because of all the people, it’s difficult to hear the barista call out your drink when it’s ready. The first time I went there, my friend got my drink for me because I couldn’t hear. The second time, my drink was left sitting on the counter. The third time, someone else nearly took my drink. Lastly, there aren’t visible labels showing the prices of food and drinks. This wouldn’t be such a problem for students with meal plans, but what about the faculty, staff and the general public who pay with cash? Constant questions about the prices not only cause delays, but also cause the people in line to become frustrated. When I asked the cashier why I was charged $4.66 for a specialty drink that should have been $3.95, the person behind me snapped, “Is it that important? There are people in line.” Excuse me.
But overall, the Green Bean is my favorite new lounge place at Oxy. Even if I do become frustrated at times because of the service and noise, I have to remember that the Green Bean just opened. There are bound to be problems at the start-staff usually are not able to foresee all the problems until they actually encounter them. Eventually the frustration goes away when your drink finally comes out and you’re able to relax on the oversized (and extremely comfortable) chairs with your friends.
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