In a town with such fierce competition for coffee shops, a new sheriff in town has a lot to prove. There have been many coffee shop changes over the past few years, with many staples of the Lawrence community being uprooted or shut down, including the closing of Alchemy. Having spent substantial time in almost all of the coffee shops in Lawrence, I feel as though I can accurately report on newcomers. 

Grounded Coffee offers a calming and enjoyable work environment. It is quiet, cozy and a great place to stop and get some studying done. There are several booths with ample outlet access for all of your charging needs, which is one of the biggest problems with some coffee shops such as Decade; there, the atmosphere is great, but there are no outlets, so the time that you can spend studying there is severely limited. At Grounded, there is also a couch and several comfy chairs for those interested in relaxing. The environment compounded with the exceedingly friendly staff makes it a wonderful place to study. Still, you might have difficulty finding seating due to the limited space during busy times, and they close at only five p.m., so it is not the perfect late-night test-prep location.

The quality of a coffee shop, though, is ultimately determined by the quality of its coffee. On that mark, Grounded Coffee does very well. They don’t have any signature drinks, so don’t expect to get a frappuccino, but they have several homemade syrups that can bring some flavor if you are unsatisfied with plain coffee. They also have every milk option that you could imagine, including, interestingly enough, pistachio milk, which brings a pleasant earthy flavor to the coffee. The staff is well-trained in the art of espresso drinks too. One of the greatest tests of a barista is whether they can make a plain latte enjoyable, and the two that I had were very good.