By Brennen Kauffman

Coffee: the fuel that gets many college students through the day. I started drinking coffee regularly the summer before college and I’ve been hooked ever since. There are many kinds of coffee available and many places to buy it around Oxford. In the last week I got a cup from a different place around campus for five straight days. Here’s the quick breakdown of some of the places you can get a morning cup.

Home-brewed K-cup                                Price: $0.50-80, depending on the brand

For many students, the easiest place to get their coffee is in the comfort of their home. It provides the most variety of flavors, since dozens of brands and flavors are available at Kroger and other stores. I stuck with plain, unflavored coffee this week and the taste wasn’t great. If you drink a lot of coffee, you’ll get your money’s worth of a basic $100 machine within a year. It’s still an investment, and most cups are not reusable or recyclable.

Kofenya                                                          Price: $1.75

Kofenya is the main coffee shop uptown and feels like the stereotype of a hip, student-friendly coffee shop. It has personality and a strong atmosphere inside. The regular coffee is alright but the recommended flavors and latte art help set it apart. I’m especially fond of the Nutty Irishman. If you’re looking for another kind of drink, they also serve alcohol in the afternoons.

Oxford Coffee Company                          Price: $1.85

Hidden near El Burrito Loco’s and LaRosa’s is the Oxford Coffee Company. For anyone who drinks a lot of coffee and wants more flavor, this is a place to check out. They’re a combination of roaster, coffee appliance store, and regular coffee shop. They usually have two kinds of coffee per day, but those two will be string and exotic. The day I visited, I had a very acidic medium Colombian coffee. If you don’t want to drive, their beans are available at the Miami Co-op and on campus at Emporium.

Starbucks                                                       Price: $1.90

Oxford has two Starbucks locations – on campus on Maple Street and uptown on High Street. It’s the most abundant brand of coffee available in Oxford and has the most varieties of any coffee shop. It’s also the most expensive for a 12-ounce cup of coffee. That cost is somewhat warranted: the taste is consistent, strong, and very classic. It’s the most coffee-tasting coffee you can get and I mean that as a compliment.

Benton Hall basement machine                    Price: $0.95

Yes, there is a coffee vending machine in the basement of Benton. What’s surprising about the machine is the variety of options that it offers. There are 14 kinds of coffee, with additional options for strength, sugar, and sweetener. The default coffee is hot and cheap but a little bland. You’ll have to bring your own thermos , but if you’re in the building for class it’s worth trying once.

Edited by Elizabeth Hansen