Fix the A.J.’s coffee problem with Ad Astra

Home Opinion Fix the A.J.’s coffee problem with Ad Astra
Fix the A.J.’s coffee problem with Ad Astra
A bag of fresh Ad Astra beans in AJ’s Cafe. Ben Wilson | Collegian

A.J.’s Cafe should ad a little astra to the menu. 

The campus coffee shop we all love brings friends together, stress levels lower, and assignment completion further. What it doesn’t do, however, is offer a good cup of coffee. And that’s because it comes from overpriced, overroasted, and overrated Zingerman’s Coffee Company. 

To remedy this deficiency of our beloved hang-out spot, Bon Appetit management must throw away every last drop of Zingerman’s Coffee and find a new bean supplier.

And there is a small business right here in Hillsdale for the job. 

Ad Astra Coffee Roasters is located in downtown Hillsdale on Broad Street and whips up the best cup of joe on this side of Baw Beese. It’s veteran, alumni, and locally owned. Beat that. 

Patrick and Kristi Whalen opened the business in Kansas two years ago and relocated to Hillsdale last year. 

During several moves when Patrick served nine years in the Marine Corps, the couple tried different coffees across the country, eventually settling on single-origin specialty coffee as the best kind. They now roast just half a mile from campus. 

They bag beans from single-family farms in countries like Guatemala and Papua New Guinea. And unlike most coffee which is an over-roasted mix of beans with little flavor, the Whalens lightly roast their blends to let the magical fruity and chocolatey tones do their magic.

Ad Astra would change the game at A.J.’s Cafe. Instead of the soupy, bitter mud currently available, Bon Appetit can serve Ad Astra’s Guatemala Cafe Feminino which consists of “chocolate, citrus, and roasted nuts with a sweet, bright aroma.”

I am not a coffee snob. During my first two years on campus, I didn’t even realize A.J.’s coffee was bad. But after trying brews in different cities and learning what makes a cup good, my eyes are opened to the atrocity that is Zingerman’s Coffee. (I can hear it already: ‘Goes on WHIP once and becomes a coffee expert.’)

The best way to sample the coffee is to visit Ad Astra between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon on Saturdays. Not open any other day, the Whalens give away their coffee for free while local merchants set up shop and sell jewelry, cookies, and books in the roastery.

The weekend market is an ideal destination for students to sip the finest coffee and support local crafters.

And after your visit, you’ll never justify the $2 purchase of A.J.’s mud again. Students here work hard and long hours. It’s time for quality coffee to fuel us. 

Bon Appetit should jump on this proposal. Money will pour in as the specialty coffee pours out. Students’ first reaction to A.J.’s coffee will no longer be a grimace followed by a search for a friend to drive to Checker Records. Instead, we’ll stay on campus and form a line to fill our cups with the golden liquid.

“Ad astra per aspera” is the Kansas state motto, where the business began, and means “to the stars through adversity.” 

Hillsdale students have seen plenty of adversity in their barely sippable coffee. It’s time to take A.J.’s to the stars.

 

Ben Wilson is a junior studying politics. He is the City News Editor of The Collegian.