Cool Beans Coffee Company has been a USC staple for years.
With its old-home charm and wide variety of drinks and food, Columbia students have been going to Cool Beans since its opening in 1997.
The house the shop occupies was built in 1901 and was residential for almost 80 years. In that time, the block of College Street it sits on became increasingly commercial, and it was eventually the lone house on the block.
Coffee house serves up piping-hot alternative to mainstream brews
It caught up in 1980 when the Nice-N-Natural restaurant opened. That was eventually replaced with a coffee shop, and that coffee shop was taken over by Cool Beans.
Cool Beans serves a number of drinks that can be found at other shops, like peppermint mochas and gingersnap lattés. But many of the drinks are combinations of flavors that aren’t as usual.
The Nutty Irishman has the flavoring of Irish cream mixed with the taste of hazelnut; the praline white chocolate frappé combines a nutty flavor with a lighter chocolate flavor; and the zebra mocha mixes white and dark chocolates to make an interesting blend of the two, a zebra effect of sorts.
While many people enjoy the unusual blends that Cool Beans offers, many customers like to keep it simple with selections like the regular iced coffee.
Since it is located next to the James F. Byrnes Building on College Street and caters to the early (and late) schedule of a lot of students, it’s easy to understand why there are always people inhabiting the comfy chairs and upstairs corners.
Cool Beans has enjoyed the advantage of being located on campus and attracts a variety of people. The little shop will continue to receive its customers with a warm atmosphere and unusual drinks and will be a calm getaway from the hectic life of the university it caters to.