Coffee; Right Meow!

A friend of mine gave her husband a coffee mug with the quote “Good morning, I see the assassins have failed” printed on it. (It cracks me up every time!) Humans are serious about coffee. Memes on every level of humor tout the rule “Don’t speak to me before I have had my coffee” or “A day without coffee is like… just kidding, I have no idea.” It’s true we like our java hot, cold, and nitro, and we never, I mean never, let it go to waste. 

Luckily, we don’t have to go mainstream (ahem, Starbucks) in Wabash County to get an excellent cup of grogg. Travel Bee Coffee House in North Manchester has been brewing coffee on Market Street since August of 2023. What I really dig about this coffee house (besides the fact that it operates out of an actual renovated brick house) is its mission to employee individuals of all abilities. Enjoy a cup of coffee or a delicious, homemade baked good. Lunch is served from 11 AM to 2 PM daily. Community employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental. 

Travel Bee’s sister from another mister, Modoc’s Market, is also located on Market Street (and Miami Street) in downtown Wabash. The Modoc’s baristas introduced me to Nitro Coffee. What the what? It’s kegged coffee infused with nitrogen gas; cold, bubbly, and frothy just like beer without the alcohol or the calories. The quick-service counter is stocked with in-house-made yogurt parfaits, Caeser wraps, and scones. These purveyors of coffee focus on loving the planet and focus on lower their carbon emissions foot print.

Along with our devotion to blonde, brown, and jet-black coffees, we are just as specific to the cup in which it is served. Modoc’s and Travel Bee offer incentive programs for patrons to use their refillable to-go mugs or their hand-washable ones. Both businesses also ditched using styrofoam, thank goodness.

Both locations offer whole-bean coffee that you can grind and brew at home. This is great news for my friend’s husband who keeps escaping the “assassins.” He can refill his favorite eco-friendly mug with fresh homebrew while sporting his morning PJs.

As for me, words cannot espresso how much you bean to me!