Have you accepted coffee as your collegiate savior?

Ask my sister, parents, three-time roommate or anyone else who had the misfortune of going to a cafe with my picky palate, and they will confirm that I spent the first 18-and-a-half years of my life vehemently hating hot beverages. On Dec. 1, 2014, I made a life-changing decision that went against everything I had ever believed in. That decision was to start drinking coffee.

I’m not saying that the only reason I decided to dive into the world of overpriced dirt water was so I could pretend to be a pseudo-cool kid sippin’ on a cup of black coffee on the windowsill of a hyper-minimalist, monochromatic roastery while I nonchalantly pretend to ignore the Instagrammers include me in their next post… but… yeah, that’s the only reason I decided to dive into the world of overpriced dirt water. Whatevs. I have an aesthetic to maintain and I’m not even sorry.

But, now that that background has been covered, here’s the real deal:

I’m Jackie. I’m a gun-slingin’, yoga practicin’, rock climbin’, math studyin’ junior and I live and breathe espresso.

During the winter of 2014, I was somehow convinced to uproot my life and try a “real latte” (read: not a Java Chip Frappuccino) from a “real coffee shop” (read: not Starbucks) by a friend, and per her recommendation (read: by sheer force), I accompanied her (read: was dragged) to Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea in Silverlake. I kinda, sorta, really fell in love with the entire coffee culture and thus, Coffee Tour was born!

Since then, I’ve made it my mission to make up for the last 18.5 coffee-deprived years of my life by going to a new coffee shop whenever and wherever possible. I will review them all. Every. Single. One. As of today, I’ve hit 39 different locations with the intention to turn that into 50 by the time the semester starts on Aug. 24. Regardless of whether or not that goal is met, if you’re looking for a place to snag a great cup o’ joe with that Tinder boy you just matched, you can count on this coffee tour series to hook you up with a super solid drink that will make up for how bad that date will probably be.

If you know of any good places that you think I haven’t been to yet, let me know. I’m always looking for suggestions.

And with that, I formally invite and welcome you to #JackieLikesJava!