Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405190001
SECTION: DISCOVER/NRV PAGE: DISCOVER/NRV56 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Even if a couple of anonymous readers (Mill Mountain employees, we suspect) hadn't listed the Blacksburg locale as their favorite spot to hike to, gossip in and picnic at, the Main Street shop would have been selected as the area's java capital.
You can taste the coffee in the air here, and sometimes a couple of blocks away when the beans are roasting.
"It depends on the wind," said co-owner Scott Elich. In Roanoke, where there's another branch, "I've been on [Interstate] 581 and, when the wind is right, I can smell it a half-mile away."
Some readers say they like Mill Mountain for the selection - flavors such as Sumatra Mandehling and Kona Extra Fancy. Others say they like it for the desserts. Still others like the bohemians who mingle with the townsfolk, drinking coffee and studying until the doors close at midnight. A few of them sport goatees, but they leave bongos and cigarettes at home - Mill Mountain doesn't allow smoking.
The coffee shop serves five varieties of its 44-flavor selection (counting decaf) each day.
Mill Mountain Blend is the most popular, said Lisa Levenson, who started working at Mill Mountain in January. She prefers the Ethiopian or French Vanilla.
The Carol Lee Doughnut Shop in downtown Blacksburg, with its orange-and-blue decor, is another reader favorite. Nothing goes with a Bavarian cream pastry like a steaming cup of coffee.
"It's cozy," said Blacksburg's Ken Bovard.
"The bottomless cup at Gillie's" won with some folks, too, as did 7-Eleven coffee, because it's made fresh, and the cups are sturdy.
And Hardee's was chosen by readers from Dublin to Pearisburg as a haven for coffee drinkers. The Hardee's on Tech's campus got a special mention.
"I like the cappuccino," said Susan Ariew, who works at the library next door. "It's very creamy and chocolaty."
The town of Blacksburg must run on coffee; more Blacksburg readers answered that Discover survey question than any other group.
In Giles County, Dairy Queen was the coffee hot spot.
"We keep a pot going all the time - it never stops," said Sheila Johnson, night shift supervisor.
"Men come in here and sit and drink and drink and drink," added Mary Dalton, a cook and cashier there.
"We fill our place up with coffee drinkers," Johnson said. "It's about the only place people can sit down for a while and drink coffee in Giles County.
While some readers let us know they clearly didn't care for coffee ("It's bad for your esophagus," one reader said), others say their kitchens are the best place to drink it.
Ola Mae Roudebush prefers the Folger's she makes in the automatic percolator at her Dublin home. "I'm not a heavy coffee drinker," she said. "Three cups a day. But I like my own."
Her favorite cup of coffee is the one she drinks at 6 a.m. with breakfast.
by CNB