Coffee connoisseurs and java junkies across campus rejoice, West Cof…. Wait no, Hospers Coffee House has arrived. Tonight at 8 p.m. marks the five year anniversary of one of Northwestern’s favorite campus events.
In the last couple of years the Coffee House has grown into something that many students on campus look forward to participating in and an event in which the whole dorm contributes. It now incorporates live performances, overarching themes in which students can interact with each other and many different types of beverages.
“We order green coffee and then we roast it all ourselves,” said Hospers RD Corey Kundert. “We’ll have hot, regular coffee from Ethiopia. This year we will also have a ‘cold brew,’ which is like a cold coffee, but we’re going to put homemade pumpkin spice syrup in it as well.”
And while sipping the delicious brews, there is no shortage of entertainment. Good conversation is accompanied by performances featuring Clayton Ehlers, Shawn Harmon, Ben Patzlaff, James Teutschmann, Cosmin Colta, Ben Bosch, Andrew Currier and Will Norris. From classical piano to self-written poetry to the latest hit from the radio, these guys have created a night of music and written word that you won’t want to miss.
“We are planning on having all the musicians performing up in the first floor lounge area, where there will be different acts all night,” Kundert said. “Then the basement will be kind of a themed area that people can walk through and participate in if they want.”
One of the biggest challenges that Kundert and the Hospers’ residents have had to deal with is figuring out how to recreate a feeling of togetherness and community, even though it is a drastically different space.
“It’s also a lot more laid back this year,” sophomore James Teutschmann said. “It’s super open to people coming and going as they please… I encourage people to go because we put a lot of effort into it and it’s a great place for people to come and hang out.”
This first year in Hospers is something different for all of them as well. The Coffee House is one way to ease the transition even more.
“It’s a mile marker, a symbol of starting over, a fresh start,” sophomore Andrew Currier said. “Hospers is a fun dorm. Anybody at anytime should just hang out in the lobby whenever they can, because there’s always stuff going on.”
“I’m looking forward to the new space and kind of experimenting with how it looks and feels,” Kundert said. “We like that it’s a free roam space and we can create different areas for people to come and just hang out and still have what we love about coffee house. It creates a reason to get together. Hopefully that transfers to the people who come that it won’t be a formal experience. It’s kind of all over the place, but we love it like that.”
The preparation for Hospers Coffee House is incredibly communal. Preparing for the Coffee House includes roasting beans, decorating the various lounges and preparing different musical set lists, which takes a complete dorm effort.
Although the West Hall Coffee House is now located in the Hospers lounge, the atmosphere and tradition remain the same.