Coffee Shop Journal

I am so excited to share with you this little treasure of a coffee shop located in Meredith, New Hampshire. It is arguably the best coffee shop in the Lakes Region, and it embodies so many of the ideas we have talked about on Coffee Shop Journal.

To begin with, Village Perk is located in an original 1850’s building, which immediately gives it that character and authenticity that we’ve all been searching for. When I see a building like that - which also houses a spa and a beading shop - I wonder when South Florida will EVER develop character. Village Perk has the half of the ground floor, with a couple of twists and turns to make the room cozy. In years past they have also used space on the top floor for musical events and community events.

The coffee at Village Perk is amazing. Their espresso has the right body and the right finish - none of the fruity overtones that often bother me with espresso. In addition, they also have a great line of deli offerings and baked goods. In my mind the deli portion seems unnecessary, but the baked goods are worth sampling. David and I nibbled on a homemade whoopie pie (definitely not on my diet and I’ll have to confess it in this week’s Ragamuffintop Challenge!).

I have a sentimental affection for Village Perk. They were one of the first truly good coffee shops to survive in this area of Dunkin’ Donuts enthusiasts. For years we had to brew our own anytime we were at the lake as no chains were allowed (ie: no Starbucks), and no other alternatives had sprung up. Now Village Perk sits at one end of the 30+ mile long lake, and another little coffee shop sits at the other end (I’ll save that for another trip!). One summer David and I were playing host to multiple groups of touring friends, and Village Perk was always the meeting place after the visitors would shop the quaint little town. During that summer I sat in the cozy chairs and read a book they had on the coffee table, called The Joy of Coffee by Corby Kummer. I made my way through the whole memoir that summer, and bought a copy of my own back in South Florida.

So to summarize, here is what I liked about Village Perk, and a couple of its drawbacks.

• Cozy, warm seating areas
• Great roasts of coffee, and good food offerings
• Nice location with good parking and quaint views
• Community-oriented and authentic feeling
• Barristas are friendly and competent, outgoing with people they know
• I did not see any mention of wi-fi, though I thought the guy working in the corner looked pretty content so I may have missed the option.
• It’s hours are kind of short.

All told, this is yet another coffee shop I would love to have available to me on a regular basis!