Cherries and Coffee

Cherries are my favorite fruit. I can't get enough of them. Sadly, this fruit is far too expensive for my grocery budget, even when they are in season. $3.99 a pound? No thank you. I could butcher a whole cow and the meat wouldn't sell for that much per pound. Last week I was late night browsing on my phone and rediscovered a site called pickyourown.org. I decided on a whim: I'm going to go cherry picking! I've been cherry picking multiple times in Traverse City, the Cherry Capital,  but I wanted to find an orchard much closer to home. The nearest place I found was Mueller's Orchard in Linden, Michigan (muellersorchard.com). The drive was only 44 miles away - about 10 miles more than my commute to college. I contacted a friend and the trip was set for the following day. Only one problem: where would I get my coffee?

Seeing as I was traveling to a city I never been, I didn't know of any local coffee shops. Furthermore, many independent shops would be closed for the holiday weekend (including my local coffee hotspot). Yes, I know I could go to Starbucks or Tim Horton's. But where is the fun in going to a new city and not trying a new cafe? Coffee isn't the only element I seek when getting my caffeine fix; atmosphere is just as important. I find local cafes to be inviting, friendly, and cozy, i.e., somewhere I feel welcomed. So I looked up a place I used to go to while attending community college. It was on the way to the cherry orchard, plus I thought my friend would enjoy the place as much as I did. However, the business was closed for the holiday weekend. My search led me to another location: Cafe Aroma in Fenton, Michigan (brewinbeans.com). Only a few miles away from the cherry orchard, I called and found they were open!

The next day, aka. cherry picking day, started out without a hitch. The only trouble I had was locating Cafe Aroma; I passed it once and was about to pass by a second time if my friend hadn't pointed it out to me. Located in a mini shopping plaza, I thought the cafe was small. Once we went inside, I was proven wrong: the building must have been longer than I realized and there was plenty of seating inside. I thought I smelled banana bread upon walking in - when I asked about it, the barista informed me the coffee of the day was, in fact, banana. I skimmed the menu and ordered a Frozen Chocolate Cappuccino along with some food for my kid and I. The cappuccino was similar to an Ice Capp from Tim Horton's, but the consistency was creamier and the chocolate flavor was richer. The sandwich I had - known as the #10 - was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I would go back just for the sandwich alone. Caffeination complete.

Just for the record: the cherries were ripe for the picking! For only $2.00 a pound, they are practically a steal. My friend and I picked over 5 lbs and my daughter picked 2 lbs!