Jamaican Iced Coffee

“Everybody’s got an interesting story if you go deep enough,” said Barista Tyra Sorrells, who works at Grinds 122 Cafe in Brockport, New York.

Grinds is not just another Starbucks or Tim Hortons where everyone is running in and out to get their daily caffeine fix. It is a place with a sense of community and a warm environment.

“It’s a great place to bring in a different mix of people from all over, coffee does that, it's just something that most of the world has in common,” Sorrells said.

Grinds has a wide variety of customers who come through including its usual customers, travellers, bike riders, college students, and families of loved ones who are in the hospital down the road.

“You get people who are struggling with an illness or a death… and they’re ordering food for their whole family and taking coffee to everybody so you get into learning about them and their family and where they’re from,” Sorrells said.

He explained that when this happens, they will often stick a handful of cookies or brownies in the bag to give them some comfort food, a small gesture which could help them cope through a very difficult time.

“Food is comforting, coffee is comforting, so it’s nice to be able to give that,” Sorrells said.

Sorrells opens the shop almost every day and so he gets to know people, especially the regulars, really well.

“Coffee creates that kind of environment where you sit and talk, naturally it starts a conversation and so you get to meet people all day long,” Sorrells said. “Here, you’re going to come in, I’m probably going to know your name, and I’m probably going to have your drink started before you come in the door.”

With Grinds’ inviting atmosphere and cozy decor, I have a feeling that it is easy to become a regular and a familiar face among the Grinds staff.

Tyra Sorrells reminds us that coffee is more than just a drink, it attracts people of all ages and starts conversations which you may never had gotten the opportunity to have, especially at a place like Grinds.