Working from home is not the magical cure-all it is made out to be. Resisting the urge to crawl into bed, start a load of laundry or take another 5-minute brain break is hard. To curb this temptation, I have found myself a big proponent of the work-from-a-coffee-shop-rather-than-home method. However you can’t work from just any coffee shop. You should be able to spread out, utilize free wifi and have a food menu that will fill you up for the long stretch. So the other day I lugged my laptop to Trident Coffee Coronado to see just how productive I could be.
When I walked in, I made eye contact with another work-from-a-coffee-shop-rather-than home patron, his laptop open, an orderly stack of papers beside him and headphones. He gave me a knowing nod and polite smile. Maybe I was late to the party. Trident boasts indoor and outdoor sitting areas and, while quaint, plenty of room to spread out without feeling cramped. After connecting to the wifi to shoot off a few emails, I scanned the menu. I was impressed with the breadth of it, ranging from espresso-based drinks to teas, coolers, specialty cold brew, nitro cold brew and functional lattes. The blackberry cobbler latte, golden milk latte and midnight vietnamese latte stood out as unique options.
The atmosphere was conducive to working, with minimal noise other than a cool playlist going. An octopus tentacle mural crawled up the wall parallel to me. It mixed a community and functional vibe, with customers coming in and chatting to the baristas or to each other and others (myself included) hunkering down on laptops.
I’ve had a functional latte only once before. Butter was the choice of creamer. And because I don’t hate myself, I have stayed away from that terribly oleaginous subset of coffee. I’m not sure what came over me on that fateful, sunny afternoon, but I ordered the cognitive mushroom functional latte with oat milk. It consisted of espresso, milk, organic MCT oil, and organic mushroom complex with cinnamon and cacao. The barista told me it would boost my cognitive abilities and help me focus. My smarmy response was “can’t wait!”
Let me tell you, this coffee was good. Sweet and creamy, the cinnamon cut through any unsavory notes. I was perfectly pleased with my selection as I carried on with my work. MCT oil is a healthy fat that may help with weight loss, energy and improved athletic performance while mushroom complex may potentially treat depression, cancer, the common cold and inflammation. For $8 you too can be medically bulletproof. While I am not sure about the health benefits associated with functional lattes, I can say that I enjoyed drinking it. And that is good enough for me.
Overall, Trident Coffee impressed me both in space and in product – the perfect combo for remote work. And, possibly due to the cognitive boosting components of my drink, I did get a remarkable amount done in there.
You can visit Trident Coffee at 942 Orange Ave. seven days a week from 6 am to 6 pm.
