The Coffee Club was created this semester by Megan Austin, a first-year passionate about the beverage. She decided to fund and lead the club because she wanted to create a community of people who loved coffee and wanted to meet other people who also did so.

That love has been with her since high school. She shared that she enjoyed trying different coffee shops and that when the club advisor first gave her the idea of the club she thought it was really cool and that’s how it all started.

For Austin, it is more than just the beverage. It is about community.

“Our emphasis is really on building a community of people, no matter if you like coffee or don’t. I think it’s like a good space to meet new people,” Austin said.

She is teaching us to look at coffee as an opportunity to open our minds and explore the city while at the same time getting away from the big traditional coffee companies.

“I think it’s a good way to just try new things, try new experiences, meet new people. But I also think it’s a way to encourage people to support small businesses in Baltimore,” Austin said.

The club already achieved that goal during their first meeting at the annex, where Perry Shutt ‘25, owner of the small business Pep’s Coffee demonstrated the coffee-making progress and talked a little about his business.

Everybody who went got a chance to try Pep’s Coffee coffee and learn from him. The presentation was so good that it even pleased club members who usually rather drink something else. Seipiri Saka ‘26 is one of those.

“I’m not even a big coffee fan, but Perry’s demonstration kind of made me a fan,” Saka said.

Shutt taught the club how to make drip coffee and how to use an espresso machine while talking a bit about his coffee philosophy.

“I got to show off my coffee skills and I got to show people a different side of coffee, one that they’re maybe not used to. But in the end, it’s a new experience,” Shutt said

Shutt thinks the idea of the club is great and, as a graduating senior he wishes he had it sooner.

“It’s really cool that people can get together with the passion of coffee and try shops around, getting students familiar with the local community and also sharing a passion that people have,” Shutt said.