Mientras in Cartagena, Colombia

Mientras is exactly what I want to find when I stumble into a coffee shop. It's quaint and quirky, it's got fast service but also space to sit and linger, it's baristas have tattoos and risky haircuts and more style than I ever will, and it's got a solid cup of coffee.

Mientras is located on a cobblestone street on the perimeter of the Walled City in Cartagena. It's maybe a 10 minute walk from the real epicenter of the Centro Histórico, which helps protect it a touch from being slammed with crowds.

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The space is small but welcoming, with both mismatched china and mismatched seating arrangements like caned chairs, rocking chairs, and benches that invite you to stay a while. The walls are littered with funky art and records, and the baristas even changed the record player by the bar at least twice while we were there - really! It's like if a fashionable young person decorated a coffee shop with my grandmother's storage unit. And I mean that as a compliment.

On the coffee front, would you expect the Colombians to let you down? If you're like me and have a crushing dependence on iced coffee served with dairy alternatives, you'll get your fix, and the baristas didn't even flinch with disdain at this American order. They'll also whip you up an equally excellent, strong cappuccino, the way god intended.

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If you're looking to do some work, the baristas will hook you up with Wifi and you could fit a computer at one of the tables. But in this environment that I can unfortunately only describe as "chill", give it a rest. You're better off bringing a friend or a book.