Move over, Starbucks. There’s new competition in town. 

Chapman’s Coffee Club, led by food sciences professor Anuradha Prakash, has been a hidden highlight of the community since 2021. The club meets every Friday and hosts events they call ‘Chappee Hour’ almost every month — during which they make free coffee and pastries available to students. While the club may have big ambitions for the future, their mission is a simple one. 

Originally, the club was only centered around the appreciation of coffee. As the club gained popularity and started hosting Chappee Hours, they began to turn their sights to the economic possibilities laid before them.

“When (students) would taste (our) coffee, they would also ask: ‘Do you sell your coffee?’ or ‘Why don’t you sell your coffee?’” Prakash told The Panther. 

The club has been taking the necessary steps to sell the fruits of their labor since their inception. They’re in the midst of a fundraiser for Chapman’s Food Science & Nutrition Student Association, which they are using as a test-run for what going wide with their product would look like. Students can purchase coffee through this link up until Dec. 15, and orders can be picked up or delivered. All proceedings go towards the food science program. 

Members of the Chapman community can purchase the club’s ‘Dolce Pantera’ coffee, which is brewed by students from the club. The beans were sustainably sourced from a farm in Mexico, and the brewing process has the following sustainability certifications: Rain Forest Alliance, Bird Friendly and CAFE Practices. 

Students in the club get experience in all different kinds of coffee-brewing processes, and they also get to work in Chapman’s state-of-the-art food processing lab. Taste testing is a huge part of the club, a feature that sophomore chemistry major Jack Bruneel greatly enjoys alongside the actual learning process.  

Prakash, who is notorious for her love of the warm beverage, did not originally set out to start the club. It just happened naturally. 

“This club is about two years old,” Prakash told The Panther. “I purchased equipment to roast and brew coffee as part of my food processing lab class. The students that year… (they) were super interested in coffee, and we started to meet on Fridays outside of class time to learn about coffee.” 

Bruneel serves as co-president alongside Sanchez and feels like his joining the club was almost fate. 

“I heard about it because I toured Chapman before I committed here in December,” Bruneel told The Panther. “I actually met with Dr. Prakash for the first time when I toured Keck that month, and she told me about the Chapman Coffee Club.” 

Sanchez, who ultimately wants to work in the food industry, spoke about some of the struggles the club faced as they were trying to become a more organized group. 

“When I first started, one of the challenges was trying to find companies out there that are willing to support us,” Sanchez said. “Reaching out to try to say ‘Hey, this is why it’s important. It would be great if you could help us out, because if not, it’s going to come out of funds that maybe we don’t necessarily have.’ So that was an initial setback, trying to get the supplies.” 

Prakash was only too happy to share some of the lesser known benefits of coffee, as she believes it gets too much of a bad rap. This may come as a surprise, but it’s actually probably better for you than the Celsius in your fridge. 

“It’s a good source of antioxidants,” Prakash said. “It enhances performance because it is a psychoactive (stimulant) drug.” 

Prakash is very emphatic about the ability of coffee to bring people together. She, Bruneel and Sanchez all urge coffee enjoyers to join their ranks and become part of what is sure to be a wonderful new Chapman tradition. 

“(The only requirement is an) interest in coffee and love for coffee,” Prakash said. “Really, this club is about bringing a community together to enjoy coffee.”