As my time at APU comes to a close I realize how essential coffee shops have become to our student body. Instagram is constantly flooded with hip looking pictures of coffee with cool designs and awesome places to build community. Although I am not a coffee drinker myself, I even find that one of the first questions I ask when discussing plans with someone is "Want to get coffee?" The only problem with going to coffee shops was that the nearest one is in Glendora and there are not many closer than Pasadena. The only coffee shop in Azusa that students went to was Starbucks. That was until recently. That was until Mantra Coffee opened this past weekend.

This past weekend, I got the opportunity to study for a few hours on the outside patio of Mantra. Inside people were chatting and enjoying company, while the people outside were enjoying the breeze of the afternoon and the beautiful outdoor environment that Mantra has created. The workers were friendly and the manager and founder of the coffee shop himself walked around greeting and welcoming people to his dream turned reality. The drinks were delicious, the atmosphere was inviting and the stories were already being created inside of this coffee shop that will one day hold stories of interactions that inspire people to live, dream and do something beautiful.

If you know anything about Mantra's story, you know it's exactly what Azusa needs.

Mantra Coffee was founded by former Azusa Pacific Resident Director, Jonny Liu, when he decided to mix his love for people and his passion for "damn good coffee." Yet, a dream that began its' work last school year finally came to fruition this past weekend. Sitting in Mantra yesterday, I realized that this coffee shop is exactly what Azusa needed. It is not simply the APU community that makes that statement valid. It is Mantra's Mantra that makes this coffee shop stand out from all of the rest.

Mantra's "mantra" is that they will give away more than they make, by giving away 51 percent of their proceeds "in order to write personal checks for people to be blessed for dreams of all kinds: school, small businesses, pursuing a dream." Mantra does not exist to simply be consumers of peoples' finances, but to bless people so much more than they will ever be blessed.

And yet, Mantra is still what Azusa needs, pushing APU students out of their bubble and into the real world beyond the campus.

Although one could easily guess that many of Mantra's staff members are Azusa Pacific students, this may be a more beautiful thing than many people could imagine. As students work beyond the coffee bar, they will undoubtedly meet residents and families of the city of Azusa. They will meet residents that are unlike the students they see everyday. They will hear the stories of residents that actually live in Azusa for the long run and not just for four years. And through these stories, they will be inspired to care for the city of Azusa and the people living in it.

As I spent time at Mantra this past Sunday, I realized that this is the hope of the coffee shop's owner. He wants residents and not just students to come into his doors. He wants the two parties to mingle, as these two groups learn about each other and build a bond between the university and the community. Mantra is right in the heart of Azusa, off of San Gabriel and is inviting students to come into study, but also to begin to think about the community they live in and the relationships they are building with the people in this community.

And yet Mantra's passion is still to make damn good coffee.

Although I am not a coffee drinker, I realize that Mantra makes damn good coffee by the coffee connoisseurs' response to it. Mantra's doors have been flooded with people since the day they opened, as many come back for real coffee throughout their school or work day. And I have to say that they make "damn good" hot chocolate as well.

So if you're looking for a place to study, a place to meet a friend, a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, or a place to simply get "damn good coffee." look no further than Mantra.

And realize the beauty that this coffee shop in Azusa holds, simply because of one man's power to dream something amazing.