When I first attended Merchants of Green Coffee last year, I wasn't too impressed. The location was seemingly awkward and it felt isolated. At the time, there weren't too many people when I went and with the space, I wasn't too comfortable with it. I simply didn't like the vibe. When I saw the cafe again on this year's Passport, I wasn't too thrilled to make the trip.
Except this year, my perspective completely changed. I tried going there with my boyfriend at first but the place was rented out for some sort of movie shoot. I didn't come back for a couple of weeks. I was then completely thrown off by how busy and bustling it was! Compared to what I remembered, it had so much more energy and liveliness in the cafe. I noticed there were a few board games available for the customers to enjoy. The selection was small but some people really made use of it and had a good time. I was a little puzzled by the Twister they had available because I couldn't see the space and time for it to be played. They also have a cute cafe kitty that likes to nap on the sofa every so now and then.
I was really happy that I was really productive studying at the cafe. Lately it has been a lot more difficult for me to focus in cafes compared to before. However, during this trip and a trip I made afterwards for my second Passport, I managed to plow through my work like a hurricane (maybe I have found the perfect studying cafe?). I also enjoyed the music selection the baristas had on the stereos, for both of the times I was there (I ended up downloading a couple of the played songs!). I think it really sets a cafe when it has good music. The cafe also sells prepaid coffee drink cards, $30 for 10 drinks.
So the lesson learned here is that sometimes, you have to give a cafe another shot, even though the first time may not be the best (unless they have horrendous service!). You may be surprised how much you might like it the second time around!