Coffee Shops 5

“Organic” and “fair trade” are two terms that matter to serious patrons of coffee shops, and Springfield, Ohio, lays claim to a business living up to the best traditions of both. Un Mundo is a logical destination for any customer acknowledging ecological dimensions (environmental and human) of food and drink. And the low-fat lattes are dreamy!

Lattes at Un Mundo in Springfield, Ohio

Un Mundo is in a sunny corner of the spectacular Heritage Center of Springfield. The building is an architectural wonder in a city with more than its share of ornamented edifices to “ooh” and “awe” over. Domes and steeples, columns and carvings, brickwork and stonework! Examples of generations of buildings, private and public, abound!

My dear friend and co-author Eleanor Y. Stewart and I had just selected our table when Director of Collections Virginia Weygandt entered Un Mundo. The Heritage Center houses the first-class museum and research facility of the Clark County Historical Society, and I have relied on Virginia’s expertise for many of my publications. Virginia is no stranger to Eleanor, either. Once, Eleanor and I carefully paged through a year or two of nineteenth-century newspapers from Springfield. I wanted to know if a detail of importance to my research had been mentioned in the newspaper, and Eleanor graciously volunteered to assist me. Throughout the time that we spent with the newspapers, Virginia patiently came and went, bringing us volumes of newsprint from the archives. Virginia is a boon to historians, for she makes their tedious detective work a joy.

Eleanor and I invited Virginia to join us, but Virginia said she had only enough time to place her order and to run back to her post, so we agreed to get together again in the near future. Turning to our lattes, Eleanor and I appreciated their perfection. They were ethereal. Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus) (1493–1541), a philosopher I studied in graduate school, defined sylphs as beings formed from the element of air. Sylphs would find our lattes as heavenly as we found them! They were delectable, like certain candies that are not too sweet but exquisitely satisfying.

Taking Time to Smell the Coffee

At Un Mundo in the Heritage Center

In Springfield, Ohio

After our lattes, Eleanor and I toured the historical society’s museum and felt marvelously entertained—not to mention educated—by the exhibits. Even though I have visited the museum on several occasions, I see many new things on each stroll through the halls. Further, the exhibits change frequently, with only about ten percent of the collection on view at any one time.

I heartily recommend Un Mundo to all who seek a worthy coffee shop!