The Coolest COFFEEHOUSES In the Mississippi Delta

  Wake up and smell the coffee- now brewing in an eclectic small-town coffeehouse near you!

  by melissa townsend . photography by jay Adkins

  When your wheels hit Highway 61 towards Cleveland, head to The Bean Counter for the daily java fix. Voted "Best Coffeehouse" in 2004 and "Best Cup of Coffee on-the-go" in 2005 by Delta Magazine critics and readers, The Bean Counter is the Delta coffeehouse pioneer. Owner Laura Lindner hails from the Chicago area where her top-quality coffee beans are roasted. She and a handful of well-trained baristas know the regulars' custom coffee and tea orders by heart, serving innumerable concoctions, hot and cold, inside a former 1920s Sinclair gas station. The heart of Cleveland thumps at The Bean Counter, and depending on the hour, you'll bump into just about everyone in the community, from local businessmen discussing local politics in the early hours to ladies having tea in the afternoon. About once a month, there's live music from local artists such as Tricia Walker (see Music), Kristen Dambrino or Chris Davis.

  Things are really perking up in Greenwood now that Mockingbird Bakery has added a full-fledged Coffee Menu to the starring line up of made-from-scratch pastries and sandwiches. Located across the street from The Alluvian Hotel downtown, the Mockingbird is taking a shot at serving likewise cosmopolitan cappuccino and lattes. They also blend yummy fresh fruit smoothies behind the coffee bar and have French Roast coffee from Café du Monde on hand as the take-home brew.

  Enter the coffee crossroads once in Indianola (Highways 82 and 49), and head downtown to The Regent Coffeehouse & Cafe, the newest hotspot to score the morning mojo. Historically, The Regent was the name of Indianola's first movie theatre, which dates back to silent movies shown in the 1920s. It closed in 1958, and after several incarnations, Shelia and Ed Waldrup have opened a dining and shopping destination in the same space, across from the county courthouse. The aroma of sizzling fried bacon permeates the café side where they serve a Southern-style breakfast of eggs, grits and sausage, as well as homemade scones, biscotti and muffins. The java of choice is Seattle's Best Coffee, and retro '50s dining tables and chairs found "here, there and everywhere" fill the room. After school, the Teach for America set meets for coffee and utilizes the café as a free Wi-Fi hotspot. The other side of the exposed-brick building is an eclectic emporium of antiques and vintage finds from at least 15 vendors. On most Thursday and Friday nights, they let the good times roll with live entertainment from the likes of local favorite David Lee Durham and Homemade Jam. Following the B.B. King Homecoming Festival, The Regent will feature Mississippi's own Dorothy Moore. The best coffee in Greenville is found at The Delta Grind on Highway 1, next to Kroger, but don't let the shopping center façade fool you. Last fall, they updated their coffee and tea-based selections with additions that would rival any metropolitan coffeehouse. The vibe is as laid back as a Delta cotton farmer and college students are busy filling orders for steamy espressos and green tea smoothies. Local art is always on display and regulars bring in their laptops and take advantage of the wireless Internet.

  Rich with arts and culture, Vicksburg is a renaissance town with many museums, historic sites and a vibrant arts scene. This historic hamlet on the Mississippi River now boasts not one but two coffeehouses downtown, both located on Washington Street. Local history and literature collide at The Chocolate Derby, where a model train runs overhead and vintage books are shelved in the dimly lit and cozy confines. They serve a variety of budget-friendly coffees with gourmet pastries and pies where locals settle in to thumb the newspapers and shoppers take a load off over sips and sweets.

  High-octane coffee meets serious art inside Highway 61 Coffeehouse, located on the ground floor of Attic Gallery-the acclaimed Mississippi art gallery now going on 35 years. Real-deal coffee beans from Costa Rica and Nicaragua are roasted on the West Coast (and arrive every Tuesday) but the attitude inside this coffeehouse original, named for the celebrated blues highway, is all Mississippi! Amid work from some of the state's most reputable artists, creativity is always a brewing at Highway 61 Coffeehouse, as seen from the many coffee-inspired haikus penned by regulars and baristas. On Thursday nights, things really heat up when a mixed crowd gathers for the free live music. And just when the beats couldn't get any groovier, folks bring their own percussion instruments and hold court over coffee drinks and a drumming!

  The Bean Counter, 219 South Court Street, Cleveland, (662) 846-5282. Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Mockingbird Bakery, 325 Howard Street, Greenwood, (662) 453-9927. Monday-Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

  The Regent Coffeehouse & Cafe, 108 Court Avenue, Indianola, (662) 887-8010. Monday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The Delta Grind, 1776 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Greenville, (662) 335-9229. Monday-Friday, 7 to 8; Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

  The Chocolate Derby, 1309 Washington Street, Vicksburg, (601) 634-0808. Monday-Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

  Highway 61 Coffeehouse, 1101 Washington Street, Vicksburg, (601) 638-9221. Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. DM