Months ago, locked in a heated debate with a friend, I made a bombastic claim. I insisted that Zingerman’s coffee was the best in Ann Arbor and was willing to fork over the cold hard cash necessary to buy my opponent’s cup and prove it to him. But the guy I was arguing with (you know who you are) put me in my place.

After this argument came my first encounter with Comet Coffee, and I have been inflating this hole-in-the-wall shop’s oral history with my personal anecdotes ever since. My roommates can’t get me to shut up about it. The only way I get them to stop nagging me is by taking them over there one by one and proving what once had to be proved to me. Comet's coffee is infallible.

Excepting a brief experimental foray into not drinking caffeine my freshman year, I am a confirmed coffee lover. I drink a good old cup of joe just about every day, sometimes twice. Yes, I’m not ashamed to say that I spend most of my time and money in Ann Arbor’s coffee shops — or did — until I met Comet.

This sudden decrease in hanging out in coffee shops may be a function of the lack of seating in Comet (there are two tables and they’re almost always full), but there’s more to it than that. Drinking Comet makes you want go out and do things. There’s no nonsense — just a solid cup of coffee and the promise that with brew in hand you’re about to go places, because, no, you can’t sit down. There are no chairs inside.

Perhaps it's the sea-foam green walls that remind me slightly of my old room at home, or the feeling you get that the metal instruments making your coffee could easily be employed in the Natural Science building a few blocks away. There’s just something both inclusive and experimental about Comet Coffee's process. The bar is lower to the ground, so curious connoisseurs can sneak a peek at what’s really going down. Haters can mock the rotating global coffee flavors, the faux-European/semi-retro ambiance or even the faux-hawks of the baristas, but I love it and you should too, because, my goodness, it’s the best cup to be had for miles around.

Every cup is rich and robust, perfectly accompanied by the creamy consistency of milk if you’ve got your sights set on a latte. Not your speed? Go for it black. There’s a list of the different blends posted just right of the register. Regular drip coffee, French press and espresso-based drinks color Comet’s ever-rotating menu. This is not the place for you if frappuccinos or other blended drinks posing as coffee are your fancy. Comet's snack repertoire, also light, features pastries, croissants and muffins, punctuated by a few foreign finds. Go for alfajores, a Chilean treat featuring two biscuits joined together with dulce de leche and dipped in Belgian chocolate. Yum.

But don’t let me distract you — the coffee is the main event. What you’re paying for at Comet is tender loving care, brought to you in java form. It’s art. There’s the sweeping motion of the elbow as the barista pours the contents of a stainless steel pot into your cup, topping it all off with a few well-placed flicks of the wrist to create a design in your foam, be it a leaf, flower or heart.

But just because they’re artists at Comet doesn’t mean they’re elitists. I once went in there to find the guy in front of me in line wearing no shoes. There was minimal acknowledgment of it, and when I asked him why he wasn’t wearing shoes, he simply responded that he’d forgotten. The attitude is laid-back; Comet's employees take their time and make it right. So no, Comet is probably not the right spot for you to grab a quick cup if you’re trying to make your class by Michigan time and it’s already three minutes past. But come after class and they’ll be happy to see you, even if you’re barefoot.