Coffee, like yelling at the cat, thinking about motorcycles, and setting fire to the neighbor's wicker man, is vital to starting each day. Inaugurate the a.m. with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of fresh roasted coffee, fine teas, and more at Baltimore Coffee & Tea Company, with locations in Timonium, Annapolis, and Frederick. This Groupon is good for drinks only.

Each day, the Timonium and Frederick branches brew eight different types of coffee (Annapolis brews six per day), mining from the Baltimore Coffee & Tea Company's coffee reserve, a treasure cove of 120 different varieties of beans. Types of coffee ($1.60 for 12 oz.) are offered on rotating basis, with flavors such as coconut cream and pumpkin spice introducing new aromas to bored taste buds, as well as Swiss Water–decaffeinated varieties for those that love the taste of coffee but find themselves inadvertently building a shrine to Grease after two cups of regular joe. Introduce yourself to the well-crafted wares of Mother Earth with a cup of tea ($1.95 for 20 oz.)—the shop features more than 1,000 kinds of leaves for consumption, from medicinal herb tea to an Eastern Shore variety—or go full throttle with an espresso concoction ($1.50–$4.25).

Socially conscious caffeine-obtainers who build their own coffee plantations in their attic can ask the friendly, forthcoming staff to help choose from the shop's fair-trade coffee beans, while non-artificial drinkers can order brews that are as organic as they are. Log on to each café's free WiFi, enjoy a warm evening outside at the Annapolis or Frederick branch, or choose a nighttime tea so you can catch some shut-eye.

Reviews

The Baltimore Coffee and Tea Company logo made its way into the filming of the 2009 flick He's Just Not That Into You, according to a Baltimore Sun column and Baltimore Magazine roundtable article. Meanwhile, Style magazine's Town Talk blog calls it "local perfection":

• If you’ve ever been to Paris, you know what a great tea shop is—and this is a great tea shop. And coffee shop. And ice cream shop. And sandwich and pastry shop. And gift shop. It really has everything—including tables in which to enjoy the fare, and an amicable staff. – Sarah Gilbert Fox, Style

Yelpers give an average of 4.5 stars, 81% of Urbanspooners like the Timonium location of Baltimore Coffee and Tea Company, and four Yelpers give a 3.5-star average to the Annapolis location:

• I have had both coffee and tea here, and they were all good. Everyone here was very helpful… – Christine C., Yelp