Two years ago I found myself back in contact with my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Joe, whom I hadn’t spoken to in 22 years.  When Nancy found out that we travelled to New England every summer she insisted that we would LOVE Cape Cod, where she and Joe had retired, and she encouraged us to visit.  Stephanie had always wanted to travel there anyway, so I knew it was just a matter of time.

Now fast forward two years…

We finally reconnected with Nancy and Joe, and another aunt, and two cousins!  It really was quite lovely.  It turns out that Nancy and Joe only live a mile from Atlantic Oaks Campground, where we stayed.  But my family history is not the point of this post.  So why do I bring up Aunt Nancy here?  Because she became our aider, abettor, and accomplice for all things Cape Cod.  And everyone needs a family travel insider on a destination as crowded and complicated as the Cape, don’t they?

She wrote up a magical list of places for us to visit that was perfect for our family.  We didn’t make it to half of them, but you better believe that we did made it to Beanstock Coffee’s roasting facility, which happens to be tucked away on a quiet, and mildly industrial street, less than a mile away from our campground.

Better yet, it was easily reachable via the Cape Cod Bike Trail, which is directly connected to Atlantic Oaks.  When I asked Nancy if there was good coffee on the Cape she told me that Beanstock was “within sniffing distance” of our campground, and she was right.

The first thing that you need to know about Beanstock’s facility in Eastham is that it is decidedly not a coffee shop.  It is a small warehouse on a dead end street with zero foot traffic.  They roast their coffee there and ship it all over New England.  But they also sell it by the bag, have a full range of coffees, and are sooooo well stocked.  You should also know that you can’t actually buy a cup of coffee there.  But you can pour yourself a free one at a charming little station next to a shelf full of coffee related gifts.

During our week on Cape Cod we stopped by several times and sampled a wide variety of Beanstock’s delightful coffees.  Stephanie loved the Bali Blue Moon Organic, and I loved the Wellfleet Blend and their Organic Guatemalan.  Though my uncle is devoted to the Black Fish Creek Blend, I found it too dark and robust for my taste.

Free coffee by the cup? Fresh roasted beans from the world over?  Creative blends named after Cape Cod locales? No one there but me and the roasters?  And a short bike ride back to the campground to share the booty?  What a perfect way to start a summer day on Cape Cod.  But we learned quickly that there are many perfect summer days on Cape Cod, and many ways to start them.  You just need to find yourself an aunty to make you a magic list.

Onward.