Carly Chamberlin/The Ithacan ITHACA RESIDENT Matthew K. Smith gets his daily cup of Joe from sophomore Lauren Kipp at Juna’s Café on The Commons Monday night.

Many college students, if they aren’t coffee drinkers coming into college, become coffee drinkers out of necessity to make it through that first all-nighter. Coffee has become a necessary element of the college town, with no downtown complete without half a dozen coffeehouses. Ithaca is no exception; it has its fair share of java joints, ranging in quality from stellar to sub-par.

ABC Café ´´1/2

The ABC Café is one of Ithaca’s classic coffeehouses, with a bit of a down-to-earth twist. The chalk-smeared menu and simple decor makes the café a laid-back hangout compared to the more snazzy coffeehouses in Collegetown proper.

The atmosphere, unfortunately, does not make up for the disappointing coffee. With organic and Equal Exchange beans in their brewers, they pump out only the bare minimum of coffeehouse fare. ABC’s drinks — boring lattes and café mochas that aren’t chocolatey enough — come up short for the most part.

ABC’s saving grace is the Moltov, a unique combination of Ithaca Chai and a shot of espresso. Trying to order it proved a challenge, however, as the barrista didn’t recognize the name of the drink and needed an explanation of what was involved.

Despite an interesting combination or two, ABC’s coffee is bland and unoriginal.

Collegetown Bagels on The Commons ´

In an attempt to flesh out their coffeehouse image, Collegetown Bagels has augmented its bagel and sandwich menu with a standard selection of coffee and espresso drinks. But the result is the coffee comes off as simply a side note.

Brewing Equal Exchange and Paul de Lima beans, the coffee is, at best, standard fare. In fact, the best drink on the menu is the Vanilla Latte, but only because it has enough added flavoring to beef up the bland coffee. The only drinks worth having are those with enough added flavoring to mask the taste of the lousy coffee.

The bottom line for Collegetown’s coffee? They should stick to bagels.

Juna’s Café ´´´

Realizing when to let the coffee stand on its own and when to bolster it with added flavors is a skill that not enough barristas have mastered. The behind-the-counter staff of Juna’s Café, however, have it down.

The straight espresso drinks, like the espresso con panna, are rich and flavorful, and the flavored lattes are delicately mixed, keeping the added flavors from overwhelming the coffee itself. Freedom of Espresso and gimme! coffees provide these creative concoctions with smooth, bold flavors.

If its customers don’t get enough of the rich coffees while sitting in the café, they can get beans to go. Deep Disco, a deep, dark roast, is especially good, even in a doggie bag.

Juna’s atmosphere is another big draw for the café. With an upstairs seating area and a big front window that opens onto The Commons, the café is an inviting place to grab a good cuppa coffee.

Stella’s ´´´1/2

Within spitting distance of Cornell, Stella’s Bar provides a classy place for a martini or a meal. The café is Clark Kent to the Bar’s Superman. Stella’s café section nestles next door, a dark, cozy retreat for Ithaca coffee drinkers.

Stella’s drink menu is large and inventive; one could go every day for a month and never have the same drink twice. With drinks like the Tasteful Hedonist and the Sweet Hereafter, perusing the menu is as amusing as it is mouthwatering.

Providing even further variety is the Generation X, not as much a drink as it is a risk. To order a Generation X is to put your taste buds in the capable hands of the barristas. With a confident smile, they make you whatever they think will suit your fancy. As the last line of the menu entry says: “Trust is crucial.”

In addition to the expertly crafted coffee and espresso drinks, Stella’s atmosphere makes it the perfect spot for a cup of java. Although a bit cramped, the space is used well, filled with worn wooden tables and tired leather chairs. Students with their pint glass lattes sit and pore over books and notes or chat with friends.