LOVELAND - It was Super Bowl Sunday, and perhaps one of the only groups gathering not to take in beer and pretzels and football was drumming it up at Java Lounge.

It was a drum circle hosted by Carla Weston, I learned later.

I took a closer look at this intimate setting Wednesday morning and tried out the breakfast menu.

The Java Lounge is not just a coffeeshop. It's a cyber café connected to the newly opened dellnova Gallery (find out more about the dellanova Gallery in today's Life section).

Paying homage to my college coffee roots, I put them to the ultimate test: "I'll have a double latte with half a shot of crème de menthe and a half a shot of cherry ($2.75 + $.50 for flavor shot)."

When I noticed the small basket of candy canes left over from Christmas as the woman behind the counter stirred my froth, I knew luck would be on her side.

Because that's what it was called. The Candy Cane Latte. My ultimate test to every coffee joint ever. They must have crème de menthe. Not just peppermint syrup. They must have the right sort of cherry syrup. Not the type that makes only a fruity Italian soda.

I had sampled my first candy cane latte some seven years ago at the now-defunct Jitters Internet Café in Denver's lower downtown. Served in the exact same glass as my college hangout, it was a trip down memory lane. The Java Lounge coffee buffs made it just right.

I strolled through the café noticing the intimate home-like setting. Doors standing alone to separate "rooms" with different tables, lamps, books and a keyboard. The coffeehouse was like none other I've ever been in. There were study areas, a television area, lounging areas.

A large table appropriate for a party of coffee lovers is there. And of course, the cyber connection area.

Not one to attend psychic readings, I picked up a deck of "Healing With the Angels" oracle cards and laid out my fortune. Cards: Freedom, Signs, Forgiveness, and Serenity. Anyone with an interpretation of that can call me.

I ordered the breakfast quiche special ($4.25) and a scoop of Walrus cotton candy ice cream ($1 a scoop).

"She wants ice cream for breakfast," someone at the end of the coffee bar said.

Surveying the menu, I noticed something else: "You guys sell Niagara ($4.25)?"

"Mmm Hmm," she said as she poured my glass of complicated latte with whipped cream. "Niagara for breakfast?"

"No, that's okay," I said.

"How'd you discover this place," asked Larry, a customer who was reclining in a seemingly comfortable chair in one of the "rooms" with Josh, both regulars, both reading the newspapers before starting their work days.

"I was walking by Super Bowl Sunday and saw the drumming circle," I replied, to which they both chuckled. It's a popular thing, apparently. The shop hosts open mic night on Wednesdays and guest chefs on late Saturday afternoons, among other things.

I'd expected a pie slice of quiche thrown onto a small tea plate. Instead, it was served on a large plate with an assortment of fresh tangerine, orange, apple and pear slices and was carefully placed between four slices of hot buttered toast.

The scrambled egg inside was delicious, with bits of red pepper, green chili and spinach leaves sparingly and well placed to give the eggs an adventurous quiche edge. The fruit slices were perfect sides for the morning.

They served up my ice cream in a lime green frosted glass that looked like it was straight from a soda fountain shop. Fellow customers called me "adventuresome" for ice cream at 9 a.m. The cotton candy ice cream left that crunchy sugar carnival feel that cotton candy gives. Minus the sticky fingers. The small shop offers an environment worth making the trip for, along with a classic selection. It's a great escape from the everyday and a place I'll return for a long, rainy spring day to try something off the lunch menu, too.

Anna Maria Basquez is arts and entertainment reporter at the Coloradoan. Reach her at AnnaBasquezcoloradoan.