If you want to curl up on secondhand couches with third-rate artwork perched on the walls of the ersatz alcoves around you, check out one of the seven (soon to be nine, if the new zoning laws go through) cookie-cutter coffee joints located within a hundred yards of your home. But if you want all the imported coffee you can drink for a buck and a half, meet us at Coffee News Café, located three doors down from the old Hungry Mind space in the Mac-Groveland neighborhood. We're talking Kenya AA, Nicaraguan fair trade, and Colombian decaf (the three options at our last visit) at Folgers prices. And while you're at it, order up an El Gordo breakfast burrito, a puffed pancake with sautéed apples, or a basil scrambler with tomato and Parmesan cheese, just three of the delectable morning repasts available at CNC. We hear that their lunches are also distinguished, while others hanker for their four-layer, six-inch-high carrot and chocolate cakes before the 10:00 p.m. closing. But let's keep our eyes on the prize here, which is cheap, quality java. Peddling and imbibing sublime caffeine at such an exquisite value must be why the waitstaff and clientele seem to exude such an appealing blend of just-folks amiability and erudition.