by Dave Lyon on January 8, 2012

Code and Coffee is a weekly event that several of us at Hashrocket Chicago have been attending regularly since it started this past summer, and are now starting up in Jacksonville Beach. It takes place every week on Tuesday morning at 7am.

For Jacksonville, see: http://www.meetup.com/jax-code-and-coffee

For Chicago, follow Dave Lyon or Mike Busch on Twitter, or just stop by the Starbucks at Chicago and Franklin 7am on Tuesday.

Originating in Columbus, OH, Code and Coffee was brought to Chicago by Mike Busch, and to Jacksonville Beach by Rocketeer Paul Elliott

Code and Coffee, as the name implies, is mostly about coding and drinking coffee. An alternative to after work meetups, Code and Coffee works out well for people with evening commitments who still want to get together with fellow coders and discuss their craft.

The activities on a given day are as varied as the people in attendance. Sometimes there are discussions of new programming techniques and ideas. If you need help, there's always someone willing to pair with you or teach you something. In general, it's a meetup to practice, learn and grow as a developer.

Anyone and everyone. There are no requirements to attend, and no specific language or skill set targeted.

Here are some quotes from Rocketeers that have attended:

"[I love that I] can always go there for some quick discussion about code or to see what people are working on at the time."

-- Aaron Kalin

"As a dad, I can't make it to many after work community events. Having an early morning hack time set aside is great for this family man."

-- Brian Dunn

"I made the mistake of coming to code and coffee the first time without my laptop. Luckily it's as much about people as it is code!"

-- Stephen Caudill

"I like both code and coffee"

-- Josh Davey

Not to worry! There might be a Code and Coffee near you. Check out http://codeandcoffee.info to see if there is one near you!