The go-to for great coffee beans, many city roasted (medium) to reveal more flavor than dark roasts. Oren's team trots the globe, seeking new crops. They reject the sub par: better out than burned.
Top notch microbrews+longish lines mark Joe The Art of Coffee, which sits on a coffee fault line 3 avenues west of Oren's Waverly Pl. shop. Relax at the handful of tables w/Joe's offer of newspapers.
Think's single origin coffee beans are a highlight of this new 8th Avenue coffee shop. Sample the single origin coffees, among others, here at Friday tastings. The soundtrack is eclectic and fun.
Cup a taste of the seasonal house blend of Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico coffee, to welcome 2012. Apple and chocolate flavors come to the fore. The GCT Joe stand serves a taste in a ceramic espresso cup.
Shiny red ceramic cones, paper filters, and a single-hole pour over create excellent coffee at the single-origin drip bar. The space is loft-like, with a profusion of digital toys and analog accents.
Where have all the Euros gone? Try Nespresso in Soho, where sampling the 16 Grand Crus is like a wine flight. The 3.75 oz. lungo shots are distinctive. Two chocolates accompany each cup.
3 visits in 12 days showed a cup of Kenya Chemex drip as superior to namesake espresso (Rustico's still a fine drink). Kenya Ndaroini flavors ran to orange & burnt sugar with cedar & cherry aromatics.
Third Rail owner Humberto Ricardo waxes romantic about this new East Village coffee shop's view. But Stumptown Costa Rica & Guatemala coffees starred in early visits — chocolatey, fruity, syrupy.
The Costa Rica Herbatzu [Stumptown], single-origin, Chemex drip coffee is well above average. So is the price, at $3.75 for a 12 ounce cup, freshly ground per order. A 1960s soundtrack was memorable.
The hustle & bustle of Caffe Lavazza belies the fine, labor intensive espresso served. Lavazza's Top Class espresso tastes like cherry, chocolate, tobacco, & spice — lots flavor packed into a doppio.
House coffee is a winner at 2 Irving Farm purveyors. IF's Grammercy house is a fruity, woody Blue Batak Sumatran. IF's lively Capucas Honduras is on tap at New Museum's Birdbath, the best in 3 visits.
Coffee with ceremony produces a clean, clear cup at the siphon bar in Blue Bottle's Chelsea branch. The slow tech recalls chem class. Light, floral flavors come to the fore in Rwandan siphon coffee.
Baristas solve the puzzle of this cafe sans coffee list. "They're all blends," one said. Corsica is the rich house brew, Nizza, espresso. Extras: ceramic mugs, silver spoons, glass of water 3 ways.
Best hang of Think's 5-shop mini-chain. Each cafe has a different design + ambience. On Mercer Street, it's roomy; seating includes sofas w/coffee tables + banquettes. Wi-Fi. (Orig. review 10/23/11)
Italian roast beans do double duty for all drip brew and espresso drinks. Jack's coffee reveals surprising flavor for dark roast: cinnamon, cocoa, a light nuttiness and toasty mouth feel.
Ethiopian Tuktant coffee was a pleasant surprise after an undistinguished cup of Three Africans, two days earlier in May 2012. Knowledgeable baristas man a pour-over bar. Funky music. Eclectic crowd.
Woody environs complement the solid cup of Intelligentsia Ground Support dark roast. Benches, tree-stump and wood-trunk tables dot the cafe, with stacks of Nat Geos nearby. (Orig. review 11/28/12.)
Notice the coffee tastes different? Spring 2012 brought George Howell Costa Rica coffee to E&C. A citrusy, clean, medium body cup has replaced syrupy Sumatra. It's pricey at $3.75, but still endless.
'wichcraft house blend from La Colombe is on tap — a spicy, winey, woody tasting brew. Dark roasting the LC Americas beans hasn't obliterated flavor. A late day coffee happy hour is on, 4 pm-6 pm.
Clean, flavorful cups of George Howell coffee are on tap at neighborhood stalwart NoHo Star. Pricy at north of $3 a cup, yes, but refills are forthcoming. On the coffee list in Summer 2013: Brazil.
Danny Meyer's Untitled cafe at the Whitney Museum isn't a coffee shop per se, but it's serving up one of life's fading niceties: the bottomless cup of coffee. It's a Stumptown custom blend, nutty+dry.
Entering Grey Dog's rough-hewn cafe is like stepping back in time, but recently added, spicy, robust Bongo Java coffee brings one into the now. The seldom seen bottlomless cup lives on, here.
Consistent coffee quality, courteous staff, free Wi-Fi, and the availability of seats in this busy spot, lift the Astor Place Starbucks above average. The DJ, real or bot, isn't bad either.
A smooth, medium-body house blend of South American+African coffee's served at this small cafe, 1 block from Starbucks. It's just $1.50 for a 10 oz. cup, spicy on the finish. [Original review 3/2012.]
Porto Rico's Tokyo Blend (cocoa notes) is a winner at new-in-the-East-Village coffee/sake bar Hi-Collar. Flavor is hit or miss in daily coffees. At $1.25 a Bunn drip cup, the price is still right.
Roasted by White Coffee, Junior's Brooklyn Blend satisfies. It calls to mind La Colombe Corsica coffee & rich Porto Rico roasts. JBB arabica beans are Central & South American. Cups are bottomless.
The Porto Rico organic coffee Brad's serves stands out from the solid, everyday fare at the cafe. It's worth a stop for coffee hounds and news hounds, who can catch news+sports via ticker+flatscreens.
Brad's new French Sumatra is a free trade, organic brew from local roaster Porto Rico. This house coffee's burnt cherry and tobacco flavor is fine, but less memorable than the La Colombe once served.
RPC grinds coffee beans fresh per cup ordered. The beans whir to a grinder via pneumatic tubes overhead. The choices are mind numbing, but the brew has turned weak and watery. (Orig. review 10/21/11.)
