I’m very much in favor of this. It’s a bit deflating to go into a beautiful coffee shop to find it filled with people on their laptops, making you think you’ve wandered into a library. I’m not one to chat up strangers in cafes (baristas excluded), but I’d rather be around a conversational buzz than quietude interrupted by fingertips dancing across keyboards.
I wanted to do a deep dive on third wave coffee shops in a DC neighborhood, so I picked Georgetown. I didn’t need provisions or a boarding pass for this one, as I can leave home and be at any of these places within 20 minutes. That is, depending on traffic, which is a big caveat.
Continue readingLast week the founders of Sprudge, a coffee website* that would be a much better use of your time than reading my drivel, released a book called The New Rules of Coffee.
* they call it “Sprudge Media Network,” but to be honest it sure looks like a website to me
On a bucolic commercial block in the DC suburbs which just screams small-town American goodness, you’ll find Takoma Beverage Company, otherwise known as Takoma Bev Co. This shop has quickly become a mainstay of Takoma Park, MD, a progressive, funky town hard by the DC line.
See my Denver field report
Not to be confused with Crema, the coffee and gelato shop in Jersey City, NJ, also found in my directory.
Located in the RiNo district, across the street from ink! Coffee’s flagship outlet. They may not be for everyone, but I found the building and interior beautiful. The black painted exterior is softened by yellow painted artwork and a shock of light blue with red accents around one of the entrances, and two huge windows that brighten one of the mishmash of rooms in this large space covering two separate storefronts which have been opened up. There’s also an eclectic mix of interesting artwork and decoration.
See my Denver field report
Pablo’s has been around forever and was on the vanguard of Denver’s coffee scene. It’s pretty clear from their website that these people are serious about their coffee, but the feeling in the cafe is a very accessible neighborhood joint.
See my Denver field report
A long-time staple of the coffee scene in Boulder, the beautiful college town 30 miles away from Denver, Ozo operates 4 outlets which include this cafe on the main retail and restaurant street downtown.
See my Denver field report
Another Denver roaster and cafe operator, their original cafe on N. Pecos in the Sunnyside neighborhood is revered (and definitely on my list for my next trip). I visited the newer outlet, a stand-alone inside the Dairy Block complex in LoDo.
There’s some kind of secret law that coffee shops must be designed to an industrial-chic aesthetic, with those in urban areas required to install a glass-paneled garage door to the sidewalk.
…… they’re just not for me.