I didn't know good coffee existed outside of Starbucks, and store bought Lavazza from WholeFoods, until the fateful morning, when I had an iced coffee at Jacks Stirbrew Coffee shop in Amagansett.
I later found out that Jacks has two locations in Manhattan - making it a lot easier for this Jersey girl to get her coffee fix.
With this new knowledge, knowing I could never go back to Starbucks, I perused the internet, searching article after article for the best reviews on coffee in Manhattan and came across this which I use to navigate around:
Great article on coffee shops in NYC.
From the Beastie Boys website:
"i like Joe’s , Jack’s, Gimme, Abraco,La Colombe, and Stumptown a lot and love that we have those options here in NYC."
From coffee, I began finding a whole new art form - not just in flavors, but in appearance.
After getting my simple black coffee from Stumptown in my to-go cup, I looked over as the next customer was served a cappuccino, where the barista had painted an intricate leaf in the foam.
It's amazing what people can do with Latte Art.
And thus began my search for the best coffee/espresso/cappuccino. At the top of my list:
1. Jacks - love the feel of all three coffee shops - definitely how I would picture a coffee shop to be, hands down best iced coffee.
2. Abraco - it's well worth the squeeze into this tiny East Village shop for what I would consider the best cappuccino I have ever tasted. The espresso was dark and nutty and the foam was the perfect thickness and consistency.
3. Stumptown - I love the location, I love the ambiance, love the lounge in the Ace Hotel. Love the amber glass apothecary jar, which I double parked to get, and continue to reuse. My cousin says Stumptown NYC outdoes Stumptown Oregon. And if you can make it out to Stumptown RedHook where they teach you various brewing methods and let you try the different coffee beans - Stumptown defnitely wins brownie points for that one. And the baristas? All awesome, knowledgeable, and super friendly.
Others I've tried:
1. Nineth Street Espresso, Chelsea Market - watered down. The latte was surprisingly stronger than the cappuccino.
2. La Colombe, Lafayette Street - The cafe was minimalist with high ceilings that gave the experience a cold feeling.
1 comment:
I gotta say...I'm not sure what it was, maybe just the combination of being in the Hampies, the clean crisp ocean air, and most likely really NEEDING a good cup of coffee at that moment, but I swear...that might have been the single best coffee I've ever had the pleasure of tasting ! I was like, what is this ?? Wow ! Remember ? It blew us away, right ? Hmmm. Can't wait to do THAT again :)
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