I love making lists, and I spent much of this year heavily caffeinated in Washington DC coffee shops, so this post was a long time coming. Now I never intended to do a comprehensive survey of DC coffee shops and so there are plenty of great spots that I never visited. While I've been to enough awesome coffeeshops to be able to make a list of the top 10, keep in mind that this selection is rather arbitrary (though the top 5 are hard to beat). Also I'm rating them based on the quality of the coffee/drinks (good food is a bonus), the price of the coffee/drinks, the decor, the quality and availability of space (and plugs), hours, the convenience to public transportation from places I would be and how nice the people treated me. If those criteria seem off and self-centered, it's cause they are, and if that bothers you, get your own blog (or spend an hour on Yelp).
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Quartermaine Coffee
This coffeeshop on a main drag in Bethesda, MD is fantastic. The interior was sleek and well-designed and the coffee was legit, with a bunch of Ethiopian and Kenyan beans if I recall correctly. However this place is too far out of my general scope to really be considered.
First Cup Cafe
Across the street from my summer living and on the way to the metro, First Cup Cafe lived up to its name many mornings on my way to the Census Bureau. The Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese bagel was $4.00 at the beginning of the summer and $4.50 at the end of it.
Saxby's Georgetown
I have almost certainly bought more drinks (and occasional yogurt) at this coffeeshop than any other in the world. With a Saxby's Card, every 10 drinks brings me a free frolatte, and I've gotten 3 of those, which are awesome. But my prevalence at Saxby's was one of convenience more than anything else, and there is almost never a free seat.
Midnight Mug
The oasis of Lauinger provided me refuge and fuel during many long nights. The ever-changing decor of student photos and campus advertising really set an ideal college atmosphere. Definitely my favorite of the Corp locations, you can't really compare Midnight Mug with any of these other coffeeshops.
Midnight Mug
The oasis of Lauinger provided me refuge and fuel during many long nights. The ever-changing decor of student photos and campus advertising really set an ideal college atmosphere. Definitely my favorite of the Corp locations, you can't really compare Midnight Mug with any of these other coffeeshops.
Tryst
I haven't spent very much time in this Adams Morgan locale, that flows from coffeeshop to bar better than any other place I know. It's a great place to chat and meetup, but the location was never convenient for me.
Also, no chain stores are mentioned here. I've spent a lot of time at a lot of Starbucks and Caribous (and Saxby's is also a chain) and I know which locations are better, but it's not worth mentioning.
10. Bean Good: The Coffee Pub
Formerly Greenberry's, this little outlet next to Ray's Hell Burger and Pho 75 (one of my favorite stretches in the DC metro area) is perhaps the least known place on this list. The only Virginia joint here, I discovered it by accident while lunching at its aforementioned neighbors. I soon made weekly trips to this stretch, and enjoyed the independent, sustainable environment and ample space. The coffee is so-so and the location is a fair walk from Rosslyn and Courthouse. But they also serve gelato, nice dessert pastries, and are a good wealth of information about local events.
9. Java House
This was a pretty random find on the East side of Dupont Circle. The coffee is good and cheap, with a focus on beans. Their mocha is good and $3.85, which looks like a misprint in Dupont. The place is pretty small but still features a gigantic antique brewing machine. Granted I visited it in the early afternoon, that awkward time when clients are either unemployed, telecommuters or math graduate students, but Java House was awkwardly devoid of any atmosphere.
8. Peregrine Espresso
Peregrine in Eastern Market came with a bit of hype, but I just found it ok. It's clear they take their coffee seriously, and they put the whole flower design on their special drinks, but the mocha I had was nothing special. Everything was pricey though and I didn't find anything notable about the decor, drink variety or setting. The service is great though, the neighborhood is awesome, and apparently they even have a unique bicycle delivery service.
7. Ebenezer's
My neighborhood coffeeshop in Capitol Hill was a good one. The coffeehouse is run by the National Community Church and they serve their fair-trade coffee with subtle religious undertones (I think it's in the Christian rock music). It's cute how they print wireless passwords on the receipts, and they make killer iced mint mochas. The building is definitely the oldest building on this list, dating to 1908 when it served hungry passerbys coming to and fro nearby Union Station. They also have a TV constantly showing sports, and open mic events. Not always great for seating, but conversely, not a bad place to pick up dates.
6. Big Bear Cafe
Disclaimer: I'm currently writing this blog post at Big Bear. After strong reviews from Kerry Burke, I decided to visit. A strong neighborhood presence in Bloomingdale, perhaps on its way to becoming the Williamsburg of DC, struck me as BBC's defining characteristic. Not particularly metro-accessible, it's location had never proved useful to me. However it's relative isolation allows it to really serve a community, where it combines the roles of coffeehouse, cafe and bar better than any other establishment on this list. Having only had a couple bites of Kerry's "porta nozzle pesto" sandwich and soup, I'm nonetheless also ready to declare BBC's food supreme in this list. It's decoration was also intriguing, somehow giving off both Parisian and utilitarian vibes. However for my purposes, Big Bear Cafe is just #6 as a coffeeshop.
5. Soho Coffee & Tea
This Dupont Circle establishment, located on the road to Georgetown, saw a lot of me this past semester. It's address could not have been more convenient, and there was always seating. Combine this with Soho's hours (til midnight on weekdays!) and when I really needed to do work, there was absolutely nowhere more reliable than Soho. The coffee was fine, served in jars if you're staying inside, and the menu includes Stella on tap and breakfast all night long. The service is super friendly to the extent that my lost notebook and iPhone spent some time with the staff before safely returning to me, and that at least two gay servers made exploratory moves on me. Yes Soho is a unique place, not the least because simulated horse races are constantly running on TV screens, where you can apparently actually place legal wagers on these CGI horses. A couple times I was also present when at around 8pm, a large group of people convened and started playing some large board game. Perhaps Soho ranks #1 on this list for people-watching or chance of an unexpected adventure. Unfortunately it ranks dead last in prices, where it gives the full Dupont treatment. If $2.90 for a small coffee and $7 for a tuna melt drive you crazy, then Soho isn't for you. But if you're looking for a place to play Risk or can't wait for the Kentucky Derby to come back, then check out Soho Coffee & Tea.
4. Baked and Wired
Baked and Wired is now best known as "the real best place to get cupcakes in Georgetown" which I think actually draws away from its real appeal. Yes their solid mounds of cupcake will apparate you to sugar nirvana, but if you venture past the frosting, Baked and Wired's backroom represents what coffeeshops are about. The sticky notes on the wall, the travel pictures, the public library and the chalkboard with friendly customer messages in a half dozen languages - this is the original point of bringing people together under one roof over a cup of coffee. Plus they recently added Vietnamese Coffee to their menu (!!!!), although it wasn't quite legit. Lastly, Baked & Wired has the best name here and play it up, printing out lots of paraphernalia encouraging you to "Get Baked." While I don't condone the drug use they imply, and perhaps paraphernalia was a poor word choice, I definitely condone puns and Baked & Wired. Really the only reason this is #4 on my list is because it's a bit too hectic, and it's location, at an awkward no-man's land on the fringes of Georgetown's M Street, only allowed me a few visits over the year.
3. Chinatown Coffee
It's name implies that it might have something to do with Chinatown, but anything Chinese about Chinatown ends about a block before Chinatown Coffee. So don't be surprised to walk in here and wonder if you somehow stumbled into Harvard Square or San Francisco. I don't know what it is but you can tell this place just breathes liberal ideas. Chinatown Coffee isn't particularly fancy, but it somehow provides reasonable and eclectic offerings including French press coffee, hand drip coffee, absinthe, and cupcakes (cause why not?). The place is narrow, giving off the flair of an art gallery, but is deceptively spacious. I'm having trouble explaining why I like this place so much, maybe absinthe is enough right there, but I do. It's awesome.
2. Sidamo
All the coffeeshops here are unique, but Sidamo is completely unlike every other place on this list. It completely fails on some of my criteria: the place is tiny and seats are harder to come by than original Ke$ha songs. Though it was just 5 blocks from my Capitol Hill residence, it's not easy to get to - it seems half of DC don't even know the H Street corridor exists. I'd call this place a whole in the wall, but a giant teapot actually sticks out into the street from the wall. But once you taste the coffee, ANY of the coffee, you'll realize what a wonder this innocuous little place has been hiding. Sidamo is the name of a province in Ethiopia which is incidentally where coffee comes from. One sip and you'll realize that Ethiopians are centuries ahead of the Western world in their knowledge of coffee. All their drinks are good, from the simple coffee (bunch of varieties) to the mocha to the chai leben - the only disappointments are the coffee-less fruit smoothies. Sidamo also has a weekly Ethiopian coffee ceremony on Sundays, pictured here, which involved deep brewing and strong aromas generously offered to all patrons. Sidamo doesn't offer fast service or even good hours, but they offer the best coffee in town and that's plenty right there.
1. Pound the Hill
Eastern Market is the type of neighborhood that will go out of its way to support a coffeeshop, so it's no surprise that the best coffeeshop in DC is located there. Pound the Hill finds itself at #1 here because it is the closest thing I have found to the coffeeshop I hope to someday found. My first impression was a great one, being blasted with real brick walls and Nutella Latte highlighted on the menu. The drinks are all terrific, including the shakes, and frequently feature global specialities, such as Mexican Horchata. The food menu is also similarly well traveled, including portobello goat cheese sandwiches, curry chicken and quesadillas. The staff had already adopted iPads to handle transactions (you sign for your credit card right on the touchpad) and were super awesome. The seating varies from these little solo tables in the main room to more comfortable lounging in a book room to outdoor seating. The place may lack a sense of togetherness, as there is no real "common room" space, but I knew I had found a winner when I arrived during final exams. No tables were free, but someone reading a book looked up and realized my plight, and politely offered to move from his table to a chair. It's as great an atmosphere as you can create, which is really the hardest part about running a coffeeshop. Plus, they have Nutella! Pound the Hill is the best of a great bunch of coffeeshops around our nation's little capital.
