I don’t often read my own newsletter after publishing, but I showed it to someone last week and realize it looks a lot better if you click the “Read in App” button on mobile. Click it!
Also, I thought about what the “perfect” newsletter would look like.
I realized [good week for realizations] if this truly was the best newsletter you’ve ever read, I wouldn’t need any silly non-word-of-mouth marketing to skyrocket the reader count to the high 10,000’s. I’m sorry for misleading you in previous issues.
However, this issue, for sure:
Welcome to the best Newsletter on Earth!
Just kidding. Substack is too limiting1. It’s like trying to paint the Sistine Chapel with a sticks, spit, and a wish, as they say2. I’m also not Michelangelo…but listen, you came here for coffee, not waffling.
This week’s coffee shop spotlight!
This week, we’re featuring Young Coffee in East Williamsburg/Bushwick. They opened as a clothing store/variety store in October, and recently added a coffee arm. They aren’t doing espresso, just drip, iced, and cold brew. I got a regular hot coffee with some friends, and we sat at the table outside and had a wonderful conversation about the 80’s North Fork [Long Island] club scene.
As I put a different type of white powder into my drink, along with some oat milk, I thought about buying a tote bag, or a pinstripe artist’s smock.
Soon after we were rapt watching about a woman who asked for a double-parked SUV to move, so she could pull out. The interesting bit was her then not pulling into the 1.5 car length open spot behind her, but instead leaving a ten-foot gap. She eventually prevailed by dint of some hard-wrought mini K-turns. If there was a golf cart in the room she left open for it, her getting out would have been considered a miracle.
Anyway, as far as the coffee—it’s “friends-chatting” coffee, not “I’m going to talk about this coffee for the rest of my life” coffee. If the day was nicer and the traffic less distracting, I would’ve stayed longer. Instead, we went over to a barista pop-up and had some wonderful pourovers in a very weirdly designed ‘wandering barman’.
A good day.
What’s new, Jude?
Cafe Mano, Crown Heights (thanks Coffee Klatsch; he did a write up here)
Green Lane Coffee has a new location soft-opening this weekend 204 W 96th St, UWS (Thanks again CK)
New Amsterdam Cafe, LIC, been there since December but only 16 reviews? Suspicious.
Moka & Co. has a new location in UWS
WatchHouse., again.
Pop-ups
Coffee Crawl with Principles GI Coffee House, starts at Black Cat [LES] and then to City League Coffee, then Principles. Check out the Principles BK Insta for more.
AAPI Roaster Showcase at Multimodal Roasting.
Break time! I’d like to ask you to share this.
Specifically, share it on your company’s Slack [or teams, if you are one of those poor souls].
If you’re feeling extraordinarily lazy and still want to share, why not copy paste this message written by ChatGPT?
Hey team,
If you're into coffee, check out "New York Coffee" – a top-notch newsletter on all things coffee in NYC. It covers new cafes, coffee news, original recipes, and a weekly cafe feature. Worth a read: newyorkcoffeenewsletter.substack.com.
Cheers ☕
And now…
Coffee news!
Innovation like you’ve never seen before is coming, as Blank Street opens up the new “Green Room” concept café. The concept is that you drink coffee and sit down to do it. There might also be light pastries and food. Imagine being the team that came up with this and pitching the idea of a coffee shop to a coffee shop.
Rudy Giuliani is now selling coffee. I can’t wait for Eric Adams brew.
The Center for Circular Economy in Coffee is trying to pare down some of the 40 million tons of non-coffee biomass produced in the coffee making process. On their website you can find a way to align your coffee venture with these values.
The new trend is Maragogipe, a variety of typica. It’s floral, sweet, and a little like honey if grown at high altitudes, but is not great otherwise. It’s known for being large, and it is susceptible to disease and pests.
If you’re looking for an order management and inventory [roasting] system, this might help.
The Recipe Section
I am saving the really good recipe for proper summer.
Until then, post a recipe you’ve made in the comments! Tag me on instagram @nycoffeenewsletter with a picture!
The red bell pepper one is as easy as putting a red bell pepper, a cup of sugar, and water in a mason jar to fill and leaving it overnight. Mix a touch with your morning yogurt, or ice cream. You have no excuse!
Enjoy!
Substack shows “Substack” as a misspelling.
a pencil, watercolor, and a wish for those of us that like coherent metaphors