29 Sep 2016

Dining:

Happy National Coffee Day!

180/366: Morning coffee, all gone!

Photo by María Helena Carey via Flickr.

Every September 29 we are reminded of the delicious lifeblood and nectar that fuels polite morning company: HAPPY NATIONAL COFFEE DAY! Coffee, for many, is an intrinsic part of the morning. Here on the Hill, we are #blessed with many a coffeeshop, independent or otherwise. Below, I give you five local coffee spots that bring warmth and happiness to me (and to many).

If you are so inclined, share your favorite coffee spot in the comments, or tag us on Twitter with your best caffeinated smiles!

I’m originally from Colombia, where we take our cafecito and our tintico very seriously indeed. Mind you, the quality itself may not always have been important: When I was a kid, my grandmother drank freeze-dried stuff which tastes like nitrogen and regret filtered through a sock. Anyway. Passion for coffee is key. Just look at today’s awesome Café de Colombia ad:

I regularly make trips to the Colombian store in Silver Spring just so I can have my Sello Rojo coffee every morning , otherwise, I get REALLY cranky. Some would say, “crankier,” but that’s really just semantics, haters. I also make regular trips to the Juan Valdez Coffee on 19th and F NW. In my defense, they also have empanadas. Enough about me: COFFEE!

 

Peregrine Espresso, 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE (entrance on 7th Street SE); also at Union Market (1309 5th Street NE)

Do you remember Murky Coffee and its murky legacy? It’s okay, we don’t either! That’s party because it feels like Peregrine Espresso has always been part of the Eastern Market area, providing beans and camaraderie no matter what the season of the year. It’s also where you can find our Maecenas of the Tweet, Tim Krepp, holding court with THIH’s resident historian, Robert Pohl, most weekday mornings (I will hereby summarily ignore that Robert is a foul tea-drinking fiend). ANC 6B commissioner Kristen Oldenburg is also a regular, as well as a cast of thousands of hipsters, strollers with moms and nannies attached, Hill staffers and tourists all seeking a common goal: to get some caffeine RIGHT NOW.

Sidamo Coffee and Tea, 417 H Street NE

Sidamo, tucked away in the 400 block of H Street NE  has weathered construction, demolition, an aggressively changing demographic, and the DC Streetcar. Through all the change and hard hats, the coffeeshop has been bastion of strength and caffeine for the eastern side of H Street NE over the past 10 years. Through barricades and construction and a new Global Coffee Chain opening up a mere block away, Sidamo has quietly provided excellent coffee as well as a meeting place for neighbors. It also holds a weekly coffee ritual every Sunday at 2 p.m., a reminder that with every sip of delicious coffee we have a debt of gratitude with Ethiopia, the birthplace of the best drink ever. (Ethiopia, and goats. Goats are awesome.)

Jacob’s Coffeehouse, 401 8th Street NE (main entrance on D Street NE)

This quiet little shop at a corner that has slowly gained solid retail over the past couple of years has incredible breakfast sandwiches and excellent coffee. It’s unassuming and just a little out of the way; it also closes promptly at 5 p.m. every day. However, it’s a little gem and a haven if you need a little pick-me-up in between music lessons or school pick-up, or really, if you just need coffee and a bagel sandwich as big as your head. Also, the selection of rare and fancy sweets right by the register can only be called delightful.

Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse, 201 F Street NE

Church and coffee may not be a SAT-approved pair, but they have worked very well at the historic shop a couple of blocks away from Union Station. Lovingly restored and rescued from neglect by the National Community Church a little over 10 years ago, Ebenezer’s space is a coffeehouse on the main floor and a concert venue in the basement. The coffee is good and popular: There is almost no time of day that you won’t encounter at least a short wait here. The feel-good part: All sales go toward the church’s outreach programs.

Bayou Bakery, 901 Pennsylvania Avenue SE (at the Hill Center carriage house)

Another addition to our cadre of beloved establishments that feel like they’ve been around forever, Bayou Bakery is a great place to have a quickie cup or ten. The former carriage house is airy and light year-round (though in summer it pays to bring a shawl or a sweater because air conditioning), and the smaller spaces are cozy and welcoming of you and your cup of coffee. I am not a fan of the vegetable notes of chicory in coffee; however, there is more than just New Orleans-style coffee available at Bayou Bakery, and for this I am grateful. Even better: To gaze at a beautiful year-round garden view while you inhale and sip a warm brew. Coffee. Magical. The best part of the bargain at Bayou is that if your cup of coffee made you peckish, you can always stay for lunch  or indulge in a pillowy, crumbly biscuit.

Happy ALL THE COFFEE day!

 

 

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2 responses to “Happy National Coffee Day!”

  1. Jeremy Witte says:

    Port City Java by Eastern Market?

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