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Independent Coffee Houses: The New Map


porcupine

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A new map of independent coffee houses in the greater DC area.  There are now so many, I did not feel compelled to list every one I'm aware of.  Some I've left off because I feel they just don't serve good product.

Happy to take requests for additions, or editorial comments.  Will add to the map as I learn of new places.

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Bakers and Baristas on 7th might be worth adding. Not targeting the same market as, say, Chinatown, but well-priced and well-brewed. I might also add the Red Apron on D downtown, although I realize that they may technically be a chain.

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Bakers and Baristas on 7th might be worth adding. Not targeting the same market as, say, Chinatown, but well-priced and well-brewed. I might also add the Red Apron on D downtown, although I realize that they may technically be a chain.

Oh, and Maketto on H should definitely be added. Pretty fantastic product there.

Thanks for the tips!  Not adding Maketto was an oversight that I'll correct; on the fence about Red Apron; never been to Bakers and Baristas so it'll go on the list to try.

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Sadly, Killer ESP is rather a crap shoot. It has so much potential, but ends up as a hodgepodge in decor, products, and quality. I've had a decent macchiato and espresso there; better than most places in Alexandria. But service and product are VERY inconsistent and many times poor. It's certainly a training issue because they have excellent equipment. The people working there seem to change often. A year or so ago they all seemed to be high school age and not interested in knowing much about coffee. They do have a pretty interesting cold brew apparatus and I think the pour-overs are generally competent--not great.

They use freshly ground Stumptown coffee and sell it there -- for the most part the retail coffee is pretty fresh. Occasionally I've seen month old bags.

I will forego the lament about how even Swings coffee bar has declined as their staff has changed, leaving Alexandria an espresso wasteland. The city seems cursed to have lousy espresso while DC explodes with cafes. Killer ESP is an independent coffee house, though.

Porcupine, thank you for your wonderful map.

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Sadly, Killer ESP is rather a crap shoot. It has so much potential, but ends up as a hodgepodge in decor, products, and quality. I've had a decent macchiato and espresso there; better than most places in Alexandria. But service and product are VERY inconsistent and many times poor. It's certainly a training issue because they have excellent equipment. The people working there seem to change often. A year or so ago they all seemed to be high school age and not interested in knowing much about coffee. They do have a pretty interesting cold brew apparatus and I think the pour-overs are generally competent--not great.

This is pretty consistent with what I've heard.

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Sadly, Killer ESP is rather a crap shoot. It has so much potential, but ends up as a hodgepodge in decor, products, and quality. I've had a decent macchiato and espresso there; better than most places in Alexandria. But service and product are VERY inconsistent and many times poor...

Porcupine, thank you for your wonderful map.

This is pretty consistent with what I've heard.

Guess I'll take it off, then.  Any recent report on Misha's?

And, you're welcome.   :)

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Guess I'll take it off, then.  Any recent report on Misha's?

And, you're welcome.   :)

Thank you from me, too, and Happy New Year to you and everyone else (especially those who have helped glue this community together - y'all know who y'are! (*))

I wouldn't take off Killer ESP based on my comment - use your judgement, but I don't have a large-enough sample size to be recommending that you remove it with any authority.

(*) Sorry, had to get my southern inflection in shape because of CLEMSON'S TRIUMPHANT VICTORY IN THE ORANGE BOWL YESTERDAY, oh, never mind, it's impossible to understand unless you were a student there during the LEGENDARY 1981-1982 SEASON (Clemson doesn't have "school years"; they have "seasons" - that's probably why you don't see a hell of a lot of Stephen Hawkings emerging from there, but there's always The Refrigerator - by today's standards, he's a veritable midget; back then, he was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. And what a lovable teddy bear, too - I know he's had plenty of problems lately, but he will be long-remembered for the totality of what he's done. Did you say something about coffee? :rolleyes:

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I sort of agree with Don about not taking it off, but I'm not sure what bar has to be cleared to get on the list. If it's just an indi shop that isn't bad, I'd keep them on (along with Misha's). If quality consistency has anything to do with it, then not sure...

Misha's makes good, darkly roasted coffee, if you like that kind of thing. I haven't tried an espresso there for years because they were unable to make a decent one between 2001 and 2009. Every one I had there was bitter and unpleasant. Maybe that works in a mocha or caramel latte, but I'd recommend against it.

Now, Misha's is a coffee-house institution for Old Town. Many people swear by it. In the distant past, before the ascendancy of "specialty coffee" -- when espresso was supposed to be bitter and freshly ground coffee was roasted darker, Misha's was the best coffee in OT. But tastes change and in some cases improve. Their roasts haven't changed much, while many other places now make single-origin espressos and pour-overs.... So they probably deserve to be on the list, but I would steer clear of their espresso. (Would love to hear of recent experiences there)

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I sort of agree with Don about not taking it off, but I'm not sure what bar has to be cleared to get on the list. If it's just an indi shop that isn't bad, I'd keep them on (along with Misha's). If quality consistency has anything to do with it, then not sure...

It's a good question.  Since the map is subjective, the "bar that has to be cleared" is, would I go there?  If there were Filter, TCB, Peregrine outposts in Alexandria, I wouldn't go to Killer ESP, but since there aren't, I probably would.  If I were desperate.  I guess what it comes down to is, if there's nothing good in an area, a mediocre place goes on the map; if there is something good, a mediocre place doesn't.

As soon as I get over this effin' sinus infection I'll revisit both Killer and Misha's.  I love having an excuse to go try things.

How do you feel about Society Fair?

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It's a good question.  Since the map is subjective, the "bar that has to be cleared" is, would I go there?  If there were Filter, TCB, Peregrine outposts in Alexandria, I wouldn't go to Killer ESP, but since there aren't, I probably would.  If I were desperate.  I guess what it comes down to is, if there's nothing good in an area, a mediocre place goes on the map; if there is something good, a mediocre place doesn't.

As soon as I get over this effin' sinus infection I'll revisit both Killer and Misha's.  I love having an excuse to go try things.

How do you feel about Society Fair?

My good friend (and website member) has an antibiotic-resistant sinus infection - be glad you're not him, as it's been six months now.

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Slightly off topic, and not very informative, but has anyone taken a Coffeehouse tour recently?  I saw at Chinatown Coffee that there is a passport for sale where you can visit participating independents and get it stamped for whatever activity.  I will probably not do this, but would like to hear about it if anyone takes the (french press) plunge.

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Slightly off topic, and not very informative, but has anyone taken a Coffeehouse tour recently?  I saw at Chinatown Coffee that there is a passport for sale where you can visit participating independents and get it stamped for whatever activity.  I will probably not do this, but would like to hear about it if anyone takes the (french press) plunge.

You can start out in the morning, limping from shop-to-shop; at the end of the day, you'll be cartwheeling down 7th Street.

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Dear indy coffee shop owners and roasters who read this fine thread,

I beg of you to consider filling in the coffee desert you see in the graphic below. Cool full service shop, small counter operation, cart, rickshaw, grinder monkey on the street who grinds beans with an organ like device, what have you. Please help. Thank you for your consideration

- Under caffeinated Lower Swampoodle Worker Drone. 

coffee.gif

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9 hours ago, Kev29 said:

Dear indy coffee shop owners and roasters who read this fine thread,

I beg of you to consider filling in the coffee desert you see in the graphic below. Cool full service shop, small counter operation, cart, rickshaw, grinder monkey on the street who grinds beans with an organ like device, what have you. Please help. Thank you for your consideration

- Under caffeinated Lower Swampoodle Worker Drone. 

Kevin, a very astute observation, but you *know* the rents are too high here, and even Starbucks most likely has stores up as loss leaders for marketing reasons.

It would have to be a truck or a cart; not a brick-and-mortar shop. That said, those could work, and it will all be traceable back to your original observation if it catches on.

PS - What in the hell is "East End?"

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10 hours ago, DonRocks said:

PS - What in the hell is "East End?"

It's the part of Swampoodle where we can hear the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow, love jellied eels, pie, mash and liquor me old China. 

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On 5/19/2016 at 1:28 PM, Kev29 said:

Dear indy coffee shop owners and roasters who read this fine thread,

I beg of you to consider filling in the coffee desert you see in the graphic below. Cool full service shop, small counter operation, cart, rickshaw, grinder monkey on the street who grinds beans with an organ like device, what have you. Please help. Thank you for your consideration

- Under caffeinated Lower Swampoodle Worker Drone. 

coffee.gif

Long ago I leased commercial space and sold some commercial buildings in that area.  For a small retailer or coffee provider its really multiple areas.  Most retailers haven't seen it but on the House Side going East on PA ave. SE...the 3 house office buildings and other govt offices there probably have 4-6000 employees who have no commercial entities.  They migrate to the PA Ave stores for eating and drinking.  Those first 2 commercial blocks on PA ave SE suck up a ton of eating and drinking traffic.  Tons.  The amount of workers is probably equivalent to 1-2 million feet of office space ....just on the house side.  That is very worthwhile for any coffee roaster.  Its finding a way to service it or leasing space that is hard.   There are less people on the Senate side but still enough to create viable retail food opportunities.  

The foot traffic on the West Side of the Hill is different and, while its a while (decades) since I've worked it....there are different walking/working/customer opportunities for retailers.  I'd say that the area between N Capitol and 395 is different than the area on the West side of 395.   

But that area (outside of your boundries on the East side of PA ave.)   Oh man...lots of food and drinking dollars spent there.  All those House office building workers trudging up that hill to PA ave. to spend their money. ;)

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I've not rented commercial real estate, but this situation looks quite unlikely to change. By area, a huge part of this boundary is non-commercial and non-inhabited: The Mall, grounds of The Capitol, The Capitol and other federal offices, Union Station and area, parks, parking lots, etc. This is nothing like the residential and office areas where we see more indie coffeehouses. So not only is much of this area off-limits to a possible coffeehouse, but there aren't people in much of the area. Even people who are there -- in The Capitol and related buildings, would have to schlep a long way for a coffee. Longer than would make for reliable customers. Your boundaries carefully exclude Chinatown and Ebenezers. They're only "just across the street" from offices inside your boundary. I think there are probably coffee-deserts more wanting for a coffeehouse than this area. Food cart or truck is probably the best option, and I'll be that's not allowed anywhere were it would make good sense.

The lack of 3rd wave or other good coffee is always lamentable, however!

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4 hours ago, jondagle said:

Food cart or truck is probably the best option, and I'll be that's not allowed anywhere were it would make good sense.

There are always tons of food trucks just west of North Capitol on Mass Ave. An independent coffee truck would make a killing, I'd think, but it would still be a hike for people in the House and Senate office buildings.

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I highly recommend adding Colony Club to the list.  Pablo, who was formerly at P&P joined Colony Club in January 2017.  In my opinion, he is one of the top baristas/coffee consultant in DC and possibly the US.  http://www.colonyclubdc.com/  Espresso coffee beans for Espresso drinks from Ceremony Coffee Roasters.  Pour-over single source coffee beans from various roasters to include Lofted Coffee and George Howell Coffee.

Cappuccino made by Pablo, his last dinner service at P&P, December 31, 2016.  He calls this his inverted swan.  Coffee beans from Lofted Coffee.

You can find him on instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/barista.pablo/

15727264_10210261776372656_6333664250892353226_n.jpg

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Map Updates: Sad to say 202 Donuts & Coffee and their sibling restaurants all closed last month, according to Eater. And Habit is also closed in April 2016. 

https://dc.eater.com/2018/8/13/17683426/202-donuts-roche-brothers-closing-bethesda

https://www.popville.com/2016/04/habit-cafe-closed-in-mount-pleasant-april-3rd/

@porcupine Are you still updating the map? I'd be happy to help out.   

PS: I see 202 closing was posted in separate thread....

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14 hours ago, jondagle said:

 

@porcupine Are you still updating the map? I'd be happy to help out.   

 

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is more complicated. Basically, I don't have time to keep on top of everything. There are so many places now that I don't feel compelled to visit every new one. Did you see that I changed the stars to pin colors? Also I've reverted the map to my original: Really Good Coffee, rather than Independent Houses. I'd be happy to have help, especially if there's a way to clone the map. Message me and we can discuss further.

 

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Hello all. I'd like to announce some updates to the Really Good Coffee Map. View the map here: Really Good Coffee - The Map

I'm helping @porcupine update the map and we're rolling out some new "features."

First, the Map description now references this thread as a place to discuss the Map. Discuss.

Second, the Map now has three layers: "Really Good Coffee" with green, blue, and red markers for consistently good coffee or espresso experiences; "The Watch List" with places (yellow) under consideration for RCG or places where we're still evaluating consistency, etc; and "Closed" will feature places (gray) removed from the RGC list when no longer in operation. 

Please discuss the list here. Looking for new places to visit and information about places on the list -- both good and bad. We'll try to keep the Map up to date. 

As a reminder, the metric here is "good coffee quality" and not necessarily "a good business" or "a good place to hang out."

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11 minutes ago, jondagle said:

Please discuss the list here. Looking for new places to visit and information about places on the list -- both good and bad. We'll try to keep the Map up to date. 

As a reminder, the metric here is "good coffee quality" and not necessarily "a good business" or "a good place to hang out."

I saw a Compass Coffee at-or-near where the old Caffe Aficionado space was in Rosslyn.

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On 11/28/2018 at 10:02 AM, Bob Wells said:

I keep getting a "too many redirects" error message  when I try to view the map.

I’ve tried a number of ways and have not problem: logged in/out,  private browsing, Firefox, Safari, mobile... no other reports of problems.  🤷‍♂️ 

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Little Beast uses Vigilante beans and made some nice espresso-based beverages the other day; however, I understand that business has not been good, so they are closing the cafe operation in about two weeks and going to restaurant-only status, offering three meals a day. What they'll do for coffee at that point, I don't know. I'm going to put it on the map for the time being.

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4 hours ago, porcupine said:

Little Beast uses Vigilante beans and made some nice espresso-based beverages the other day; however, I understand that business has not been good, so they are closing the cafe operation in about two weeks and going to restaurant-only status, offering three meals a day. What they'll do for coffee at that point, I don't know. I'm going to put it on the map for the time being.

You may want to confirm.  According to the web site:   "Today, Sunday, December 2, will be the last of the Little Beast Cafe"..."As of Monday, December 3, Little Beast will open at 5PM daily."  And the only day service looks like:  "Starting January 4, 2019, Little Beast will be offering BRUNCH Friday - Sunday...you will still find your favorite pastries and Vigilante coffee for brunch every weekend. (Mimosas, buttercake, cruffins, breakfast sandwiches and pizza…)"

little-beast.jpeg.73342a5678b7ff0d4ea6e2d2d1bcc21c.jpeg

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19 hours ago, dslee said:

You may want to confirm.  According to the web site:   "Today, Sunday, December 2, will be the last of the Little Beast Cafe"..."As of Monday, December 3, Little Beast will open at 5PM daily."  And the only day service looks like:  "Starting January 4, 2019, Little Beast will be offering BRUNCH Friday - Sunday...you will still find your favorite pastries and Vigilante coffee for brunch every weekend. (Mimosas, buttercake, cruffins, breakfast sandwiches and pizza…)"

little-beast.jpeg.73342a5678b7ff0d4ea6e2d2d1bcc21c.jpeg

My info was several days old; I'm sure what you posted is more current. Thanks.

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I’ve been pretty disappointed with Compass of late. Of all DC “good coffee” places they are the worst. After a string (3) of successful cortado visits at the Rosslyn location, they couldn’t duplicate. They made it three tries and it was still poor. Never had anything more than mediocre at Gallery Place location

Wondering whether they deserve a downgrade. I might give an independent shop a pass but Compass is a (local) chain with big investors $$$. Any thoughts? 

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53 minutes ago, jondagle said:

I’ve been pretty disappointed with Compass of late. Of all DC “good coffee” places they are the worst. After a string (3) of successful cortado visits at the Rosslyn location, they couldn’t duplicate. They made it three tries and it was still poor. Never had anything more than mediocre at Gallery Place location

Wondering whether they deserve a downgrade. I might give an independent shop a pass but Compass is a (local) chain with big investors $$$. Any thoughts? 

Completely unimpressed with Compass

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