Of course I had to find some great coffee in Washington, DC during my recent trip. This time, I did not have to look far, finding a great café in NoMa across the street from my hotel. I also found another decent one near the Convention Center.
Great Coffee In Washington, DC
I planned to head to Adams Morgan to try a few coffee shops…I’ve heard that trendy neighborhood of DC has several nice places. But I was staying at the Hyatt Place in NoMa, a gentrifying, former industrial area in the Northeast quadrant of the District full of construction and new high-rise apartment buildings.
The coffee shop was called Sweet Science Coffee and directly across the street from my hotel. Indoor dining is once again permitted in the District of Columbia.
Sweet Science Coffee
35 N Street NE
Washington, DC 20002
8:00AM – 3:00PM (Monday – Friday)
8:00AM – 4:00PM (Saturday, Sunday)
I ordered a cappuccino and it turned out to be so good I had a second…
With fast wi-fi and no annoying music blaring, this was also a nice place to spend a couple hours working.
On my last trip to DC in March, I tried out a place called La Colombe Coffee Roasters just a short walk from the Convention Center. This is a chain based in Philadelphia and even has three locations in the Los Angeles area (and five in DC).
La Colombe Coffee Roasters
924 Rear N Street NW (Blagden Alley)
Washington, DC 20001
8:00AM – 3:00PM
My cappuccino was good, though fair warning: Tiffany from OMAAT did not like her coffee. I loved the cup and saucer the coffee was served in and although missing that ideal blend of chocolate and berries that makes for the best espresso, it was 10x better than the nearby Starbucks.
CONCLUSION
The point of this series of coffee posts is not just to pick one or two coffee shop in any given city, but to compile a list of coffee shops that are worth drinking at. I would welcome your contributions in the comments section below. But I do recommend both coffee shops above in one of my favorite cities in the world.
Upon someone’s recommendation I tried La Colombe here in San Diego (at UTC).
It was horrifically bad; threw it in the bin after one sip.
Ouch. Sorry to hear that.
Have you tried Compass coffee? Several locations in DC.
I have. I’ve also tried tried their coffee at home (last time I stayed at Park Hyatt DC there was a can of whole beans left in my room as a welcome amenity). Honestly, I was not impressed.
This is correct. Compass has great marketing and local presence, and have established themselves in the space between Starbucks and the better shops. Their coffee is nothing special. You made the right call with Sweet Science. Good other option would be to have gone to Union Market and get coffee at Peregrine Espresso.
Peregrine Espresso looks great. I’ll try it next time. Thanks for the tip.
Three Fifty Bakery and Coffee Bar (near Adams Morgan) and Un je ne sais Quoi (near Dupont Circle). Both use Illy beans, are quite charming with good coffee, and have great options for pastries or biscottis.
A major part of the coffee experience is ambience, the importance of which is often underestimated. For me that means: not some cookie-cutter joint furnished with uncomfortable (“ don’t stay too long” ) chairs, nice , soft music ( some light jazzy sounds or a tinkling piano in the morning, some light classical in the PM), not a place where food is major to the coffee, no loud people , either in direct conversation or on phones ; most especially not reeking of fruity perfumes.
In that regard, for the life of me I’ll never understand the fascination with Starbucks.
Did you know those Sweet Science Coffee cups are also made from coffee? Made by a company called Huskee.
I had no idea! That’s quite interesting.
Love Sweet Science! It’s in my neighborhood and go weekly. Glad you could enjoy it, too!
Dude la colombe suuuucks. Over roasted grossness. The coffee bar has delicious coffee and is actually local, after that swings coffee is also local and amazing
Will try both. Thanks.
The Coffee Bar on 12th and S NW. Best coffee shop in the district