For spring break, I went to visit my best friend Julie in New York! I’ve always wanted to visit the city, so Julie moving there for college gave me the perfect opportunity. We spent day 1 in the city, day 2 in Sleepy Hollow, and on day 3 we went upstate. New York has a plethora of cool and unique coffee shops. As the caffeine addict that I am, I was dedicated to checking out as many cafés as I could. (May the undead spirit of Lorelai Gilmore rise.)
St Kilda Coffee
The first place we went to was St Kilda Coffee, located in the city. St Kilda has two locations, both in Hell’s Kitchen. The one we went to was underground, literally! The vibe here was so cool. If I lived in the city, I most definitely could see myself doing homework here. They also have sick merch. I’m currently experiencing reverse buyers remorse over not purchasing the Acid Disco Tote. Julie and I both ordered vanilla iced lattes (a common trend you’ll notice), and she called her drink “magic.” I enjoyed my latte too!
Blank Street
Blank Street is a chain with several locations across the east coast of the U.S. and the U.K., however, they have the most locations in New York City. Blank Street is Julie’s favorite NYC coffee shop. She’d been telling me about it for months, so I was very excited to try it! I ordered a hot chai latte to combat the cold city weather and Julie got an iced vanilla latte. As a chai latte connoisseur, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite. Next time I’m in New York, I’ll have to get a coffee to really give Blank Street a chance. Overall though, Blank Street was really cute and a perfect alternative to Starbucks for all the NYCCG out there!
Bakehouse
The next place we tried was Bakehouse in Tarrytown, another one of Julie’s favorites. Bakehouse is right next to the train station so it’s very convenient for people who need a little boost before hopping on the train. I feel like an atmosphere like Bakehouse would be an ideal place for novel writing and people watching. I ordered my first ever caramel latte, hot, and Julie got yet another iced vanilla latte. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’m much of a caramel latte girl. It was still a really nice place with tons of options in the bakery, definitely giving your grandma’s kitchen vibes!
Muddy Water Coffee and Cafe
Muddy Water probably had the best coffee shop essence. What I mean by this is that they had plenty of seats, couches, poetry books about coffee, and outdoor seating in the back. Muddy Water is located in downtown Tarrytown. Julie hadn’t tried it yet so we got to try it for the first time together! I ordered an iced vanilla latte and Julie got an iced pumpkin spice latte! Honestly such a coffee shop green flag for having pumpkin spice year round. Our drinks were absolutely delicious! It was refreshing sipping on a latte so perfect! Looking forward to stopping here again some day!
Coffee Labs Roasters
On my last day in New York we went to Coffee Labs, also located in Tarrytown. We stopped in right before I had to leave for the airport. This spot was particularly very popular; when we walked in, the line was almost to the door. I ordered an iced vanilla latte and Julie got a hot vanilla latte. I’m aware that an iced vanilla latte is a very basic thing to order but something about the latte at Coffee Labs was unique and worth choosing over another! I think Coffee Labs and Muddy Water are tied for my favorite coffee shops of the trip!Â
After visiting, I can confidently say that I love New York. I loved the city, I loved going hiking upstate, I loved the vibes and most importantly I loved the coffee! New York is inhabited by thousands of different coffee shops and three full days isn’t enough time to taste them all. I’m planning on visiting New York again later this year so stay tuned for part 2!