“Try it Without Sugar First”

Over the past decade, New York’s coffee scene has seemingly grown tenfold. While there will always be a special place in my heart for bodega coffee, the world of specialty coffee has filtered into New York and now, some of the world’s most renowned roasters call New York home. From the old-school titans of the specialty scene to the new roasters just carving out their presence now, here are several hot stops in Bushwick and nearby Ridgewood. 

Stop 1: Drip Coffee 

First is Drip Coffee, a Black-owned cafe chain that consistently serves a range of specialty coffees, highlighting roasters all across the United States. At their Bushwick location, you will easily find coffees from brands like Black & White, Paper Plane, Lil Wolf, and Onyx, to name a few. Drip prioritizes an immense knowledge of all kinds of coffee, but the space here feels intimate.

The menu at Drip is simple, yet vast. They offer run of the mill espresso-based drinks like cappuccinos, lattes, and flat whites, but their hand brew menu is where Drip differentiates itself from other local cafes. The cafe’s rotating selection of different coffees on pour-over is perfect for the coffee enthusiast eager to try the new “Future Series” from Black & White Roasters, or a rare single-origin selection coming from Yemen, roasted by Onyx Coffee Roasters. I recently enjoyed a pour-over that tasted exactly like a rum and coke, sans alcohol, and my brain is still trying to understand it. 

Drip Coffee is on 12 Belvidere Street

Stop 2: Loveless Coffees 

Nearby Drip is Loveless, a Bushwick-based roaster that emphasizes the environmental impact of buying coffee. All of the coffees they sell are paired with information about the coffee’s impact, packaged in recyclable materials to lessen that carbon footprint. It’s what an ethical coffee company should look like.

On tap, Loveless offers a wide range of in-season, single-origin coffees. Recently, I had an espresso there from Burundi that, no joke, tasted like an orange jolly rancher. Their blends are also second to none: smooth, sweet, and fruity. Plus, they make one of the tastiest flat whites in the city. 

Loveless Coffees is on 88 Central Ave.

Stop 3: SEY 

No coffee crawl would be complete without SEY. While management embodies the “No, I live in East Williamsburg, not Bushwick”-narrative, their coffees are no joke. With a roastery in the back and a gorgeous cafe in the front, SEY is the ideal spot to feel like an underdressed extra on an HBO Original, watching TikTokers adorned with their L-Train Vintage totes filled with their hauls of the week. 

Each coffee they serve comes with an intricate breakdown of the inherent costs it takes to get from each locale to the roaster, part of an equitable and transparent philosophy that’s built into the fabric of a company that pays livable wages to their baristas. Coffee-wise, SEY focuses on the inherent sweetness of a terroir that can create delicious, vibrant, and complex cups of coffee. That’s why whenever I go to SEY, I splurge on a pour-over or double espresso. Currently, they’re offering a single-origin from Diego Hoyos, a Colombian coffee farmer, who won 1st place in the Copa de Oro with a coffee that tastes like fresh blackberries; it’s delicious. 

SEY is on 18 Grattan St. 

Stop 4: Variety Coffee Roasters

I love this cafe. The Bushwick location is the ideal work-from-home hangout. The baristas are some of the friendliest in the city. The vibes are immaculate. Variety understands its job is to not only serve coffees and seasonal drinks, but to create an environment catering to all different walks of life. 

And as anti-decaf as some baristas can be, Variety makes a killer decaf blend. A decaf iced americano while decompressing from the countless coffees you’ve had throughout the day feels perfect. And if decaf isn’t your bag, they make an iced chai tea latte that is the perfect balance of spicy and sweet, and is guaranteed to cool you off on the walk to our last place. 

Variety Coffee is on 146 Wyckoff Ave. 

Stop 5: Honey Moon Coffee Shop

Our last stop is also the newest of the group: Honey Moon Coffee Shop opened its doors this pas March in Ridgewood. Working alongside Bushwick’s Molasses Books and Sacred Bones, a Brooklyn record label, the folks there run a warm and welcoming space filled with great music, books, and brews wafting through the space. 

The other day, I popped in for a perfectly chocolatey cortado while trying to talk myself out of buying a new book that would most likely collect dust on my bookshelf. I slowly sipped my cortado as I watched the sunset. A perfect end to any caffeine-forward venture. 

Honey Moon Coffee Shop is on 517 Onderdonk Ave. 

Images taken by Joey Harvey for Bushwick Daily.

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