Coffee Obsessed

In a world much like Atlanta, GA where I call home, New York City is filled with a Starbucks on the corner of every block. While this makes things convenient for the coffee fanatic on the go…it is a little disappointing on my end as I love the private coffee shops and the unique personalities that surround them. So…this coffee obsessed fanatic went in search of java that didn’t involve a green sign out front. What I found was a couple of unique coffee shops that I am going to share with you here.

Fika Espresso Bar

The first place I hit up was the Fika Espresso Bar. This was a new place that opened up a couple of doors down from where we were staying, so it was a logical destination as I headed out to hit the city. It is a very modern looking place selling their own roasts as you can see in the pictures. Most of them are dark roasts which you would expect out of an espresso bar.

I ordered up a black coffee and was ready for some tasting. It was a nice, clean, nutty, dark roast. Really about what you would expect out of a coffee shop that takes care in preparing its coffee (not tasting burnt like in Starbucks).

It was a pleasurable experience with pretty good pricing. They are really going after the Starbucks crowd that wants a little bit more out of the experience. Fika didn’t exactly have that warm feeling (more modern and bright instead of darker and cozy) that I typically like in coffee shops, but it was still nice.

More info at FikaNYC.com

Mud Street Coffee

The other coffee shop I want to show you guys is Mud NYC. Labeled as the anti establishment coffee for everyone, Mud NYC caught my attention right away with their red van.

Were we chosen to be the anti-establishment coffee machine of NYC’s East Village or did we plan it? A little of both.

Sure it was a bit of a right time, right place story, but it was also a fundamental philosophy.

See, the generic coffee monster already was. Then it was again. Directly across from each other and up the avenue down the street. Nothing but green logos and upscale prices.

Then came the orange truck and it parked directly in the middle shining like the sun. It served everybody with a smile and it had fair prices. It made the best cup of coffee in New York City and it didn’t discriminate. The smokers smoked, the dogs had bones, and it played sweet soul music. And the chain was broken.

And MUD was, is and MUD will be.

Cool idea and great coffee. All I had to do was walk up to the van, order my coffee, pay a couple of bucks and I was off enjoying the city with great coffee in hand. It doesn’t get much better than that. I really like the MUD NYC coffee and I really like the laid back attitude that goes behind each cup.

More info at MUDNYC.com