COFFEE FOR THE NOT SO EARLY RISERS IN MEATPACKING

While Meatpacking may be more well known for its late nights rather than early mornings, coffee is what keeps the neighborhood alive and thriving throughout the day. For National Coffee Day, three shops in Meatpacking shared their most popular drinks, what makes their stores unique, and what coffee beverages you should try right now.  

Day Drinks 
New to the neighborhood is Day Drinks at Chelsea Market on 15th Street. Founded by coffee industry veterans, Day Drinks delivers an extensive, locally sourced coffee and tea program that reimagines and redefines the coffee bar experience.

What’s the most popular beverage served? 
It was the nitro coffee for a while, but the Turkish Soda and Fizzy Bubbly Chai might be taking over. 

Any secret menu items that you have to ask for? 
A really popular one is our “Orange Drink.” It’s something we make when the Orange Blossom tea is on tap, and it’s like a wild Fanta. There’s a handful of drinks I’m working on for the menu, so if I’m at the bar, you can ask if there’s anything new.

What are some of the unique qualities of your coffee/beans/menu items? 
We source many coffees from Steve Mierisch’s, the co-founder and owner of ‘Pulley Coffee Bar’s, farm. Sometimes he is the one who roasts the coffee or serves it at Day Drinks. You can’t get much more direct than that. Otherwise, I think Day Drinks is a unique experience all around. You don’t find a cafe or bar like this, and I enjoy working on different drink recipes to go with it. 

Terremoto 
Tucked away on 15th Street and Eighth Avenue is Terremoto Coffee which is a neighborhood favorite for unique coffee in a friendly and cozy atmosphere. During the pandemic, it’s also become the neighborhood spot to listen to live jazz on the weekends

What’s the most popular beverage served?
 The Oat Cappuccino / Latte

Any secret menu items that you have to ask for? 
Our Arequipe Ice Crush when available, which is an Ice Crush made with Colombian Caramel.

What are some of the unique qualities of your coffee/beans/menu items? 
We pride ourselves in offering some of the most unique coffees from around the world, working closely with sustainable farms and sourcing exotic coffee. We brought Elida Estates Green Tip Geisha to on demand espresso, the only shop in America serving Eugenioides varieties of coffee.And of course, we’re proud to have been the only shop in the world spearheading the live jazz movement in the middle of a global pandemic keeping so many musicians employed and fans a place to go.

Any trends in the coffee industry?
We were proud to be one of the first coffee shops in America to bring Oat milk from Sweden over and spearheaded the adoption of it. We now see Oat taking over the non dairy sector. Nitro has always been up and down, but I see Nitro becoming more of a  thing with the new Brood Nitro machines becoming readily available and being able to do Nitro with Teas and other drinks will be a game changer.

Source: Ric Agudelo, Founder and Co-owner of Terremoto

Starbucks Roastery Reserve

The Roastery brings coffee to a whole other level. From roasting the beans onsite, coffee cocktails at the upstairs bar (including crowd favorite espresso martinis), to any type of coffee beverage you can imagine, the Roastery is truly a coffee lover’s mecca.

What’s the most popular beverage served? 
Customers are loving the new fall coffees especially Puerto Rico Yauco Selecto which commemorates the first harvest of specialty coffee since the devastation of Hurricane Maria which is currently available as a Cold Brew.

Any secret menu items that you have to ask for? 
All our coffee beverages can be customized with your favorite reserve coffee. Try a Latte with the customer favorite Costa Rica Naranjo or Vietnam Da Lat.

What are some of the unique qualities of your coffee/beans/menu items? Your favorite menu item?
Single origin coffee from around the world, roasted in-house delivering the freshest cup with unique flavors. I enjoy the single origin coffee flight so I can try them all. Occasionally I splurge and add chocolate truffles which bring out the diverse flavors of our limited-edition coffees

Source: Melissa Moon, Starbucks New York Roastery