An (Almost) Midsummer Week in New York City

I was last in New York in February 2020, a work trip that also took me to Seattle for a conference. It was a strange time to be there, as COVID cases began to climb, and no one really knew how to act as we didn't know what was to come. I did what I usually did and tried to go to as many of my favourite NYC places as possible, saving the rest for the trip with my parents I had booked in for May 2020. Of course, it turned out that it was my last foreign trip for 18 months, and the two-year gap until my return earlier this month was my longest absence from my favourite city in more than 15 years.

The NYC Caffeine Chronicles: Manhattan Speciality Coffee Update

Earlier this week, I wrote about three of the excellent new-to-me speciality coffee shops I visited in Brooklyn during my recent visit. But I had the opportunity to stop by a fair few coffee spots in Manhattan too. I was staying near Bryant Park, which meant that Midtown coffee shops feature quite prominently on this list. There used to be a real dearth of speciality coffee in this part of town, but there are now dozens of places to get a great cup of coffee. I did find, however, that many of the Midtown coffee shops I visited had a real focus on takeaway and served coffee in disposable cups even if you are drinking in (COVID has been a driver, of course). This isn't that surprising, given the high proportion of tourists and office workers in that part of town, but it is worth noting.

The NYC Caffeine Chronicles: A Brooklyn Specialty Coffee Tour

After a two-year absence, I finally returned to New York City earlier this month, for a holiday with my parents. We were originally supposed to go in May 2020, but we all know why that didn't happen. With six days in the city, I had plenty of time to visit some new and new-to-me specialty coffee shops. And three of my favourites were all in Brooklyn. 

The SW London Caffeine Chronicles: Lane Eight, Juliet's Quality Foods and Walker Wyatt

If you've been following me on Instagram, you may have seen that I've recently moved house — this is also why I've been posting less frequently over the past few months. My new home is pretty close to where I used to live, but during the search, I also ventured out into the SW postcodes more often than usual. Of course, house-hunting is much better when caffeinated and luckily, there were plenty of great speciality coffee shops to visit, including the following three, listed from north to south.