The NYC Caffeine Chronicles: Manhattan Specialty Coffee Update

Earlier this week, I wrote about three of the excellent new-to-me specialty 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 specialty 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 follow me on Instagram, you may know I recently moved house. My new home is pretty close to where I used to live, but during the search, I also ventured into the SW postcodes more than usual. Of course, house-hunting is much better when caffeinated and luckily, there were plenty of great specialty coffee shops to visit, including the following three, listed from north to south.

My Five Favourite Books of March and April 2022

This year, I've been trying to get my for-fun reading back up to pre-pandemic levels and I've also been picking out and writing about my favourite five books every two months as a way to hold myself accountable. I read 20 books in March and April, taking my year-to-date tally to 42. Here are my five favourites from among the books I've read in the past two months.

How To Spend a Long Weekend in Bristol

There's something about Bristol. Although the long weekend I spent there recently was only the third time I've been in two decades, both of my previous visits made me fall for the place enough to seriously consider going to university there and moving there, respectively. With a population of around 470,000, Bristol feels like a proper city, with great food and culture, but parts of it still retain a relaxed, villagey feel and it has a fantastic alternative scene too.

15 Specialty Coffee Shops To Visit in Bristol

I've been long overdue a return visit to Bristol, a city that I've loved each time I've been and yet, like many places in the UK, I don't get to often enough. In particular, the city's specialty coffee scene has changed a huge amount since I was last there (whisper it) a decade ago. A three-day trip over the Easter weekend wasn't enough time — when is it? — but the sunny weather was perfect for coffee-shop-hopping and I managed to visit 12 coffee spots.

The Caffeine Chronicles: LIFT

Since I got back from Uganda, work and life have both been keeping me busy, with few opportunities for coffee-shop-hopping. But on Sunday, with the sun shining, a brunch reservation on my phone and a spring in my step, I headed over to Notting Hill. 

I brunched at Sunday in Brooklyn — my first visit to the London outpost of the Brooklyn original, which I went to on my penultimate visit to New York. After a spot of hanami — the cherry blossoms were particularly lovely alongside the colourful houses of Notting Hill — it was coffee time.

Luckily, I had just the coffee shop in mind, thanks to another great recommendation from Laith from Saint Nine. And as it turned out, LIFT, on Kensington Church Street, had another Brooklyn connection in store for me.