Calling all coffee lovers! Today is your day. We went around Washington, DC and visited all of the top spots, and we’ve got some results for ya. This is the first of a series that we are calling Sunday Stars. Here’s how it works. On Sundays, we’ll adventure through the city (DC) and try the most recommended places (to us, by followers) for a specific product. We’ll taste, walk around, and otherwise analyze these locations and then report to y’all. Then, we’ll compile one of these! A medium post on how things went. And at the end, we’ll give out two stars to our two favorite places. If you have challengers that weren’t represented, ping us. We’ll go try them and see if they change our mind!
LGIT.
Criteria:
Flavor, Strength, Portion Size, Workability, Character, Service (five star potential each)
Stop 1: My Apartment
Flavor: 3, Workability: 3, Strength: 2, Character: 0, Value: 5, Service: 0
Listen, k cup brewing is always the economical option, but rarely achieves anything beyond just that. Luckily for me, the workability of my apartment is serviceable, coming in at an average 3 — we do have wifi and there are ample outlets around to promote a solid working environment. That being said, the coffee, meh. The decor, bleh. And there is no service because I’m not going to fucking brew you coffee. Figure it out.
Stop 2: The Wydown
1924 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009
Flavor: 4 , Workability: 4, Strength: 4 , Character: 5, Value: 4 , Service: 4
The Wydown practically functions as a three floor coffee shop considering its attachment to The Apollo apartment building, allowing for ample space to spread out and work in a variety of different settings — whether you prefer lounge chairs, couches, bar seats, or small tables. The coffee itself was probably the top of the day. They teeter the line well between flavorful taste and overwhelming taste. There is a blissful lack of sting to this coffee, rather it presents itself as a smooth, gradually building taste which achieves the same feeling as the sting without causing you to pucker up temporarily as with other, stronger coffees.
The service is pleasant, nothing to complain about or necessarily brag about here. But the character of the place truly takes the cake. As a three floor work haven surrounded with decor and even indoor nature, the Wydown screams elegance and evokes a feeling of sophistication with every sip. You can easily sit here for the entire day, there are accessible outlets in most of the places you could choose to sit, so nothing to worry about there. The Wydown serves food and even alcohol, so you really check all the boxes here (those it’s 5 o’clock somewhere vibes if you know what I mean — take that, boss man).
Stop 3: Sidamo Coffee & Tea
417 H Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
http://www.sidamocoffeeandtea.com/
Flavor: 3, Workability: 1, Strength: 5, Character: 3, Value: 4, Service: 2
This was a classic case of coffee that is unpleasantly strong. Let me just say that from a value perspective, this coffee packs the punch. If you are truly relying on caffeine to carry you through the day, regardless of what it takes, Sidamo will not let you down. That being said, this is a grab & go place — there are tables, but the atmosphere isn’t particularly inviting and the service didn’t necessarily scream that either.
Albeit, the coffee shop did feel rather authentic, as if the coffee beans were being picked the morning of and brewed on the spot. I do believe that if there was a bit less of a sting with each sip, this would have been rather pure tasting coffee. The price was solid as well, comfortably falling in the lower middle, if not outright bottom, of the pack in terms of price.
Stop 4: Ebenezer’s Coffeehouse
201 F St NE, Washington, DC 20002
https://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/
Flavor: 4, Workability: 3, Strength: 5, Character: 3, Value: 5, Service: 5
Ebenezer’s probably would have taken the cake today if it weren’t for one absolutely pivotal thing: wifi! The coffee was strong and smooth with a light molasses-like finish. I know, sounds weird, but that’s my best way to describe it. The internet says that Latin American coffee is known for its fruity aftertaste, so perhaps that’s what I was picking up. One way or another, I would describe it as a pleasant finish that certainly beckons you to take another sip.
In terms of workability, there was ample space to spread out and put some log some solid grind hours. The atmosphere is inviting, intriguing you to stay a while, though be prepared, they keep the place rather chilly! There are outdoor tables too, weather permitting obviously (it’s fucking humid in DC right now, don’t recommend unless you want to take a sweat bath), and most charmingly, there’s a lesser known basement which contains a series of both individual tables, high tops, and longer, community style tables, all within reaching distance of outlets (nice). Here lies the major downfall though: the wifi in the basement doesn’t work! Or it’s slow at least. Perhaps this was a fluke, but this really killed the mojo here, and caused me to leave a bit prematurely (I was ready to knock out some code!). Final thought: the service was exceptional. Peppy, eccentric baristas took my order and even struck up a conversation with me, which made me want to stick around. Get that wifi fixed and I’m all in Ebenezer’s.
Stop 5: Blue Bottle Coffee
50 Massachusetts Ave NE Unit M160, Washington, DC 20002
Flavor: 4, Workability: 3.5, Strength: 3, Character: 5, Value: 1, Service: 4
To clarify, I am referring to the specific Blue Bottle coffee within Union Station. Let’s start with the coffee. Blue Bottle serves a solid cup of coffee, not a particularly unique flavor, but just about what you bargained for: a smooth, flavorful coffee that packs a decent punch (nothing extraordinary in this department). Here’s the problem: it’s going to cost you. A lot. Know why? Because Blue Bottle was founded in Silicon Valley, and to live there, it is a city requirement that your annual income tops $3.2 million (kidding, but still).
This coffee is insanely high priced and I can’t say that there’s any necessity to fork over the dough when the coffee itself doesn’t outperform other nearby coffee shops. On the other hand, Union Station is sexy, and Blue Bottle maintains prime real estate within it, stationed right at the center of the Grand Hall (if you haven’t been, you should go, it’s a sight to see). Union Station has free wifi, and it works! So you can pleasantly chug along at your laptop while enjoying the architectural marvel that is Union Station. Though, note that there are no accessible outlets, so your time there is limited if you’re doing computer work. Service was solid, just about what you expect at a coffee shop: pleasant and efficient, but again nothing to brag about.
Stop 6: Chez Lily
425 I St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Flavor: 4, Workability: 3, Strength: 2, Character: 2, Value: 3, Service: 5
Chez Lily was my final stop of the day in Mount Vernon Square, and I have to say, I’m happy I went here, but perhaps not for reasons you would expect. At this point in the day, as my first Sunday Stars (I had no idea what I was getting myself into), I was feeling rather….brutal. I was practically coked out on 5 cups of redeye (iced coffee + single espresso shot) coffee at this point, my heart rate was ? easily above 200 bpm and my hands were aggressively shaking.
I am thankful to god for this place for a series of reasons. First, it was open! Jesus. Coffee shops just have to close at 2pm don’t they? Hey man, listen, that’s prime time for that lull in the workday, I want to go home, what am I even doing here, do I really have to do this whole 9–5 thing for 30 more years cup of coffee. Alright! Some of us rely (who am I kidding, all of us), rely on that. Chez Lily will not let you down! They’ll give you an extra two hours (4pm close time) to get that extra cup in (good form Chez, good form, the people appreciate you). I would also like to thank Chez Lily for having an open access, full, cold water station. Yes. Why isn’t this a thing everywhere. I feel like such a scumbag asking for a water cup. Just let me pour my damn water. My final plug for Chez Lily was their service. As I said, I was jittery. So naturally, I accidentally yeeted my coffee all over their floor. The baristas sprung into action before I could even try to help and cleaned up my mess and then promptly poured me another cup of coffee on the house (this part I would normally be excited about, but this time it felt like god sucker punching me in the face). From a coffee perspective, the coffee was pleasant, though a bit weak and watery. Price was just about on par with the average around the city. And there was space and wifi (though few outlets) to work.
Put simply:
Today, The Wydown and Ebenezer’s win my stars — in that order.
Ultimately, the stars needed to go to the shops that outperformed in all categories, which both of these spots absolutely did.
The Wydown comes in as my overall winner — it nailed every category. The coffee was probably my favorite of the day because of its gradually building intensity, there was a ton of space to put in the work, open access water as well (forgot to mention this), a diverse set of seating options, pleasant service, and just a beautiful looking atmosphere.
Ebenezer’s rivaled The Wydown for sure, but falls squarely behind it in most categories, kind of like an Android vs. an iPhone (okay that may be a little harsh, these two are super tight — maybe more like Benz/BMW). Ebenezer’s really took a fall because of the Wifi strength, which is an essential part of the coffee shop experience.
That being said, Ebenezer’s coffee did have a bit more flare than The Wydown’s. The Wydown’s was smooth and I preferred it to Ebenezer’s, but I could easily see this swinging the other direction if you prefer a bit more of an initial sting with a peculiar aftertaste. The only edge, in my books, that Ebenezer’s holds is the service. The Wydown’s service was pleasant. Ebenezer’s service was impressive.
To the both of them, they’re exceptionally well-run coffee shops. It’s clear that both of them are keenly aware of what people want in a coffee shop and it makes sense.
…
On a personal note:
Do not drink 6 cups of coffee in a day.
I felt brutal afterwards and I was sweating profusely walking through the DC swamp. I’ve learned since this day how to prepare to be hazed (literally) by Sunday Stars, but this time was a culture shock. Also, you would think that 6 cups would be the recipe for a successful allnighter. Spoiler: it’s not. It’s recipe for the single biggest caffeine crash of all time. I slept for 12 hours.
Anyway, first one in the books. More to come. Stay tuned.
deuces,
dHb
