Ritual Coffee’s Columbia on V60, cortado, and croissant at Sweetleaf in LIC.

The good vibes and great coffee were definitely worth the trek out here.

Expectant.

Cortados.

One at Gasoline Alley Coffee on Bleeker St., the other at Joe’s in Union Square.

Macchiato from Toby’s Estate, at the Union Square Holiday Market.

Served in a paper cup alongside goods from the Doughnut Plant and Balthazar. and nice to sip on while perusing the festivities of the holiday market.

Espresso at Abraço (East Village, Manhattan).

Fruity, yummy, and pulled by a super laid-back barista who not only made me a cortado, but also seemed to admire my new camera.

Rainy day macchiato at Gasoline Alley Coffee.

One of my favorite spots, serving well-pulled shots of the rare(r) Black Cat Analog.

Cortado.

At Blue Bottle Coffee, All Good Things Market.

Cortado from Bluebird Coffee (and their La Marzocco, and storefront).

Highly recommended by a well-trusted friend and coffee-drinker, but I’m not quite sure this place was worth the trek. However, all drinks (save the cortado) were served in robin’s egg blue ceramic, and the barista was very nice.

Barista and manager of Cafe Moulfanso in Turin (respectively).

To be frank, Italian coffee isn’t that great. They roast and extract old school, without much regard for origin and characteristics of individual crops.

But the atmosphere of this place, with its dark, wood-panel ceilings and mirrored walls, could not be beat.

There’s a teddy bear in my cappuccino.

…

He made it for me on my last day in Seoul.