Caffeine Fix: A Look at Stumptown Coffee Roasters & Birch Coffee

This week I've had the opportunity to check out two new coffee shops in the city: Stumptown Coffee Roasters (30 W. 8th Street, West Village) and Birch Coffee (56 7th Avenue, West Village). Both are coffee shops I've been planning on trying for quite some time and both have their own charm and...of course...delicious, refreshing coffee.

I went to Stumptown because I heard it had a great atmosphere (I needed a place where I could sit and write), and I wanted to try out its Nitro cold brew - cold brew coffee infused with nitrogen. While there was a good amount of seating inside, the place was hopping and every chair was taken. I headed out to their patio with an iced cold brew in hand. It was a warm day, but the patio was shaded and there was plenty of seating. I decided to try Stumptown's regular cold brew first (they serve it on tap at their "coffee bar" ...I think that's crazy cool), then, when I was ready to head out, I grabbed a can of their Nirto Cold Brew Coffee for the road.

The barista told me about the Nitro brew and that it had the texture of a Guinness beer. After trying it, I think I prefer their normal cold brew, but I'd definitely recommend at least trying the Nitro sometime.

I also heard that they do coffee tastings at their bar at 2 p.m. every afternoon. I didn't have time to stick around for the tasting this time, but hopefully I'll try it out soon.

New York City has been in a "heat wave"for the past week (that's what the local news stations are calling it even though I know, I know, it's 110 in the midwest...) so I've stuck with cold brew.

Grabbing coffee at Birch Coffee has been on my NYC To Do list since long before I moved out this way. I've heard only good things about their coffee and read nothing but good reviews about each of their locations. Yesterday I was on my way to Strand Bookstore (another story for another day...yes, I'm in love with Strand) and walked past Birch's 7th street location. I went in to grab a coffee for my walk. I thought the atmosphere inside of Birch was charming and was not disappointed at all with their coffee. While they didn't have nearly as many tables and seats as Stumptown, I liked Birch's smaller, quaint atmosphere. They had an old, weathered bookshelf filled with different novels - it would have been a lovely place to post up and read.

Plus, their cold brew is the best I've tried since I've been in NYC. I will definitely be back...next time with a book and time to kill.

While I'm digging summer, loving the sunshine and enjoying all the warm whether activities NYC has to offer (Bryant Park Yoga and hanging out at Washington Square Park), part of me can't wait for fall when I'll crave these coffee shops' hot drinks. There's nothing better than a warm, almond milk latte on a chilly fall day.

I hope you found these quick coffee shop reviews helpful! You really can't go wrong with coffee at either Stumptown or Birch - they were both great!

Until next time,

Kelly

#NYC #BucketList #WestVillage #CoffeeShops #NYCCoffee