As all my acquaintances know: I LIVE off coffee–and if I were to cut myself, I’m quite sure, I would bleed it, too…And, nope, that wasn’t a typo–I truly do live off of it…My life of coffee consumption really picked up when I started freelancing full time because, true to form, I spend a lot of time IN coffee shops and, in order to hang out here, one must be considerate and purchase something…

I can tell you the best places in my neighborhood to get: good coffee, cheap coffee, lots of refills, or places with a nice atmosphere (which does not always equal decent coffee)–I’ve even branched out of my area and can give suggestions of places in midtown and even a couple of places in Brooklyn…In fact, one of my current projects is to create a ‘coffee map’–that I can give to visitors–someone apparently has created one for Brooklyn, but I think the EV really needs one.

Far from the ‘cookie cutter quality of Starbucks’, each coffee shop is unique, almost like individual ‘ecosystems’ having their own atmospheres, rulers, inhabitants, coffee cups and ‘language’–so come to think of it, maybe it’s more like a mini feudal system…Anyhow, in order to chronicle the differences between each, I’ve started drawing the different cups & treats from each one…as I branch out to more spaces, look for more cups 😀

PS I must note, that I do love tea as well….specifically PG tips & chai (the tea, not the lattes) however, in New York there seems to be a lack of proper tea or its more expensive than coffee and therefore, on a budget, coffee is the safest bet for your money…