One of my favorite things

One of my favorite things is the coffee shop. A great space to go sit for a few hours working on my laptop, reading, studying, or to just meet up with my friends. A place where they start they can start your drink when you walk in the door you've been there that many times. My favorite drink at the coffee shop is the latte. I dislike coffee straight, if I am going to drink it it must be at least half milk, (perhaps this is my dads fault for serving me milk with a bit of coffee at a young age and I just never have been able to stomach straight coffee since). So the wonderful mix of foamy milk mixed with just the right amount of espresso is addictive for me, not for the caffeine but for the taste. Add a great atmosphere and maybe a refill and I am set for a few hours.

To give you a little back ground info: I moved to Brooklyn two years ago from the far away Midwest (or as everyone here believes the Wild West) from a college town that had many, many, many coffee shops and most of them knew how to make an amazing cup of coffee, or in my case latte and had a great atmosphere. I was horribly disappointed by the coffee shop scene upon first arrival and was stuck drinking Starbucks while searching for the perfect cup and place to hang out on Saturday morning. I found great hot chocolate, wonderful teas, and some good lattes, but I had not found that perfect latte. Most of them were not really good for hanging out, studying, etc. they were more grab and go. My move south to Battle Hill in June has been one of the best ideas ever just in terms of the coffee shops. Southside, Roots Cafe and Has Beans are all great coffee shops and here's why:

South Side (6th Avenue and 19th Street): This place has by far one of the best lattes I have ever had. Seriously. To top it off the environment at the coffee shop is just as good as the coffee. They have just the right mix of comfy chairs for lounging and small tables for setting up a laptop and some outside seating. The design is minimal and laid back, clean.
The baristas are also some of the best. They know everyone that comes it it seems and they know their coffee 411. I don't think they can make a bad cup. They are also, usually hilarious or have a good story for you as they make you your drink and Saturday is typically the day of the week to catch up on your Justin Timberlake tunes, (you know it's good, don't deny it). The only thing that Southside has fallen short in terms of coffee shops for me is the hours. They close at 8PM, which is usually when I am getting ready to leave my little apartment and head to the coffeeshop and put in a few hours of studying on the week nights. So I head down to 5th Avenue instead.

Roots Cafe- (5th Avenue and 18th Street): Roots has a laid back Southern appeal with books and art all around. It's kind of like an overstuffed library that's really inviting. On the wall next to the bar are a bunch of coat rack hooks for people to leave their own mug, which they will wash for you. They have live music weekly and the art on display is for sale from local artists. It can be a good spot to hang out or study with the various seating options and they are open until 10 Monday to Thursday (although I have been kicked out around 9:30 before) and 11 Friday and Saturdays. The baristas are nice and seem to know what they are doing and the music is usually good. The lattes are pretty good, but I am a big fan of their Good Karma Tea in lieu of the the latte.

Has Beans (5th Avenue and 17th): Has Beans is my roommates favorite coffee shop since they are open the latest and they have plenty of outlets for laptop use and comfortable table chairs. The space is brightly lite and there is a mix of large or small tables. I myself am not a huge fan of a coffee shop with out some sort of cushy chair seating, but the environment definitely lends itself to the computer/studying crowd. The latte is okay, not my favorite, but they are open the latest of all and have a candy jar with tootsie rolls. They also have a large tea selection along with beer and wine.

Over all (if you can't tell) Southside is definitely my favorite place to be in terms of the coffee world. All three are really different in terms of environment and menu options and it really just depends on the mood you are in or what you plan on doing during your coffee shop stay as to which is better. I'm just happy to have finally found some awesome coffee shops and choices in Battle Hill, none of which are Starbucks.