Harlem Cafés: A Definitive Ranking

Yes 20-somethings love brunch but what's easier on the wallet and equally gram-able? Coffee.

You can find a Starbucks on every corner from Wall Street to the Upper West Side but once you hit 125th the Starbucks are few and far between (and by that I mean every 20 blocks instead of one... but it's all relative). Instead you are surrounded by a wealth of cozier stores housing baristas with man buns and regulars with stickered up MacBooks revealing their colleges, support of gay rights, and favorite brands.

Of course not all cafés are made equal so I bring to you my top three spots to camp out with your latte and laptop.

Chipped Cup - The Garden

My top spot is the Chipped Cup. You enter by walking down steps that surely once belonged to a fire escape and find an underground café decked out with bookshelves in three separate locations and bright blue coffee cups for your to-stay drinks. Its top quality, and the one puts it above all competitors, is the outdoor seating with mismatched chairs and plants where you can enjoy your coffee break in the sun. If it's not a break but rather a work from the café kind of day then the indoor seating will have to do. You have your choice of the bar, the couch, and the tables.

Chipped Cup - Interns at Work

Chipped Cup - Work and an Almond Latte

Of course the downside of the Chipped Cup once it gets too cold for outdoor seating is that the lighting inside is subpar for your aerial coffee shot so it's time to find a new place to get your caffeine fix. This is where Manhattanville comes in.

Manhattanville - Outside Looking In

Manhattanville - The Counter 

With its beautiful marble counters and huge windows, Manhattanville  is the perfect spot for bagels and coffee on a lazy morning and definitively the café with the nicest lighting. Another perk? As of this summer Manhattanville is liquor licensed (but yet to roll out its new drink menu).

Manhattanville - Getting the Perfect Aerial Part One

Manhattanville - Getting the Perfect Aerial Part Two

My final recommendation is Sugar Hill Café, the newest spot on my list. Out of my top three it's definitively the most innovative with its drinks - my favorite of these innovations being the matcha lemonade which is made with fresh pressed lemon juice, given its kick from matcha powder, and served up in a mason jar. On top of that, Sugar Hill keeps profits in the community with its art created by a west harlem resident, beans delivered from a local producer, and pastries baked only a few blocks away.

So for your next coffee date think outside of the box (read: the west village) and head uptown to for your summer cold brew

Post by Naima Drecker-Waxman