• Drinking: Coffee, coffee, coffee.
• Listening to: Kings of Convenience & Feist.
• Wearing: The afghan I’ve been wrapped in all afternoon. It’s just one of those days.

Hello cheri, & welcome to Hope & Union, a place I’d like to say is serving up the latest & greatest coffee in town, but I’m not sure whether its little-over-a-year-old presence actually does make it the newest kid on the block. So I’ll just say it’s the newest find for me, & yes, hands down one of the best coffee spots I’ve ever visited.

I’ve already mentioned the way they brew every cup fresh, pouring piping hot water over in-season grounds piled high above each individual, mug-sized chemex. Then there’s the interior: bright white, beachy & minimal-chic.

For my follow-up visit I traded my usual latte for a cup of their Ethiopian beans & tested the tables with the fabulous Miss Amanda (& yes, they are girl-talk proof). As you well know, cheri, when it comes to coffee, I’m anything but easy-to-please. But it would seem H&U has officially made the list of my favorite things this year, & I hope to see them around for many more to come.