Chinatown Coffee Co. Opened for Business Today
The irrepressible Nick Cho has found a new home, and it's at Chinatown Coffee Co., which just opened today at 475 H Street NW (which, technically, may be outside the formal boundaries of Chinatown).
The shop is actually owned by Max and Katie Brown, a pair of "recovering attorneys" who decided to hire Cho, the ultra-orthodox coffee missionary with the semi-sinful past. The high priest of the coffee plant has had run-ins with the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue and with one of his own customers who blasphemied the almighty espresso. Cho's been known to deliver a sermon on occasion, too.
Cho's role at Chinatown Coffee will be limited to running the day-to-day business, along with Katie Brown, and serving as "coffee yoda," Max Brown e-mailed to Y&H this afternoon. "Cho will be General Manager and not have any financial interest in the shop."
But Max Brown notes that, long before he became an attorney and businessman, he was the child of a restaurant family.
"Grew up in the restaurant business — washed dishes, bussed tables at a disco in the late 70's; bartended, cooked. My dad owned a restaurant in the 50's and my grandfather owned a restaurant as well, Brown's Hungarian Restaurant. All in Cleveland, OH, where we are from. So, I guess it runs in the family," Max Brown writes.
Chinatown Coffee is serving java (hand-brewed, French pressed, or espresso) and teas from Intelligentsia in Chicago as well as pastries from Patisserie Poupon and other outlets. I asked Max Brown what coffees are currently on the bar, and he wrote back the following:
Black cat Espresso
Guatemala La Soledad
Honduras La Tortuga
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Don't know about you, but I know where I'm stopping tomorrow morning.
Photo courtesy of Chinatown Coffee Co.
11:16 am
My office is very close to Chinatown Coffee Co., and I just made my third visit this week. The lattes are amazing, and remind me of rich and fragrant coffee experiences I've had abroad. I'm also a huge fan of their truly small, 8 ounce cups. I always believe that less is more when the quality is top notch. That is the case here. The pretty little designs swirled on top are a definite bright spot in my day as well.
I should mention that I've not delved into the pastry offerings until today's visit. I had an almond croissant that was one of the best I've had around here.
I'm a big fan already, and I'm so excited to have this place close by!!
9:36 pm
I have been known to be repressed from time to time.
8:30 pm
Perhaps expectations were to high after having been a long time Murky patron, but I left not only disappointed in this coffee shop but in the lack of inspiration that is shown in many of DC's newest establishments. Blank brick walls, low ceilings and employees who had donned the "traditional" coffee shop uniform of tattoos and ennui do not leave me wanting more. The pretentious clientele reminded me of middle-age suburbanites who attend strip mall wine tastings.
The shop needed something more, maybe art on the walls, maybe better music, or just a barista that made eye contact would be enough to put it outside of the wannabe cool coffee shop category.