Coffee ShopEast Village

Photo by Abigail Radey for Beholdr
The window at Coffee Project proudly reads, “Coffee Made Me Do It.” It started as the dream of Chi Sum “Sum” Ngai and Kaleena Teoh, who left careers in psychology and IT to build exactly the kind of neighborhood cafe they wanted to spend time in. A decade later, Sum is a certified Q-grader and runs the city’s only SCA-certified training campus. This is now one of New York's most respected specialty coffee businesses, with beans coming from cooperatives and family farms. This one’s the original shop, and it’s still our favorite.
Order the deconstructed latte. Espresso, steamed milk, and a latte in three glasses, so you taste each part before the whole. The pour-overs, which are treated with near-scientific precision, are in a league of their own.
Routes and collections this place belongs to

BakeryEast Village
Don’t miss the OG downtown boulangerie. Baguettes don’t get any more perfect, especially when paired with fresh sandwich fillings or a flaky, golden patisserie.

BookstoreNoHo
A candy-pink temple to rare ephemera, erotica, VHS tapes, and books on art, photography, and counterculture, curated like a great exhibition.

GalleryNoHo
Art’s romantic past and topical present merge emphatically in art that is at once socially relevant and inextricably tied to art's history.

MuseumNoHo
Come for thoughtful, richly researched exhibitions that transport you across cities, histories, and art movements. Stay for quiet galleries and work that makes you smarter. This is exactly what a university museum should feel like.