2331 Calvert St NW

(Corner 24th Street)

Washington DC USA

“If it was a snake it would have bitten you on the bum” my Dad used to say. This means sometimes, the thing you seek is staring you straight in the face, yet you still manage to overlook it for whatever reason. In this case the search for excellent coffee was right under my nose all along, mere blocks from my house. Open City is a coffeehouse and diner in the Woodley Park-Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington DC. If, like me, you have driven past this place nearly every day for the past two years and said “I have to try the coffee at that place” but never quite gotten around to it, it’s time to get off your procrastinating posterior and give your taste buds an exercise in the sublime. Open City is quite simply one of the best damn coffee joints in Washington DC. I have searched far and wide across the spectrum of coffee snobbery in this city, frequently underwhelmed at each turn -but not today. I rolled in to Open City in the late afternoon -hardly a typical time for caffination except for those of us hunting for the delicious bean like a curious toddler for an egg on EasterSunday. Decor wise the place looks like a cozy old pub. The interior has a beautiful pressed metal-looking ceiling with character filled wooden floors, giving a warmth to the place that would be greatly enhanced when the place is bustling. The ample glass windows look, give view to the beautiful red-gold foliage that is characteristic of D.C.’s autumn at this time of year. I ordered a Caffe Latte and an Espresso. First the Espresso – no overbearing acidity or bitterness at all, quite thick and even on thepalate – really chocolate smooth – the single best espresso shot I have had since setting foot on US soil. No joke, it was THAT good.However as with many of the recent searches for caffeine perfection, I wasn’t expecting both the shot AND the latte to be a winner. Usually the way it works in my US coffee experiences is the barista pulls a good shot, but misses the boat with the milk, or vice versa. Not this time, much to my pleasant surprise the latte was thick, not perfectly textured but very good with the texture of a well mixed Milo. There was no bitterness at all, my only criticism was that it tasted a little weak and I probably could have done a double shot in the latte to compensate as it was a little milky. However it’s a minor criticism. Today, I felt like the Indiana Jones of caffeine stumbling across valuable coffee treasures that need to be shared with the world. If you are anywhere inside the D.C. beltway – go to Open Cityand see what a well made coffee tastes like.

TWO BIG BEANS! And a sigh of relief from the CaFFiend, I thought poor Eric was going to die of lack of caffeine while over in the states, finally some real joy!

KUDOS to you guys, and remember that life is too short to drink bad coffee so Melbourne Coffee Review have introduced HOTSHOTS, the BEST of the BEST:

Till next time, keep on caffeining on…….

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Coffee: Counter Culture