How Coffee Shops Are Replacing Bars As Social Hotspots – CoffeeTalk

The coffee scene has evolved from being a place to loiter and assess others, to becoming the new bars. In New York City, Los Angeles, and other cities, hype coffee shops have become the hottest venues to loiter and assess other people. These shops have found the right formula, which seems to include a thoughtfully prepared product and a pared-down aesthetic conducive to a DJ set.

New York City’s Café Lyria is a pioneer of the genre, serving freddo cappuccinos to clients with zero daytime obligations. The loft-like room features a TV loaded with an old VHS, and consultants in moto jackets and western wear compare growth strategies at a cluster of small tables. 12 Matcha in Noho draws a line down the block before it even opens, sitting in a historic cast-iron building and hosting a demographic that falls somewhere between dedicated travel vlogger and pickleball socialite. Their matcha immaculate is weighed on a scale, then ritualistically whisked with charcoal-balanced water, making it immaculate.

On the opposite coast, LA has a whole subset of coffee shops where people go to look cool, which makes sense for a city with a wellness obsession. Chamberlain Coffee is a hit with high schoolers and those looking to borrow a little influence from its namesake vlogger/entrepreneur. The older Maru Coffee offers a more grown-up scene, with people in Adidas taekwondo shoes scanning each other’s monochromatic outfits. West Hollywood’s Community Goods is another hub of voyeuristic sipping, offering espresso tonics and breakfast sliders to a swarm in tabi boots and Chrome Hearts.

NYC and LA tend to lead the pack when it comes to hypebeast antics, but buzzy coffee shops have spread to cities that have historically been more line-averse. For example, Chicago hosts the occasional new-wave oat milk launch party and vintage clothing pop-up, while Miami is now spearheading the coffee rave, which essentially just brings a DJ into the equation.

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