facttime

As 2022 draws to a close, it's time for the 12th edition of my annual speciality coffee and food awards , where I share my favourite coffee shops and eateries from among all of those that I visited for the first time this year. Over the past few years, I've tweaked the geographical boundaries of some awards to reflect my travel schedule, which has changed somewhat as a result of COVID. Throughout the year, I visited some fantastic speciality coffee shops and ate some delicious food, so it was hard to pick my favourites. I was lucky enough to travel to  Kenya ,  Uganda  and  Bali  for work, drinking some excellent coffee at the farms and washing stations I visited. I also enjoyed city breaks in New York City (where the  coffee  and  food  were as good as always) and  Athens . And closer to home, I continued eating my way around London (most of my coverage is  on my Instagram ) and  Bristol . Read on to find out which places made...

Earlier this week, I wrote about three of the excellent new-to-me speciality coffee shops I visited in Brooklyn during my recent visit. But I had the opportunity to stop by a fair few coffee spots in Manhattan too. I was staying near Bryant Park, which meant that Midtown coffee shops feature quite prominently on this list. There used to be a real dearth of speciality coffee in this part of town, but there are now dozens of places to get a great cup of coffee. I did find, however, that many of the Midtown coffee shops I visited had a real focus on takeaway and served coffee in disposable cups even if you are drinking in (COVID has been a driver, of course). This isn't that surprising, given the high proportion of tourists and office workers in that part of town, but it is worth noting. Several of the coffee shops I visited were part of (very) mini-chains from coffee companies with three to five locations in the city. Some (like Felix Roasting Co, pictured above) have also benefitte...

After a two-year absence, I finally returned to New York City earlier this month, for a holiday with my parents. We were originally supposed to go in May 2020, but we all know why that didn't happen. With six days in the city, I had plenty of time to visit some new and new-to-me speciality coffee shops. And three of my favourites were all in Brooklyn.  My original plan was to visit them all in a single morning, but while walking from the subway to my first coffee stop, I came across Ursula , a New Mexican café and bakery, and couldn't resist ordering a breakfast burrito. My breakfast was delicious and well worth the 45-minute wait, but it did mean I only made it to two of the coffee spots on my list and had to return to the third the following day. Daughter Located in the Crown Heights neighbourhood, Daughter is a café, wine bar and community space where the emphasis really is on the community — they share 10% of monthly profits with local causes and share free meals every day ...

I spent five days in New York at the beginning of my recent US trip. I was there for work and only had Saturday afternoon and Sunday free in the city, but managed to squeeze in visits to four new-to-me speciality coffee shops. One of these — Yafa Cafe — is all the way down in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, but the wonderfully welcoming Yemeni coffee shop and eatery was well worth the visit even on a short trip. Citizens of SoHo (SoHo) I stumbled upon Aussie coffee shop and brunch spot Citizens of SoHo while I was wandering up Lafayette Street. They have several other 'Citizens of' locations, and the SoHo branch had only been open a few days when I visited. I had already eaten brunch but I was very much in the market for coffee. The coffee is from  Partners , a smooth Central and South American espresso blend in the hopper. I ordered a piccolo, which was very well prepared and appropriately petite. The Seasons espresso had a very nice caramel taste with a little milk. It will come as ...