Spend a chaotic day with me in the Coffee Shop ❤️

[Music] la la la let's review some coffee shops I have no qualifications to do this these are just my opinions I am not a seasoned coffee connoisseur but I am a seasoned judger and besides you don't have to be a coffee connoisseur in order to enjoy a coffee shop coffee shops are just for anybody who's feeling a little bit lonely and who hates their job I don't actually hate my job but I'm feeling like a crank today so we're going to go around and judge some of the local coffee shops and I found that like there are only so many kinds of coffee shops in every single City in the states at least they all end up just copying themselves so we're going to visit what I think are some like archetypal coffee shops we will be judging these coffee shops based on what I identify as the seven core tenants of a coffee shop coffee yeah service Vibe bathroom design people watching and treats the scale for judging coffee either it's coffee or it's not coffee as I said I'm not a connoisseur most of us just drink lightly brown milky water so I'm not going to walk around acting like most people go to coffee shops really have a lot of taste cuz we don't service on the low end of the scale we have sorry for trying to give you my money the kind of service where you walk in and you're like they they seem offended that you've tried to engage them for service in the middle we have technically that was service positive end of the scale we've got kiss them on the lips Vibe on the low end of the scale we've got I've fallen and I can't get up like I need assistance the vibe is bad maybe it's hostile maybe it's too crowded in the middle we've got I am well on the high end of the scale we have I'm thriving rare elusive as far as bathroom bathrooms are a key part of evaluating coffee shop on the low end we've got highway rest stop Starbucks I think we're all familiar and the high end we have harmonious like you got to go look at the bathroom I also love judging design Decor but oh my God is it hard to find any Cafe that's like done anything on the low end we have why/how dare you in the middle we've got I'm not angry just disappointed and on the high end that's my daddy no further explanation people watching is one of the main reasons I go to coffee shops on the low end we've got nothing to write home about on the high end we've got full-blown Predator like I'm feeling like a predator in here I am gawking I am staring I am loving people watching someone's going to call the police that's a good sign on the last item we've got treats um on the low end no thank you middle I'll eat it that goes for a lot of stuff like I'll eat it you know I'll eat it and on the high end I'm texting a picture to my mom which is basically that's what I find myself doing when I've eaten like a real good treat I'm texting a picture of my mom now we got to get going cuz I'm sweating safety don't look in the back of my car cuz it's a [Music] mess ooh I'm going to pause real quick that was a weird entrance to thank uh Thrive Market who's making this video possible this is my recent Thrive Market haul if you're not familiar Thrive Market is an online membership based grocery store I use Tri Market because I'm so freaking I'm just I don't know why I want to say I'm busy but maybe I'm not maybe I'm just lazy which is the best thing about thri markets deliver to your door for this order I focused on my snacks my summer spring summer snack poppy soda snack bars when I'm on the go and frozen fruit to make smoothies is my go go to like healthy summer snack but it is really hard to find good quality frozen fruit and vegetables they're always kind of trash and they taste like water and I will only get it from Thrive now it's so so worth it you really should try it if you eat food and have groceries ever in your home and want them to be good for your body and just want to have a stocked fridge without a lot of effort there's no reason not to try it also all the brands I get from fried Market that I would also get Els squ they are cheaper with Thrive for example these are some of my favorites Aloha bars chocolate chip cookie dough and peanut butter cup are my favorite flavors and like I saw these I think the other day at Whole Foods and it was $12 or $13 for five bars and I get this on Thrive Market it is $20 for 15 bars on my recent order I saved like $29 thrives website is really nice to use cuz you can filter by whatever lifestyle vegan vegetarian plant-based keto gluten-free it's great for that and if you just want to try it out they have a month-to-month subscription you can do it's like $12 a month that's it or you can do a year-long subscription I think it's $59.95 and that comes out to $5 a month it's delightful if you want to join thri market today I'm going to put a link in the description thri market.com Caroline Winkler click the link to get 30% off your first order and you also get a free gift worth up to 60 bucks they're running a sale I think this week on bars and snacks May 13th to 17th so it's a good time to check it out if you want to get your healthy swap snacks in big recommend for my first stop I'm going to go to that like buzzing All Day Cafe LDC is located in Mount Pleasant in Washington DC and honestly they had such a cute interior it was my first time there and I love when a place has various zones and like a variety of Nooks the people watching was full-blown Predator they've got a bar top that faces the street which is one of my personal favorites do you guys have any like signature coffee or C latte correct I got their specialty cardamom latte and a shortbread cookie they recommended honestly it was great frankly the vibe uh was I'm thriving it was the perfect amount of people of chatting of working the music wasn't too quiet or too loud and for service for sure kiss them on the lips like they were so friendly really really sweet honestly I woke up this morning ready to judge but this place was it just kind of was amazing wow it's a bathroom nice nice okay okay little shelf I like that that's the bathroom wow okay first of all I cannot overemphasize how much I hate filming in public you your camera out I just feel like such an ass especially filming for YouTube you film horizontal I feel like people have an extra strong reaction to when you're filming horizontal cuz they're like okay it's not just for your Instagram it's not just for this they're like what's this for what's this film you're making and it just makes me feel like such a jerk it's so unpleasant I hate it anyhow coffee is literally coffee this is great cardamom something I feel like this light is really good on me right now I think I'm glowing and this is the light I would always like to be seen in thank you bathroom vegan friendly for sure literally it was a bathroom not the worst not the best I peed there and that is fine treats I got a little lemon lavender Shortcake cookie or something I'm going to say I'll eat it but also how good can a Shortcake cookie ever be you know I don't know if I'm ever texting a picture of that to my mom so it's probably the best it could be but also the best it could be is is pretty neutral latte is great though Decor that's my freaking daddy it was unique it was fresh but it wasn't like overly Instagram looks like a million different places and I love the setup of the different Nooks the different seating areas A+ overall Vibe I'm freaking literally thriving I'm thriving for sure nothing I'd improve nothing I'd change it's great [Music] can I tell you something about these shoes right now these shoes are so cute objectively so cute and they're killing my feet and I have tried so many pairs of cute summer shoes and I can't find a single pair that is both cute and made for feet that have toes I don't feel like I'm asking for a lot here I'm going to bleed out in this coffee shop via my toes I have my comfy summer shoes but sometimes I want cute ones and none of them seem to accommodate having a foot I love these shoes so much I'm not going to get rid of them I couldn't sell them anyway they're covered in blood next stop we're going to call the cultural Hub bus boys and Poets is a cafe bar and has its own bookstore frequently hosting literary events and cultural stuff it's a chain but it has somehow managed to maintain the neighborhood feel like the vibe was actually I'm thriving I also think this place had the nicest service of anywhere I went okay awesome thank you did somebody come to you yes I already ordered thank you thank you hands down like kiss them on the lips the people were ridiculously nice also PS for my treat I ordered a fruit bowl which sounds basic but it was really good fresh fruit which is actually very rare to find now let me talk to you about the bathroom there's three stalls so you're not standing waiting like an idiot clean cute I don't need to post this on pinest but like it was a very pleasant bathroom experience harmonious Jesus Christ wow wow talk about service far in a away that was a kiss me on the lips for service every single person I interact with and I interacted with multiple people cuz they were on top of it why is the light flashing in a crazy way is that better or is that worse it's worse hello and you can catch anyone anywhere on like a good day they're feeling talkative and nice but when you get like four people in a row I'm comfortable saying kiss them on the lips for service Vibe Vibe I'm thriving I'm thriving great Vibe amazing Vibe welcoming lots of space lots of seats I like a variety of seating options I'm kind of shocked it ranked so high on everything really high I think I need to hang out there more the only downside was basically the coffee but there's a million other reasons you go to a coffee shop but to be fair there're really a full service restaurant and bar that just has the vibe of a coffee shop plus coffee so I'm going to allow it really strong endorsement okay let's keep it moving I've had so much coffee right now I've had so much coffee we're not going to [Music] stop stop number two is your classic '90s grunge coffee shop Trish in Adams Morgan is kind of a DC staple it's very beloved it's great for working and hanging out you can always get a seat amazing people watching it's kind of got the vibe of Central Perk from friends can I please get a small iced vanilla latte thank you I did get an amazing almond croissant enough to take a picture of my mom it's just the design is not for me I see what they're doing here and they're doing it well but I personally just don't love upholstered furniture in public that feels like hundreds of people have marinated in it I know it's going to make some people mad but it I it's just it's just not for me okay coffee uh on a scale of it's coffee it's not coffee I'd say it's coffee like it's it's not the best it's not the worst but it is literally a here bathroom is straight up highway rest stop Starbucks there's no getting around it it's not a deal breaker but it's been noted people watching people watching is great they have a little bar where you can sit out look at the street look at the window people watching is uh full-blown Predator the service was medium the thing about judging based on Service is like you can have a bad experience with service basically anywhere I also worked in the service industry for 10 years so for me to give something a really bad service grade it has to be like egregious cuz I feel like I have a lot of compassion for serving I think because I was a server and a waiter and a bartender and a bus boy and a Hostess for so many years like you'll pretty much get a 20% tip from me no matter what but when people are really horrific like they think they're the only person on Earth who hates their job then I'm pissed I'm like guess what I don't know I served tables and worked in shops for 10 years and I hated my job and I still like did it I still did it so I don't know that's my disclaimer about service it wasn't great today but I've been in there and had great service and that's the thing with most places like it depends can you tell how much I'm sweating right now it's really hot overall I think it's like medium plus the whole place is medium plus I get why people like it I'm not here to bash it I think it does its thing very well let's hit another one you know it's personal preference these are just opinions next up we've got the obligatory trendy chain coffee shop yepy Mecca basic girl Paradise I'm not better than that I get a bit of anxiety walking into Tate in DC because it is usually so crowded but I went there in the off hours and it was totally fine honestly it's popular because it is beautifully designed like obviously that's my daddy can I please get a small pistachio latte yes thank you not only is my mom getting a text but I'm always bringing her treats from here I tried their pistachio latte there were real pieces of pistachio in it and it was amazing like that kind of gimmick really works on a plebian like me their pear tart was A+ the service often ranks medium but that's honestly just because they're overcrowded and the staff probably doesn't have enough support and bathroom we've got the obligatory Subway towel in the bathroom clean amenities I give it a harmonious for sure wow wow wow wow hey things are not going as I anticipated today design that's my daddy it's so beautiful in there it's got like this kind of like Parisian feel la la la la every basic hoe like myself loves it Vibe everything about it is so good and that's the problem usually is that it's overun like a zoo for someone who's like a little introverted I get claustrophobic but it was pretty empty today I went in the off hours and it was great they actually kind of knocked it out of the park so I'm a little surprised I was kind of stressed walking in there I'll tell you that I get a little overwhelmed walking in there usually and I it you know I don't usually go but that's on me I'm going to say that's on me they did great they did a great job they did a great job I've taken off my shoes because my feet hurt so bad I'm going to drive home with no shoes on wow I'm on the curb okay little bits of nut in there it's fascinating wow wow wow wow new day new dress new shoes feet covered in Band-Aids H nice we're going to go to a cuti pie new and I haven't been to next up on the list I wanted to try a brand new spot in Southeast DC that I was very excited to try but I don't know things went wrong okay just kidding I don't know what happened in my head but I just completely drove to the wrong place completely 100% went to the wrong place I was trying to drive to this CAF called any day now I'm not there I just looked it up it's 10 more minutes away what am I doing I have these moments sometimes as an adult where I have so much sympathy for my mom raising me as the former child that I was where I'm just like what's happening in your head like what's happening I was that kid in elementary school where at the end of the day they eventually assigned a teacher to me to help me pack up my school bag cuz otherwise I would come home with like only a third of my books every single day at school they assigned me a teacher no other kid had this where did I just drive to sorry Mom you did a good job literally where am I I don't know what I was thinking I don't know what I was thinking and that would that's what they would say that's what they would say in my whole childhood they would say Caroline what were you thinking I was thinking I was thinking I don't think I was thinking about this doing this I think I was thinking about something else I don't know what I was thinking about but I was thinking it just wasn't you know it wasn't about this thing all right let's try that again dang dong okay take two I did eventually arrive at any day now it's a brand new spot in Southeast DC the design was great it's cute clean like definitely very trendy but it's got Nooks it's got zones I also love the Lunch Counter vibe in a place the service situation was a little weird for a moment mostly due to a sign that told me to order at the counter but then that's not actually what they wanted me to do we worked it out hi there do I order here yeah we have an U latte that sounds amazing immediately yes thank you so much and they suggested this like Twist on a Vietnamese coffee they have it was purple on top I don't know what that means but I would rate it as it's coffee for people watching I'm going to give it a that'll do donkey it's located on a highway which like that's just DC so it's not am amazing environment for people watching but the bathroom was harmonious so you got to pick your battles side note I really appreciate when there's somewhere to set your bag or phone or coffee okay yeah that was interesting I think really my complaint now that I think about it is not for the staff it's for the sign the sign out friend that said order at the counter so I give the sign an F but everyone else was great you just don't want to walk in somewhere and feel like the idiot for example any kind of coffee shop where you have to stand on like a really long line to be served 30 people all standing in line for their iced coffee it just makes me feel like an idiot it makes me feel like we're all just like Randy little chipmunks who like have to get their morning nut their morning coffee I hate it it makes me feel so dumb and I'm like look at this line of lemurs look at me I'm the Lemur so that's my complaint about lines I ordered a coconut cake can I do the coconut please thank you they did not give me the coconut cake they gave me the chocolate cake but that's honestly fine I'm not complaining like whatever they gave me a cake the wallpaper in the bathroom is actually a wallpaper I had in one of my apartments in Ohio before I even started my YouTube DIY channel in Ohio I had this wallpaper up but it was just funny walking in there and being like Oh that's my Ohio living room great people watching yeah I love it I totally go there okay okay wa baby boy new day new me new outfit new Band-Aids let me show you this outfit real quick how do people do these jumpsuit jumpsuit jumpsuit this is very much not me I'm feeling very Brooklyn feeling very Brooklyn okay I'm in to rush as usual I'm running late and we are going to stop by one of my favorite kind of coffee shops which is like what do you want to call this just like the rundown no effort friendly neighborhood coffee shop even though it it looks like a dungeon they're great people there's something so really nice about hanging out there this is your friendly dungeon coffee shop Olay is literally in a basement and they do not concern themselves with interior design but everyone there is so crazy nice that it's just a lovely place to hang out as for coffee I'd say it ranks as it's coffee and that's about all I can say about that the coffee cake though blew my mind I would have texted a picture of my mom if I had taken even 1 second to breathe as for people watching I give it a that'll do donkey me medium okay the bathroom it's not quite a Starbucks rest stop but it's close yeah this is a bathroom this is technically a bathroom but despite how it ranks on paper there's something I love about this place okay let me tell you what right now we have just witnessed one of the elusive rare occurrences where the design is a why/ how dare you but the vibe is not I've fallen and I can't get up the vibe was I'm thriving it's dingy it's dirty it's literally down in a like a basement level but it's always really happy in there the staff is really sweet it feels very mom and Poppy I'm not sure if it is but it feels mom and pop everyone's so nice everyone in there like all the patrons always seem really happy yeah this is the kind of place where like I don't think I would be sold from their Instagram actually I would be shocked if this place has an Instagram but actually being there is so pleasant and so nice and underrated that's not always the case for like the dingy basement coffee shop but I love this one it really accomplishes that neighborhood [Music] feel you want to go get a coffee yeah let's go get coffee we are going to an Ethiopian coffee shop that I've seen very well reviewed I've never been I don't know what Ethiopian coffee exactly entails the the beans like there's a specific like Ethiopian beans are usually I think that they're like cold wash before they roast them or something po pick cleaner coffee did you Google this before no the I've looked I have looked it up before but what is your how would you describe your personal relationship to coffee I'm addicted to it uh I don't I don't think I I have as much of a passion for it as some people from Seattle and so it's I think it's very uh common for people to have like a passion for it a real identity around their being yeah I I'm I'm with you on the scale of it's coffee or it's not coffee coffee it's not coffee I don't drink it I get headaches ooh I'm going to get you to do the scale so keep those peepers peeled there's actually a pretty sizable Ethiopian population in DC and I wanted to try this family-owned Ethiopian coffee shop and Roastery called harar they apparently have beans from Ethiopia Kenya Peru and Colombia hi there how are you um good a double espresso yeah good to double yeah what's what's this right here s was that yes the shop itself is definitely a no Frills kind of place but it's laid out in this teeny tiny Alleyway which makes it very cozy to me at least it's unpretentious and feels homey for Vibe I'm thriving coffee yeah it's coffee yeah it's coffee for sure it's coffee service I hav think kiss him on the lips for earnesty very sweet interaction I was asking all these questions about the coffee which like she didn't have answers to and she was like why are you asking me these questions but then after I got it she was like do you like the coffee she's like yeah very genuine yeah very sweet Vibe somewhere around I it felt like more of like an kind of like an authentic coffee shop rather than like a corporate experience totally yeah which is hard to find I like that it's very neighborhoody bathroom oh I didn't go to the bathroom I mean I'm just going to guess it was a bathroom design I'm going to say that's my daddy I don't think they spent a ton of time with the designer but it was so cozy and cute yeah I think I'm I'm I'm on that that end of the spectrum it doesn't have to be your daddy yeah I'm not angry okay o we did get treat the treat was a sambusa it's an Ethiopian version of Samosa we had like a lentil one it's like pretty heavily spiced uh in a good way very solid for coffee shop food it was great I'm watching the beads of sweat dri down your face I'm uncomfortably H it's so hot people watching I'm going to say that'll do donkey because when it's so intimate you can't gape at people that well yeah they know when you're watching yeah they knew I had to get out of there makes it t I'm going to put some AC on before you die yeah sweating okay just dropped Justin at home we are flying solo for the rest of us you got to do some work okay listen in the past couple days I've had more coffee than I ever need to have in the rest of my life and this is what I've learned the coffee a lot of it's the same wow the coffee people are going to come for me for this one the coffee a lot of the time it's coffee my number one takeaway is how hard it was to find an actual unique coffee shop I feel like 90% of the coffee shops are all just the same it's okay to be specific and different I think the the the best feeling shops were the ones that were like specific and different that's what gives it a neighborhood feel that's what everyone wants their personal shop and I think the biggest Discerning feature of each of these shops was not even necessarily the design not the coffee menu but actually the service which makes me lull because I worked in the service industry for so long and managers and restaurant Cafe owners are always like beating their employees to death about the service in the meantime their employees can hardly afford rent and they certainly don't care about the service I didn't but that really is what makes the difference being able to go somewhere and feel like people aren't mad at you for being there feeling like the staff doesn't hate you for being there that that's when I'll hang out that's when I'll go back I was a horrible waitress I was honestly a horrible waitress I worked at this one it was kind of like a diner it was like a trendy Diner but it was also a lounge but it was also a bar so I worked the night shift and I worked from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. people would come in in drunk after the New York bars had closed they would come in so drunk order more drinks and like pancakes and they would black out and forget to pay their bill and they would leave without paying their bill and then I would tip out the other busers and the bartender based on the table's bill that I didn't get paid on so I was often literally paying money in order to serve it was such a it was such a horrendous experience everybody was on substances there I will say that it was one of the darker times in my life but something I realized there the vibe of service that worked at this location was like the rudder I was to people the more they liked it I remember I would just get in such a Snappy mood cuz it' be 400 in the morning and a table would be like um what would you say about the French toes and I would just be like I'd say that's a stupid choice of something to order I wouldn't need it it's not great but if you like that kind of thing fine and they'd be like so that was my approach to service that was my approach to service that's all I'll say but now that I'm elderly and I'm dying I appreciate sweet kind service that makes me feel special makes me feel loved and beyond that yeah I just want that neighborhood feel other things I found my feet hurt my feet are killing me I can barely walk in these a [Music]

Channel: Caroline Winkler

Views: 102,257

Keywords: decor, interior design

Id: 3mcFeZ-MguA

Length: 25min 39sec (1539 seconds)

Published: Fri May 17 2024