Make Time for Sweetleaf Coffee and Tea
In my fantasy life, I wake up 10 minutes early and do things like clean my dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, stretch enough to be able to finally touch my toes, and stop into the Sweetleaf Coffee & Tea shop for a cup of Stumptown and freshly-baked Pepper, Pear and Goat Cheese scone before work. In reality, I am 10 minutes late times the number of times I hit the snooze button and eat a bowl of cold cereal at my desk.
The reason I should try harder is that Sweetleaf’s recent renovation provides customers with a Laptop Room for working (or Facebook) and a Vinyl Room for spinning rekkids, in addition to several tables in its cozy main space. The lighting is mostly au natural, and there’s even a window inside to the kitchen so you can watch all of the goodies being baked on premises (be prepared to drool).
The homemade fare includes vegan offerings, muffins made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with honey (I recommend the Apricot Coconut Bran), Salted Fudge Brownies, Rosemary Ginger cookies, Lemon Mascarpone Blondies and more all floating around $2.50-$3. Coffee starts at $2 for a regular drip, but next time I’m going for a Hair Bender Expresso made on the machine they call “Dorothy.” They also offer Mighty Leaf and Ten Ren teas and in the summer, a iced coffee deemed “Rocket Fuel”–a New Orleans-style drink with chicory, maple syrup and milk. Yep, I’ll be back for that.
Sweetleaf Coffee & Tea
10-93 Jackson Avenue at 49th
[Long Island City, Queens]
