Kramers in Washington DC is the Dupont Circle bookshop cafe on Connecticut Avenue since 1976, an all-day room with a full restaurant kitchen and a cocktail bar tucked behind the bookshop.
Tip: Sunday brunch with a stack of newspapers and the bookshop wandering hours is the city's quietest morning ritual.
Address: 1517 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036, Washington DC
Buna Coffee Bar in Washington DC is the 14th Street Ethiopian coffee bar in Logan Circle, an Ethiopian-roasted bean cafe with a daily coffee ceremony service and a small Habesha menu.
Signature drink: Ethiopian coffee ceremony cup
Tip: The coffee ceremony runs weekends at 14:00; sign up at the counter for the brewing, incense and popcorn ritual.
Compass Coffee in Washington DC is the Shaw 7th Street flagship of the local roaster founded 2014 by two Marines, with reserve filter coffees and a brewing-method counter.
Signature drink: Reserve filter coffee
Tip: The 7th Street roastery hosts free public tours on Saturdays at 11:00; sign up on the site.
Blue Bottle Coffee Georgetown in Washington DC is the Wisconsin Avenue cafe of the Oakland third-wave roaster, a marble-counter pour-over bar with single-origin filter as the default.
Signature drink: New Orleans iced coffee
Tip: Order the New Orleans iced coffee in warm weather; it is the chain's signature recipe and ships better cold than hot.
Tatte Bakery and Cafe in Washington DC is the F Street downtown branch of Tzurit Or's Boston bakery-cafe, with shakshuka all-day, viennoiserie counters and ganache-rich mocha service.
Signature drink: Mocha with house ganache
Tip: The shakshuka is the longest-running breakfast plate; the savoury sweet potato hash is the under-ordered runner-up.
The Coffee Bar in Washington DC is the Logan Circle S Street independent cafe of Sam Lee and Amanda Hesser, a study-friendly room with Counter Culture beans and a deep matcha menu.
Signature drink: Cortado
Tip: Outlets along the back wall make it the city's best laptop cafe; the matcha latte is the second-most-ordered drink.
Qualia Coffee Roasters in Washington DC is Joel Finkelstein's Petworth Georgia Avenue cafe and roastery since 2007, a single-origin pour-over bar with rotating Latin American and East African beans.
Signature drink: Single-origin hand-pour
Tip: Buy whole-bean by the half-pound to take home; the Yirgacheffe lot is the signature and rotates weekly.
