Now sleepy Fort Greene residents can get the perfect cup of coffee four very different ways.
At the just-opened WTF Coffee Lab on Willoughby Avenue, owners Asio and Angela Highsmith have abandoned the traditional coffee pot — that’s so 2009 — for a veritable science center of brewing methods, including espresso, French press, siphon pots (which uses a series of glass chambers and butane flame to brew coffee using a vacuum effect), and Kyoto machines, which feature oversize test tubes mounted on the walls.
Such intricate methods mean the coffee is more expensive — we’re talking around $3 for a cup — and takes longer to brew. But the caffeine cultists at WTF believe the extra effort is worth it.
“The customer has more options and every cup is fresh,” says General Manager Bridey Recker. “Single cup production means the coffee is not sitting around getting burnt.”
For now, the shop is sourcing all its espresso and coffee from Coffee Labs Roasters, based in upstate Tarrytown, though it plans on offering tasting from other roasters soon. A limited food selection may also be in the works, but for now WTF is focusing on its original mission: bringing Fort Greene a great coffee.
WTF Coffee Lab (47 Willoughby Ave. between Adelphi Street and Clermont Avenue in Fort Greene, no phone). Open Mon–Fri, 6:30 am–8 pm.