Devocion is a telling title for an impressive new coffee mecca in Williamsburg. More like a cathedral than a café, with ceilings soaring into the heavens and ample space for leather chesterfields lounging below a lush vertical green garden – not to mention a congregation of computer kids in permanent residence – the shop pays homage to all things coffee. Salgado-like photographs of plantation workers hang on the exposed brick walls, stacks of green beans flown in by Fedex from Bogota are roasted in grinding distance of the expresso machine and the ensuing rich aromas accompany pour overs, aromatics and cold brews. Toby’s may have set up shop around the corner some years earlier, and Starbucks may have their own mega coffee store planned in the Meatpacking district in 2018, but for the summer of 2016, ultra fresh Columbian coffee is the hot item.

Our immediate need for a coffee escalated as we wandered past the roasting machines, where a sign proclaimed that minute by minute the flavour of the coffee beans was diminishing. It may only have been 10 days since the beans were picked, but with our host’s intention that the cup you hold in your hands still breathes the mists of the Colombian campo, it seemed wise to order with haste. Who could resist such a sensation? The options were quickly considered, and so the ‘cortado’ was discovered, a heart starting Spanish option of equal parts coffee and milk. If the gymnastics of the barista pumping oversized expresso taps just to make this elixir was any indication of the power of the coffee, we were sold. Along with a honey croissant and pain au chocolate…

Riding from Manhattan over the East River to Williamsburg just for a coffee – even a fresh one – is a little excessive. Although considering that the cost of living in Williamsburg is almost 80% higher than the national average, a four dollar, four day old coffee is an absolute gift. It’s just the lingering geek-chic atmosphere that deters a fuller appreciation of the experience. The emperor does not only have new clothes in Williamsburg, he has a whole new life style. So while the cortado was excellent, for me hipster culture is best in small doses, devotion is more for the one you’re with, and partaking in mature coffee is totally underrated….