(No website found at time of publishing) – Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC

How I heard of this place: My newest health coaching client recommended it as a convenient and cozy spot to hold our first session in the six-month program.

Type of cuisine: Coffee, espresso and tea beverages, a limited selection of large pastries (including apple fritters, muffins, danishes) and fruit (apple, orange, banana), as well as jars of packaged snacks such as granola bars, Rice Krispee squares, dried fruit & nuts.

Ambiance: The tiny, hole-in-the-wall space feels cozy and quaint once you enter the floor-to-ceiling windowed store-front. Immediately upon entering the coffee house, the dim lighting and cramped quarters make a Seattlite feel right at home. Bar seating at the barquette in the front window lead out to the street, where a large coffee shop is being built across the street. Inside the tiny space leads you along the wall to the back, where the display case of goodies and register lay. To the left, the espresso machine faces customers, while the husband and wife owner-barista team takes turns ringing customers up and making their beverages. To the right limited seating is found between Japanese-style room partitions. The dark, wooden shelves behind the condiment bar hold a diverse variety of unique, antique tins which once held coffee, and now act as decoration for coffee house patrons’ viewing pleasure.

What I ordered: I ordered a Vanilla Chai Latte ($3.50 for a 16-ounce) and my cafe-companion chose a hot Chai ($2-something) teabag with water, adding cream from the condiment bar.

What I loved: I loved the heat and the cozy, warm, not too sweet taste of the Chai Latte.

Why I loved it: The quaint neighborhood cafe, owned and operated by a sweet couple, not far from the hustle and bustle of the Columbia Heights downtown offered a peaceful and welcoming repose for us to consult freely and openly, while waving hello to passerby from the barquette windows.

Cost: Average ($3 – $5 per espresso beverage)