“One of the most civilized things about Long Island City.” –Oliver Strand, NY Times
I found myself early to a meeting in Long Island City this week when I stumbled across Sweetleaf Coffee and Espresso Bar. I walked in and as soon as the man at the counter told me, “we’re cash only,” I knew I had found a gem. As occasionally irritating as it can be to be forced to use cash in 2012, I find it refreshingly bold that a small business remains cash only in the face of an increasingly cash-less society. Luckily for me and them, I had cash that day.
Having spent time working in a “hip” coffee shop, I can recognize which drinks I should order and which I should avoid for fear of being mocked. For instance, coffee shop snobs will secretly cringe when you order a mocha or anything with a flavor. So I kept it simple, had a “medium” cappuccino (which was 8 oz) and I waited until the barista stepped into the back to sneak in some sugar and cinnamon. I didn’t want to disturb the beautiful latte art he had created, so I took care to stir around it.
Sorry... I couldn't wait to take a picture before I had a sip 🙂
I also couldn’t resist one of Sweetleaf’s homemade cinnamon donut holes. It was beyond delicious. This, along with all of their pastries are baked in house daily. This unique cafe came replete with a dining room, a laptop room (and never the two shall meet) as well as a back room, all with comfy couches and ironic artwork. What more could you ask for?
A perfectly charming way to spend a morning in Long Island City.
Eat. Read. Ask. Do. Be. 
Whether or not the business is cash only should not be a principal decision to give a business a plus or a minus, many businesses used to take credit cards including sweetleaf as someone mentioned on yelp, a few great establishments take them but never used too, the focus should be on the food primarily, and the service, as for flavors in coffee, since many high end coffee shops serve them , folks don’t mind, the cappuchino was probably a great choice which would be true in many coffee shops, keep in mind though that while a lot of milk would eliminate the taste of coffee, depending on the bean/barista/machine, a cap in some shops is 6oz not 8
so keep that in mind, the doughnut holes are probably a great choice in many shops, the only thing is that cinnamon is not really true cinnamon, ceylon which, is sweet and does not have that woody taste like cassia.
Thank you for your opinions.