Refreshing Drinks in Astoria

With hot weather like this, it's no surprise that all we want to do is quench our thirst with something yummy, cold and refreshing.  I've put together a little cool starter for you here to get you through the week:

La Guli's twisted iced tea - Topping their already refreshing iced tea with a cold scoop of lemon ices, I like that La Guli is taking this thirst quenching thing to another level.  29-15 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria. 718.728.5612

Brooklyn Bagel's $1 Iced Coffee - It's simply awesome that Brooklyn Bagel has chosen to continue their $1 iced coffee promotion throughout the month of July.  Bravo!  35-05 Broadway, Astoria. 36-14 30th Avenue, Astoria. 35-9 Ditmars Blvd.

El Ay Si's Ice cold cocktails - Whether you're in the mood for an ice cold margarita, mojito or anything else, El Ay Si will be dishing it out this week.  47-38 Vernon Blvd, LIC. 718.389.8781

Sweet Afton's Pear Cider - Cold, bubbly and delicious, Sweet Afton will be serving up Rekordelig Premium Pear Hard Cider, which sounds like a great way to cool down.  30-09 34th Street, Astoria. 718.777.2570

Singlecut on Tap - There's never a shortage of cold brew deliciousness when Singlecut's involved.  New taps include the TNTPA Bon, the Billy Full Stack IPA and the floral Hibiscus Sourlagrrr! Extended summer hours are also in effect, so no worries about being closed out.  19-33 37th Street, Astoria. 718.606.0788

Sippin' on Strawberry Iced Tea at Sweetleaf

After what was a pretty long hiatus, I found myself at Sweetleaf, which is one of my favorite LIC coffee spots.  Loving the original location on Jackson Avenue, I knew I was in good hands when I spotted their Center Blvd outpost while on my way to the LIC Flea.  

Atmosphere:
It's strange to think of Sweetleaf situated on the ground level of a luxury apartment high rise, given its dark, grungy, indie aesthetic.  I was wondering how they'd pull all that off in this modern new locale, but I was surprised at how well their original concept comes through in this space.

For starters, it's a lot more spacious and there's plenty more places to sit down and spread out (this is especially great when you have your laptop and a load of work with you).  I love that you don't feel cramped and that the wifi works well, which isn't always the case with the other coffee shops in the vicinity.  

A beautiful antique bar dominates the space with a vintage gilded clock as its center piece.  I like that you can position yourself at the bar if you like, making you appreciate this coffee shop/cocktail bar hybrid. 

Strawberry Iced Tea - Even though it's hard to pass up Sweetleaf's Stumptown coffee, I chose to go for the iced tea instead.  Listed in their specialty drinks section, along with the Iced Rocket Fuel, it sounded refreshing and interesting, made of unsweetened iced tea, simple syrup and fresh strawberry puree.  It totally delivered, and then some, providing you with a hint of natural sweetness from the puree, which was swirled throughout.  Although I didn't get one during this visit, it would've been nice to pair it with Sweetleaf's freshly baked scones.

Service and Cost:
The service very much mirrors what you get at the old location - laid back, friendly but not in-your-face. All good things.
Costs are expensive but totally worth the quality.  My iced tea set me back $4.25.

3 Mmmms

Sweetleaf - 46-15 Center Blvd, LIC NY 11101
347.527.1038
7 Train to Vernon Blvd/Jackson Ave
www.sweetleaflic.com 

Cool Down With Sweetleaf - And Not Just With Coffee

Well it certainly seems like summer is upon us.  While I can't complain, since I prefer the warm weather to a harsh NY winter, it has been pretty hot and sticky outside. 

One way to fend off the discomfort that sometimes comes with the humidity is to keep yourself properly hydrated.  And yesterday while my brother and I were walking back from Greenpoint, Brooklyn back to LIC, we stopped at Sweetleaf for a much needed liquid refresher.

Although Sweetleaf is known for their coffee, they also carry interesting, herbal and fruit teas, which can be made iced.  Each tea is prepared especially for you, so the process takes about five short minutes.  Fruit teas are highly recommended iced, as their fruitiness really stands out when chilled.

Here are the 2 varieties we tried:

Coconut Lavender - This was my tea and it was really excellent.  Light in color and in taste, it was slightly bitter with a lovely coconut accent that hit your palate after each sip.  The lavender was more present in smell than in flavor, which I was fine with.  Since this concoction was slightly bitter, I sweetened it with a few glugs of simple syrup. Yum!

Blood Orange Citrus - My brother chose this tea, which couldn't look and taste more different than mine.  First off, it was bright red/dark pink and tasted tropical, with a hint of orange zest at the end - like the effect that the coconut had on my tea.  And contrary to my tea, this one didn't need to be sweetened, as it had natural sweetness already built in. 

Service and Cost:
The service was awesome, as always, and very personal.  We received good recommendations about tea flavors and even a detailed explanation about why they now carried different baked goods and less chocolate (they changed their baker, and the Nunu chocolates are coming back in the fall).

Costs are moderate, and for two medium sized iced teas, we paid a total of $5.50 ($2.25 each).

3 Mmmms

Sweetleaf - 10-93 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City NY 11101
917.832.6726

7 Train to Vernon Blvd/Jackson Ave
www.sweetleaflic.com