To say that Jonathan Rubinstein (founder of Joe) is tremendously passionate about coffee, is an understatement. Started in 2003, Joe put a spotlight on the base ingredient - the beans - in a way that New York coffee houses hadn’t yet refined. The philosophy - procure the best ingredients from the best farmers in the world, and train staff to be experts in all things coffee - is a formula for one damn good cup of coffee.
Also part of the formula is the use of the best equipment possible and a focused, yet artistic approach to each cup. Witness Kirk Schoenherr (pictured below), doing hand poured coffee with the precision of a surgeon. If Michelangelo worked with coffee beans instead of stone, a cup of Joe would be his David.
Rubinstein also knows the importance that a coffee house plays in its environment. It’s a place to meet, begin the day, unwind from the day, or just take a break. It’s a place where the barista knows your name and your drink. Right off the main entrance of the market, Joe’s location is perfectly matched to its mission of neighborhood hub.
But now you may be asking, why are you talking about coffee when it’s as hot as if Mt. Vesuvius unleashed a wave a lava down Flatbush Ave? No need to worry, Joe’s got a wide array of cold brewed options to keep you cool as we move past the summer solstice. While many coffee shops act like bean counters, simply chilling hot coffee and serving over ice (the cheapest method), the result is a bitter, watered down, less flavorful drink. Joe cold-brews it’s iced coffees via the so-called Toddy method, which means that each cup of iced coffee contains almost twice the grinds to get maximum flavor. It might cost a little more, but hey…you’ve got to use marble if you want to end up with a David.