Coffee lovers will be impressed by one of borough's most serious bean roasters. Most of the coffee is fair trade and organic, the roasting process is highly controlled (and energy efficient), and baristas are well schooled in the precise science behind each cup.

We don't say 'best coffee in East Williamsburg' lightly, with so many talented bean-crafters hereabouts. But SEY's mad-scientist attention to detail ensures impeccable brews, plus the presentation is artful and the atrium-style setting awash in natural light.

Coffee and a few baked treats is all you'll get at this roaster but, man, are they good. Join cool kids and clued-in Continentals for dark, intense espresso and signature offerings like draft latte, a naturally sweet iced caffe latte. Also on tap is La Colombe's cold-pressed Pure Black Coffee, steeped in oxygen-free stainless steel wine tanks for 16 hours.

Co-owned by Aussie expat Leon Unglik, Little Collins emulates the celebrated cafes of his hometown Melbourne: understatedly cool, welcoming spaces serving superlative coffee and equally tasty grub. The cafe is home to NYC's very first Modbar: high-tech, under-the-counter brewers that look like sleek chrome taps. Don't miss the avocado 'Smash'. Milk and cream come served in Lilliputian milk bottles.

A coffee-geek mecca, Kaffe 1668 has dual Synesso machines pumping out single-origin magic from across Africa and the Americas. There's a large communal table speckled with suits and laptop-tapping creatives, and more seating downstairs. You can snack on eggs, breakfast bowls, avocado toast, soups and more. Other locations at 530 5th Avenue and 401 Greenwich Street.

Stylin' baristas in fedora hats brewing killer coffee? No, you're not in Williamsburg, you're at the Manhattan outpost of Portland's cult-status coffee roaster. The queue is a small price to pay for proper espresso, so count your blessings.

Plowshares got in the specialty coffee game way back in 2008, when this small-but-exquisite espresso haven opened in the Bloomingdale district of the Upper West Side. Your coffee is pulled from the Pagani of espresso machines: an $18,000 hand-built Slayer, of which just about as many exist as do the aforementioned made-to-order Italian car. A connoisseur's delight.

Tucked into a little ground-floor shop, the Upper West Side branch of this popular local coffee chain is bigger on the inside – beyond the coffee counter the space opens up into a backroom with a sunny skylight. Enjoy a menu of light meals along with your freshly pulled espresso or on-tap cold brew. No wi-fi.