D.C. has a new coffee hub, and for a change, it’s not located in the caffeine-saturated 14th Street NW/Shaw area. Mia’s Coffeehouse opens in Hill East—a neighborhood with a relative scarcity of options for a cup of Joe—with pour-overs, sandwiches, and other baked goods. This is the first D.C. venture for husband-wife team Jeff Lee, a veteran of the hospitality industry, and Jenohn Lee, whose background is in real estate.
The cafe opens 6 a.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. on Saturdays with breakfast options ($3.50 to $5) like an egg, beef barbacoa, and Manchego cheese sandwich on ciabatta and a vegetarian counterpart with egg, baby spinach, and roasted cherry tomatoes. Lunch brings four more options, like the Zechari with baby spinach, roasted cherry tomatoes, grilled cremini mushrooms, and basil pesto on ciabatta as well as the Christian with Vermont cheddar cheese, roasted cherry tomatoes, and basil pesto on Texas toast ($6 to $8). Grilled cheese and PB&J are available on the kids’ menu.
For dessert or smaller bites, Mia’s will serve muffins, scones, and biscotti sourced from Be-Bop Biscotti in Bend, Ore., as well as an olive oil cake. Come July, they’ll be featuring Philadelphia-based Bassetts Ice Cream.
Mia’s Coffeehouse will serve daily light and dark roasts plus decaf. In addition to brewed coffee, you’ll find lattés and mochas plus rotating single-origin pour-overs and French press options. The beans come in weekly shipments from roaster Irving Farms in Hudson Valley, N.Y., and will not be used beyond two weeks after roasting to ensure freshness. “We wanted something not offered here in D.C.,” Jenohn Lee says. They plan to occasionally order specialty shipments from Klatch Coffee, a roaster in Southern California.
Instead of iced coffee, look for cold brew coffee, which preserves the flavor and avoids watered-down cups, using a recipe that calls for a 16-hour brew time. For non-coffee drinkers, Mia’s offers Southern sweet tea (using orange pekoe tea leaves) and limonana (made from freshly squeezed lemon juice, fresh mint, and local Maryland honey over crushed ice). But the real star of the iced-drink menu is the housemade horchata, which uses Madagascar vanilla beans, Saigon cinnamon, sweetened milk, and rice.
Seating 15 to 18 people, the indoor space has big windows, exposed brick, and a generous number of electrical outlets. The coffeehouse was approved for sidewalk café seating, coming by the end of July. According to Jenohn Lee, the plan is to “start small, figure out what the neighborhood is going to dictate.”
Mia’s will use several delivery services (like Caviar and Postmates) to better caffeinate the area, in addition to offering an online order-for-pickup service that will launch in the coming week.
In the future, the owners hope to acquire a liquor license, which may lead to an extension in evening opening hours.
The cafe is open Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. It’s closed on Sundays.
Mia’s Coffeehouse, 101 15th St. NE.; (202) 546-0838; miascoffeehouse.com
Photos by Emily Walz