Otto B.
Yelp
Ok. I'm new to coffee, as far as suddenly having a daily desire as well as need for it. It started at Hardee's, then went to Wendy's, Dunkin, Panera, McDonald's, Chick-fil-A and finally Starbucks (in that order) before I decided to start exploring more local/smaller/less corporate whatever options. M.E. Swing's was first in line, and they apparently have a DC metro origin story to boot, so I felt great about this next step.
I won't go into great detail about the space itself because I don't drink coffee in shops, just in my car or at home, so I could care less about decor or atmosphere, but the space at Swings was what I call Hipster Industrial.
The staff are nice and welcoming and got to work on my order each visit without goofing around. I like my coffee hot and black with zero additions except for my mouth on the cup.
First visit I got drip coffee, which was only available in dark roast, which I generally don't like. I prefer a light to medium roast. I wish they had a light to medium roast drip coffee available but oh well - I can go to Panera and Starbucks for that.
Second visit I bought a single origin Ethiopian pour-over, which was a light roast and had much more complex aromas and flavors, none of which I liked, but hey - now I know my palate is capable of detecting nuance.
My third and final visit had me trying the single origin Costa Rican pour-over, which was my favorite of the three, but still not enjoyable enough to bring me back a fourth time. I'd rather have Hardee's to be honest, and not as an insult to the coffee at Swings - my palate just preferred Hardee's, Panera and Starbucks over this.
The good news is I tried something new, gave some of my money to a smaller local business, and had pour-over for the first time, all while furthering the expansion of my coffee palate and consumer experience insights. It turns out that chains (decent ones, that is) can and do in fact provide a couple important advantages - convenience (locations) and consistency (quality control/flavor).