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THE DAILY
DISCERNING HAMPTONS COFFEE AFICIONADOS ARE FINDING NEW WAYS TO SATE THEIR PALATES WITH ARTISANAL LOCAL BREWS. BY SYLVIE BIGAR PHOTOGRAPHY BY DOUG YOUNG
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The Hamptons coffee scene includes a global array of beans and brewing techniques, offered by local purveyors such as Shane Dyckman (TOP RIGHT) at Sagtown Coffee and Theresa and Jason Belkin (BOTTOM MIDDLE) at Hampton Coffee Company.
ales of my European parents’ 1969 road trip from Pennsylvania to California resonated throughout my childhood. With reverence, they recounted the immensity of the American sky, the contrasting landscapes, and the kindness of people along the route. There was also the atrocious coffee “the color of dirty sock juice,” as my father was fond of saying. Our daily cuppa joe has come a long way. Surrounded by a caffeine cloud in Hampton Coffee Company’s brand-new roasting room in Southampton, co-owner Jason Belkin, a stout, blue-eyed dynamo, is giving his abbreviated version of coffee history 101. “We’re into the Third Wave of coffee enthusiasts,” he says, referring to the term coined by Michaele Weissman in her book God in a Cup: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Coffee (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). “First Wave happened around the Maxwell/Folgers swell at the beginning of the 20th century.” With obvious disgust, he recounts how boiled water used to be thrown over the coffee. It was the era of Sanka and the percolator. “Then came the Second Wave with the Starbucks invasion,” he continues. “It’s almost impossible to remember that 20 years ago, there was only one on Long Island. People were asking, ‘What’s a latte?’”
It was also 20 years ago that Hampton Coffee, then a small diner by the side of the road in Water Mill, opened its doors. Soon after, Belkin, a journalism student, walked in looking for the summer job that, unbeknownst to him, would lead to his life’s calling. “Today, the Third Wave hails again from Seattle,” he says. “It brought us the ‘pour-over bar’ with hand-brewed coffee, one cup at a time.” Besides Hampton Coffee, several other local establishments are riding this Third Wave of coffee connoisseurship, including Sagtown Coffee (78 Main St., Sag Harbor, 7258696; sagtown.com), which fits in well with the intellectual, artsy vibe of Sag Harbor. It was standing-room only on a recent Thursday afternoon, and all the required items on the décor checklist were in evidence, namely reclaimed wood beams from a Tribeca site and two carved wooden lions from Burma by way of Brooklyn. “I really wanted to create a community center,” says owner Shane Dyckman, still tan from a surfing vacation. Even though he curates events that range from pumpkin carving contests to open-mike sessions and “Troubadour Nights” featuring live music, he also feels very strongly about the coffee he serves. “Before we opened two years ago, we
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