Coffee Project New York, the independent roaster and retailer that’s picked up Time Out New York’s “Most Loved Coffee Shop” award three times, is opening its newest shop on the Upper East Side. The store is currently in a friends-and-family phase ahead of its grand opening this Sunday, September 20, where guests can get free coffee until 12 p.m.
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The new shop is at 1219 First Avenue, at 66th Street. According to the company, it’s part of a portfolio of eight locations spread across Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn. The company was also named to the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops’ 2026 list for North America, Central America and the Caribbean, coming in at #63, which Coffee Project New York says makes it #3 in New York State.The brand was founded in 2015 by Chi Sum Ngai and Kaleena Teoh, and it sources directly from award-winning farms with a focus on niche varieties, experimental processes and women producers. It also runs The Academy at Coffee Project New York, which the company says is the state’s first Specialty Coffee Association-certified Premier Training Campus.
The name comes from the idea of treating each drink as its own “project.” The best-known example is Project #1, the Deconstructed Latte, which splits a classic latte into its separate components and serves them together on a single tray.
The Upper East Side location is run by Managing Partner James D. Wang, a former student at the Academy. He’s building the menu around a rotating selection of daily pour-overs, including beans from lesser-known regions, minority producers and rare single-origin lots. One of them will be exclusive to this shop: a natural process coffee from Samir Estate in San Jose de Ocoa, Dominican Republic. The 700-square-foot space has a small seating area and a dedicated pour-over bar attached to the main counter, along with seasonal drink specials and a daily selection of fresh pastries.
Coffee Project New York’s Upper East Side shop is at 1219 First Avenue. More information is available on the company’s website and on Instagram.
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