Alright, I gotta take issue with this. New Yorkers have *always* taken their coffee seriously, however it's only now that pretentious New York foodies have caught on to the trend.
For years New Yorkers had to look to places like Stumptown Coffee Roasters in Portland, Ore., or Blue Bottle Coffee in San Francisco for this kind of quality. Now both companies have opened roasters and coffee bars in New York. Four Barrel Coffee of San Francisco will be roasting here soon.Meanwhile, some established cafes around the city have made moves toward roasting their own beans. Café Grumpy is already doing it, and Abraço will by the summer.
This means that New Yorkers can now drink coffee that is made from some of the best beans available in the United States, freshly roasted in town.
The difference between a cup of coffee from these new style coffee bars and what was available before is striking.
If by "taking seriously" you mean, require it, then yes. But East Coast coffee is terrible. Even the independent and locally roasted. It's just not rich enough. Even Starbucks isn't as strong as it is on the West Coast and we have nothing comparable to Peets. I like my deli coffee, but expect that coffee in New York is universally just okay. I haven't had Stuptown yet, but I understand it's unbelievable. Not quite SF's Blue Bottle, but distributable, unlike Blue Bottle which only tastes good if made on their incredibly pricey equipment.