Porto Rico Importing Co.

new york city has more coffee options than any reasonable person could work through in a lifetime, which is exactly why the places that stick around for decades start to feel like anchors. porto rico importing co. on st. marks place in the east village is one of those anchors. the street itself has been through several versions of itself, from 1960s counterculture to punk to whatever you'd call it now, and porto rico has been pulling bags of whole beans and loose teas across the counter through all of it. if you're shopping for coffee to take home, this is the kind of place regulars return to without much deliberation. the selection is serious, the institutional knowledge runs deep, and st. marks place on a saturday morning is still a good reason to make the trip.