If specialty espresso’s foray into positive eating have been common right into a fairy story, it could be Cinderella.
For many years, comfort and value have been the stepsisters relegating espresso to breakfast service and the ultimate moments of dinner, the place it has been valued extra for its capability to stimulate alertness and assist digestion than for its taste. Espresso deserves higher, and so do its drinkers. The craft, care, and intention behind distinctive espresso should be made seen and valued for the position they play within the meal.
Enter Jônt, a 17-seat tasting counter on Washington, D.C.’s 14th Road hall. Opened in 2021, the self-described “meals lab” earned two Michelin stars inside its first 4 months of service. Helmed by Govt Chef and Proprietor Ryan Ratino, Jônt gives a progressive tasting menu in pursuit of dynamic taste experiences, with clear influences from Japanese delicacies. Better of all, Ratino’s definition of delicacies is broad sufficient to incorporate specialty espresso.
The concept for Jônt’s Espresso Omakase started in Tokyo. Throughout a current go to to Japan, Chef Ryan skilled Cokuun, an intimate, reservation-only espresso omakase created by 2014 World Barista Champion Hidenori Izaki and three-time WBC Finalist and 2017 Runner-Up Miki Suzuki. Cokuun’s mission is to raise espresso to the extent of positive eating by repositioning espresso as an ingredient. Ratino returned to Washington impressed by the expertise and satisfied that, when given the chance, folks would embrace the possibility to sit down with espresso the way in which they sit with wine: slowly, attentively, and with curiosity.
That conviction grew to become actuality in January 2026, when Jônt’s management crew, together with Director of Eating places Andrew Elder, started planning a espresso omakase of their very own. The imaginative and prescient was a curated development of coffees offered with the identical precision because the tasting menu, every pour highlighting origin, roast, brewing method, and pairing potential. As soon as the beverage menu was established, the meals pairings adopted. The coffees could be the primary characters, not the supporting forged.
Lately, Jônt unveiled a six-course providing constructed round a three-plus-three system: three foundational drinks designed to discover espresso from fruit to seed, adopted by three composed drinks that demonstrated espresso’s versatility via seasonal elements, every partnered with a small chunk.
The foundational drinks course started with a Cascara Kombucha paired with a chocolate cookie, adopted by a Inexperienced Espresso Juice made out of unroasted espresso husks served with beef and nori, and completed with a Pour-Over offered with a caviar tiramisu.
The composed drinks course started with a Chilly-Brew Tonic paired with foie gras and strawberry, adopted by a Rhubarb Shakerato served with kouign-amann (a yeasted dough just like a croissant), and completed with a Peach Cortado served with cobber.
The coffees featured have been single-origin blends and single-producer tons representing Colombia, Panama, and Peru, together with:
- A washed Catimor/Caturra mix from the women-led Cooperative Agraria “Frontera San Ignacio” in Cajamarca, Peru, roasted by Gaithersburg, MD’s A Toda Madre Roasters
- A peach co-ferment Castillo from Espresso Quest’s Los Patios processing and analysis facility in Huila, Colombia, roasted by Raleigh, NC’s Black and White Espresso Roasters
- A multi-region selection mix from Colombia, together with Caturra and Bourbon watermelon co-ferments from Huila’s Rodrigo Sanchez, a lemongrass Caturra co-ferment (IPA lot) from Quindío’s Sebastián Ramirez, and a yeast-inoculated anaerobic Gesha from Huver Castillo, roasted by Raleigh, NC’s Black and White Espresso Roasters
- A pure course of Gesha from Jason Household Espresso in Chiriqui, Panama, roasted by Washington DC’s Cafe Unido
Success for Jônt shouldn’t be be measured solely by visitor satisfaction. As a substitute, it’s evaluated by visitor engagement. “Everybody loves studying, whether or not they agree with that assertion or not,” says Elder.
That perception grew to become the tenet behind the expertise. The purpose was not merely to serve distinctive espresso, however to create an atmosphere the place visitors might discover it extra deeply—to know how processing, roasting, brewing, and pairing form taste and notion.
In line with Elder, the occasions demonstrated that the urge for food for that type of engagement exists. “We encourage visitors to proceed the expertise of brewing higher espresso at residence,” he says. “If requested, we’ll share details about the espresso, together with the place they’ll discover and order it. We discover that very highly effective.”
For a restaurant whose espresso program as soon as functioned primarily as a companion to dessert, the evolution has been vital. When Jônt first opened, espresso and tea menus have been “dropped” on the finish of the meal. Right this moment, the crew envisions espresso enjoying a a lot bigger position within the visitor expertise.
If a visitor chooses to not drink alcohol—or just expresses curiosity in espresso from the outset—the restaurant can now supply a development of distinct espresso preparations all through the expertise. Espresso is now not an endnote to the meal. It has develop into a part of the dialog.
For Jônt, that dialog could ultimately lengthen past the eating room. The management crew envisions a devoted idea that mixes a café within the entrance with an omakase counter within the again. No timeline has been introduced, however the ambition is obvious.
“Understanding how this firm works,” Elder says, “it’s going to occur. We’re ready for the proper alternative.”
Jônt has confirmed that thoughtfully presenting specialty espresso in a fine-dining setting needn’t be as tough because the Prince’s seek for Cinderella and her glass slipper. Till extra eating places comply with go well with, espresso lovers could must maintain an eye fixed out for smaller clues: a menu that names the producer and farm alongside the espresso, a creatively paired course, and even an espresso served in a double-wall demitasse glass. No matter kind it takes, the sign is identical: espresso is being handled with the identical craft, care, and intention as the remainder of the meal.
At Jônt, specialty espresso’s happily-ever-after is now not a fine-dining fairy story future. It’s right here.
Brian Gaffney (@coffee_aligned) is a espresso skilled and founding board member on the Espresso Coalition for Racial Fairness. Learn extra Brian Gaffney for Sprudge.
Photographs by Rey Lopez
