Near you, probably the best coffee is Café Corazón, on Fulton Mall. Nice folks in there, and interesting clientele. It's nice to see something like that downtown. Kern Coffee Co. isn't all that great- OK coffee I guess, but cheap fold-up picnic type tables. Also, I think they close in the early afternoon unless they changed that.

If you're into tea, and you sound like you might well be, Teaszer is nice, but overrated and spectacularly, mind-bogglingly expensive. It's good maybe once or twice a year.