One of my favorite Manhattan coffee shops, iF Coffee, has closed after just one year, failing to gain traction at their lower midtown side street location, just off Herald Square. If you didn’t know iF, they prepared specialty coffee using all the latest grinders, pourover equipment, and a Kees van der Westen Spirit espresso machine with custom nameplate, in an attractive little space replete with a large flower arrangement and lots of nice design touches.

The owner, Baoheng Gu (Paul), was passionate about coffee and expressed it through his attention to detail in preparation and presentation, serving Parlor Coffee and guesting Denmark’s La Cabra, in that company’s gorgeous K.H. Würtz ceramics.

He didn’t serve decaf and was unfailingly polite in explaining this to the interesting mix of clientele that walked through his doors on the days that I was there.

The shop, wedged between luggage wholesalers, was hard to see, even if you were on their slice of West 30th Street, and being one block from a popular branch of Gregory’s Coffee and one block from Chalait probably didn’t help either. I’m sad to see them go. I’ve reached out to Paul via Instagram and am looking forward to seeing what he’s involved with next.