A flight that lands at 1 a.m. might not qualify as a red eye, but compound that with an early morning subway ride from JFK to the Lower East Side and some couch surfing to the beat of bumping house music, and that creates a serious need for coffee. It’s good we were headed to Williamsburg, which has one of the highest concentrations of specialty coffee in New York City. We aimed for Toby’s Estate Coffee since the company hired two Intelligentsia coffee pros who we knew from Los Angeles, and the coffeehouse granted us a caffeinated reprieve.

Toby Smith founded Toby’s Estate in 1997, and his Australian company plopped down a roastery and coffee bar in Williamsburg to start 2012. Considering the scope of the buildout, of course they made sure to invest in some of the best brewing equipment on the market.

The interior features high ceilings, shelves stocked with memorabilia both coffee-related and otherwise, and more arcana.

Deaton Pigot, who previously roasted for Intelligentsia in L.A., was behind the Probat during my visit, and he suggested his current favorite coffee.

Colombia Paez was a pourover coffee that we experienced more than once during our stay, first at Toby’s, and later at Kaffe 1668. We appreciated the balance of sweetness and acidity.

No cup of coffee can reverse the affects of a punishing travel day/night, but between the Paez and some sips from a friend’s cappuccino, we found a brief moment of clarity at Toby’s, a modern coffeehouse that seems to fit with Williamsburg.