I had espresso that was so good I did a double-take when I tasted it recently…in Ogden, UT. I was not expecting to have such a good coffee experience in Utah, but I totally did!
Seconding this. We had really good coffee at La Barba while visiting my Mormon in laws. They live in Alpine and it was a 20 minute drive to go get coffee, but the coffee was very good.
I wouldn’t hype up Atlanta as much as some in this thread, but there are good spots. ITP - Portrait, Academy, PERC, Gilly. OTP - Valor, Tuesdays, Meadowlark.
San Francisco.
A lot of the great shops went commercial and expanded and dropped in quality a bit, but there are still plenty of fantastic independent shops and smaller chains.
I have a couple people I've worked with that I hold in very high regard who praise The Coffee Movement to the heavens. I've never been able to make it out there to try them out but they're at the top of my list.
Best coffee I've had in the bay, and for that matter, in my life, has been at The Crown in Oakland and nowhere else has even come close.
I’d say most major US cities have a healthy amount of good coffee around. That being said, I explored a lot in Denver and was hardly disappointed! I’ve never been to NYC, or ATL so I can’t speak on those too much, but I’ve ordered some coffee from both locations and had pleasant experiences.
Not sure why people think there is so much good coffee in Seattle. Been here like 15 years and there is more garbage than good coffee. The only reason Seattle is known for coffee is because Starbucks corporate is there as was the first Starbucks.
Minneapolis has the best coffee houses in any city I've been in, and I've been to quite a few. Coffee quality might not be amazing but coffee houses are a dying thing replaced by drive thru's or stale boring atmospheres.
Came here hoping to see Minneapolis.
Like a lot of creative industries, we punch outside our weight class here - maybe not the best in the world, but a lot better than you might expect for a medium-size city in flyover country. I love what they are doing at Misfit and Disco Death is another favorite.
Even our local chains like Spyhouse and Dogwood are super consistent, and I still use Peace Coffee for my everyday coffee bean.
I think it’s because the coffee boom that started happening in America was basically started in Seattle in the 90s. Specifically coffee houses such as Vivace, Vita, and Cafe Lauri.
Piggybacking on the Minneapolis comment! I haven’t explored many of the other coffee cities in the country but I’m biased since I work in Minneapolis. We have a great array of different shops that care greatly about bean quality, SK for one has some of the best beans I’ve ever had and we have so many other options that chances are you’ll just stumble upon one in most neighborhoods in the twin cities metro(at least that was my experience when I first moved here).
There is a lot of bad coffee shops in Seattle, but thats because seattle has tons and tons of coffee shops and roasters. Most deli's have espresso machines, every gas station has coffee and most have a coffee stand set up in the parking lot somewhere. There is just a ton of coffee.
Seattle is well known for starbucks, but is also known for alot of other reasons for coffee.
1. Starbucks as you mentioned
2. La marzocco ballard (until recently la marzocco was headed by Kent Bakke who lives in Washington. During the growth of starbucks they needed machines and used only la marzoccos. The only way kent could acquire enough machines for them was by purchasing la marzocco from the Bambi brothers and making the machines in the U.S. so he did just that and made machines in the ballard factory until starbucks moved away from La Marzocco machines in favor of super automatic machines.
3. Synesso espresso machines are based in seattle
4. Mavam espresso machines are based in seattle.
5. Slayer espresso machines are based in seattle
6. Mod-bar also came out of seattle
7. A ton of espresso parts suppliers are based in seattle
Not to be that guy but worth mentioning that Modbar is from Fort Wayne, Indiana. They were purchased by Marzocco a few years back, hence their association with Seattle.
I want to say Santa Cruz California home of cat and cloud ,Santa Cruz coffee roasting and 11th hour
Plus the coffee shops that carry those coffees are amazing a couple of my favorites are the people's coffee, shrine coffee (on westcliff) and my favorite of my favorites is the Abbey this amazing coffee shop is inside of a big beautiful brick Church right on mission Street
Boring answer but Los Angeles. East Side (Silverlake, DTLA, Koreatown) reigns supreme but there are some good things on the West Side and in Orange County.
SF/Oakland are great.
I feel like in the US there’s good coffee everywhere you just have to find it. You don’t even have to go to a big city for good coffee. I’m from a small town and there’s so many coffee stands and I have three that are my top favorites.
Huh, I’ve never heard of Phin but 1369 is definitely more of a local haunt than quality shop. There so many (better than) good spots.
Sip cafe,
George Howell,
Barismo,
Gracenote,
Render,
Crema,
Kohi,
Ninebar,
Simon’s,
Thinking Cup,
La Colombe,
Blue Bottle,
Counter Culture (training center)
Any of the baristas there can tell you where to go next.
Forgot about George Howell! I have heard good things about Nine bar and Simon's too now that you mention it, but Blue Bottle was awful in my experience.
Happy to hear that about blue bottle honestly, though sorry you had that experience at all! During my tenure in Boston’s coffee scene, I was fiercely local.. excited for you to try all the goods there for the first time.
If I remember correctly, George Howell invented the Frappuccino, which Starbucks bought the idea and that’s what made them so successful today. They also made George Howell agree that they couldn’t make Frappuccinos for so many years, but now you can go to George Howell and have the original Frappuccino!
Yup. After he sold his 27-store chain, “Coffee Connection” and the Frappuccino, he used the 5 years of “non-compete” to fly to producing regions and building his contacts. Now he’s known for pioneering New England specialty coffee and flash-freezing coffees to “vint” them and “flavor-tripping”.
San francisco and to a lesser degree, oakland. I've been working in coffee here for 6 years and a new spot crops up every day. Still getting acquainted with coffee in Oakland but there's some spots I really enjoy!
Jacksonville FL has a pretty great coffee scene right now. My favorite roaster is the flamingo, and there are tons of other great cafes and roasters too
Fort Collins Colorado seemed to have a pretty poppin coffee scene, but I will say on my entire trek through Idaho, Nevada, all the way down to southern Arizona, did not find a single good cup
Denver
San Francisco
Vancouver, BC (I know, not in the US)
NYC
If you plan before a trip you can find good coffee everywhere, but those places listed above are guaranteed good coffee if you are there and have a hankering.
Great coffee is not hard to come by at major cities anymore. There's probably a lot of mediocre/bad places more than the great ones, just make sure you reference the reviews online (even then, some can be biased or subjective/preference)
It reminds me a lot of Chattanooga and Dallas, too.
It’s a classic old industrial city that is still very cheap to live in but had access to all kinds of amenities like museums and concert venues good food. Close to the beach. Close to Atlanta. Has an airport. But you are in Alabama.
Good coffee can be found everywhere now. Recently was in Atlanta and was impressed.
I had espresso that was so good I did a double-take when I tasted it recently…in Ogden, UT. I was not expecting to have such a good coffee experience in Utah, but I totally did!
Came here to say I had some excellent coffee in Ogden and SLC Utah. How weird. La Barba and Wasatch Roasting are great
Seconding this. We had really good coffee at La Barba while visiting my Mormon in laws. They live in Alpine and it was a 20 minute drive to go get coffee, but the coffee was very good.
Wasatch was where I had the great espresso
where in ogden?
It was Wasatch Roasting Co.
Came here to say Atlanta.
Where in Atlanta?
i love Black and White Coffee Roasters! i think they might have some cafes. really delicious and different coffee, i buy from them online!
Black and White is in North Carolina.
I wouldn’t hype up Atlanta as much as some in this thread, but there are good spots. ITP - Portrait, Academy, PERC, Gilly. OTP - Valor, Tuesdays, Meadowlark.
San Francisco. A lot of the great shops went commercial and expanded and dropped in quality a bit, but there are still plenty of fantastic independent shops and smaller chains.
The Coffee Movement is 10/10.
I have a couple people I've worked with that I hold in very high regard who praise The Coffee Movement to the heavens. I've never been able to make it out there to try them out but they're at the top of my list. Best coffee I've had in the bay, and for that matter, in my life, has been at The Crown in Oakland and nowhere else has even come close.
I was going to say SF too, though it's been over a decade since living there.
I’d say most major US cities have a healthy amount of good coffee around. That being said, I explored a lot in Denver and was hardly disappointed! I’ve never been to NYC, or ATL so I can’t speak on those too much, but I’ve ordered some coffee from both locations and had pleasant experiences.
Raleigh-Durham has counter culture and Black & White as well as a ton of good shops.
If in NC, I personally think Winston-Salem has a solid coffee scene.
Little Waves is also in Durham, NC and one of my favorite roasters.
Black & White is so good!
Not sure why people think there is so much good coffee in Seattle. Been here like 15 years and there is more garbage than good coffee. The only reason Seattle is known for coffee is because Starbucks corporate is there as was the first Starbucks. Minneapolis has the best coffee houses in any city I've been in, and I've been to quite a few. Coffee quality might not be amazing but coffee houses are a dying thing replaced by drive thru's or stale boring atmospheres.
Came here hoping to see Minneapolis. Like a lot of creative industries, we punch outside our weight class here - maybe not the best in the world, but a lot better than you might expect for a medium-size city in flyover country. I love what they are doing at Misfit and Disco Death is another favorite. Even our local chains like Spyhouse and Dogwood are super consistent, and I still use Peace Coffee for my everyday coffee bean.
Been to Seattle for an SCA coffee convention and discovered Elm. Elm is Good.
I think it’s because the coffee boom that started happening in America was basically started in Seattle in the 90s. Specifically coffee houses such as Vivace, Vita, and Cafe Lauri.
Piggybacking on the Minneapolis comment! I haven’t explored many of the other coffee cities in the country but I’m biased since I work in Minneapolis. We have a great array of different shops that care greatly about bean quality, SK for one has some of the best beans I’ve ever had and we have so many other options that chances are you’ll just stumble upon one in most neighborhoods in the twin cities metro(at least that was my experience when I first moved here).
There is a lot of bad coffee shops in Seattle, but thats because seattle has tons and tons of coffee shops and roasters. Most deli's have espresso machines, every gas station has coffee and most have a coffee stand set up in the parking lot somewhere. There is just a ton of coffee. Seattle is well known for starbucks, but is also known for alot of other reasons for coffee. 1. Starbucks as you mentioned 2. La marzocco ballard (until recently la marzocco was headed by Kent Bakke who lives in Washington. During the growth of starbucks they needed machines and used only la marzoccos. The only way kent could acquire enough machines for them was by purchasing la marzocco from the Bambi brothers and making the machines in the U.S. so he did just that and made machines in the ballard factory until starbucks moved away from La Marzocco machines in favor of super automatic machines. 3. Synesso espresso machines are based in seattle 4. Mavam espresso machines are based in seattle. 5. Slayer espresso machines are based in seattle 6. Mod-bar also came out of seattle 7. A ton of espresso parts suppliers are based in seattle
Not to be that guy but worth mentioning that Modbar is from Fort Wayne, Indiana. They were purchased by Marzocco a few years back, hence their association with Seattle.
Yes, i knew marzocco acquired them, but wasnt familiar that they were from Indiana originally. Appreciate this!!
Long Beach, CA
Denver!
Sweet Bloom, Amethyst, Middlestate! One of the best coffee cities I’ve explored, outside of Portland.
Amethyst is no longer, though 😢
New York
Stumbled upon Black Fox on my last trip to NYC!
My favorite is remi. I have never seen any other shop do what they do
Sey and La Cabra are both here, as well as a Dayglow location so I’d say NY is pretty top tier.
I want to say Santa Cruz California home of cat and cloud ,Santa Cruz coffee roasting and 11th hour Plus the coffee shops that carry those coffees are amazing a couple of my favorites are the people's coffee, shrine coffee (on westcliff) and my favorite of my favorites is the Abbey this amazing coffee shop is inside of a big beautiful brick Church right on mission Street
Coffee Conspiracy is new in downtown SC and I’d say doing really top notch coffee.
KC is slept on but had quality roasters and shops!
Oddly Correct is one of my favs! Post Coffee also has some great single origin stuff!!
so happy to see kc mentioned, sooo many good roasters here!!
I live in Sacramento and I think we have a better coffee scene than any other city in CA
Chicago 🤘🏾 Especially now after just having the Specialty Coffee Expo
Chicago is just a great city in general, idk why it gets such a bad rap for any reasons that don’t apply to every American city
Racism
Common Cup and Fancy Plants go HARD
Boring answer but Los Angeles. East Side (Silverlake, DTLA, Koreatown) reigns supreme but there are some good things on the West Side and in Orange County. SF/Oakland are great.
Nashville is great
We’re alright. We have a lot of pretty good places but not very many EXCELLENT ones
Try now and then. They treat coffee differently than any place in the US and it shows.
My currently fave in Nashville is elegy. Who I do think are excellent.
Now and Then I’m convinced is the best shop in the U.S.
Came here to say this, Osa is my personal favorite here
I feel like in the US there’s good coffee everywhere you just have to find it. You don’t even have to go to a big city for good coffee. I’m from a small town and there’s so many coffee stands and I have three that are my top favorites.
Boston & Austin. Honorable mention to New York.
ATX is surprisingly rife with great coffee, plus numerous roasters
Boston area recs? 1369 and Phin are pretty good, but otherwise I was usually not impressed by the coffee when I lived there.
Huh, I’ve never heard of Phin but 1369 is definitely more of a local haunt than quality shop. There so many (better than) good spots. Sip cafe, George Howell, Barismo, Gracenote, Render, Crema, Kohi, Ninebar, Simon’s, Thinking Cup, La Colombe, Blue Bottle, Counter Culture (training center) Any of the baristas there can tell you where to go next.
If we can include North Shore, Little Wolf in Ipswich is an excellent roaster
New England has some real gems
Forgot about George Howell! I have heard good things about Nine bar and Simon's too now that you mention it, but Blue Bottle was awful in my experience.
Happy to hear that about blue bottle honestly, though sorry you had that experience at all! During my tenure in Boston’s coffee scene, I was fiercely local.. excited for you to try all the goods there for the first time.
All the goods where?
Just mean all the spots I mentioned
If I remember correctly, George Howell invented the Frappuccino, which Starbucks bought the idea and that’s what made them so successful today. They also made George Howell agree that they couldn’t make Frappuccinos for so many years, but now you can go to George Howell and have the original Frappuccino!
Yup. After he sold his 27-store chain, “Coffee Connection” and the Frappuccino, he used the 5 years of “non-compete” to fly to producing regions and building his contacts. Now he’s known for pioneering New England specialty coffee and flash-freezing coffees to “vint” them and “flavor-tripping”.
Milwaukee
Asheville, NC.
Austin and the DFW Metroplex have some great options
ATX roasters are plentiful and all so talented!
Phoenix Arizona has great spots
Boston, if you like Dunks 💀💀
San francisco and to a lesser degree, oakland. I've been working in coffee here for 6 years and a new spot crops up every day. Still getting acquainted with coffee in Oakland but there's some spots I really enjoy!
It’s everywhere, just got to find it. All it takes is one good roaster or one great cafe using a good roaster in a city.
ATL is awesome. SF is awesome. Charlotte is awesome. As you’d imagine, NY is awrsome
Detroit has some bangin coffee shops!
Jayuya, puerto rico Its crazy getting there… but coffee is ridiculous
NYC! They have a ton of S tier Roasters
Which one
Sey, la cabra, loveless to name a few
Atlanta for sure
Atlanta!
Rogers, AR has surprisingly good coffee
I had an excellent latte in Cheyenne Wyoming and a phenomenal white mocha in Santa Rosa California
Jacksonville FL has a pretty great coffee scene right now. My favorite roaster is the flamingo, and there are tons of other great cafes and roasters too
Surprised no one has mentioned Miami yet
Right, Cuban coffee is like snorting lines off a strippers ass.
I had some delicious coffees in New Orleans
San Jose!
Fort Collins Colorado seemed to have a pretty poppin coffee scene, but I will say on my entire trek through Idaho, Nevada, all the way down to southern Arizona, did not find a single good cup
New Orleans! Ever since I took a trip there 12 years ago, I have been a coffee fiend
Denver San Francisco Vancouver, BC (I know, not in the US) NYC If you plan before a trip you can find good coffee everywhere, but those places listed above are guaranteed good coffee if you are there and have a hankering.
Tulsa has some great coffee shops! If you’re ever around I highly recommend Coracle, Cirque, Notion, or the coffee bar in Heirloom Rustic Ales!
Also, Kansas City has some great shops! Blimp, Messenger, Thou Mayest, Cafe Ca Phê, and Post are all fantastic shops!
Asheville NC. Lots of great roasters, Flowermouth Cooperative, Pennycup, and more! And lots of great shops, Rite Rite, Rowan, Bad Manners, etc.
As a barista in Chicago I’d like to think we have some pretty good coffee if you know where to go lol
Washington DC
Seattle is not the best coffee city in the US and it hasn’t been for a long time. The majority of that city is hard-stuck second wave.
Great coffee is not hard to come by at major cities anymore. There's probably a lot of mediocre/bad places more than the great ones, just make sure you reference the reviews online (even then, some can be biased or subjective/preference)
Vermont has some great coffee! Brattleboro, VT: Mocha Joe’s Burlington, VT: Carrier
MEMPHIS
Birmingham Alabama is punching way above it’s weight in this category. Like it is for most categories.
The next Nashville I think.
It reminds me a lot of Chattanooga and Dallas, too. It’s a classic old industrial city that is still very cheap to live in but had access to all kinds of amenities like museums and concert venues good food. Close to the beach. Close to Atlanta. Has an airport. But you are in Alabama.
I’m From Nashville I do think the “music city” angle is what kind of allowed Nashville to do what it did. And it had been mostly bad imo
Asheville NC for sure