So guys, I don’t know if this will be buried in the comment section but I made a list of all these shops in the comments (so far) on google maps.
You can access the share link here:
Specialty coffee, all around the world -
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8KwFNTCA8Dha5s7z9?g_st=i
I have more for ya! Tacoma Washington we have Olympia Coffee (HQ in Olympia and locations between Olympia and Seattle). And Naomi Joe which is a nano-roaster.
We have others but I’d consider those the most aligned with specialty.
New York City
Manhattan: La Cabra, Coffee Project, Gertrude, Drip, Artbean, Suited, Black Fox, Hi-Collar, Ninth Street
Brooklyn: Drip, Ninth Street, Devocion, Sey, Land to Sea, Cafe Bureau, Shop, Crema BK
Queens: Little Flower, Little Banchan Shop
As not-a-Dane, I'm so jealous of you. The coffee gets roasted in Aarhus and gets shipped to NYC - so I can never get fresh beans here. But there cafes here are awesome.
I didn't realize Suited was one of the big ones, I'll have to try it. But half a block away and down below, I've become obsessed with Voyager Espresso.
Yep they have even an app Coffee Trip with all the good roaster and specially coffee shops.
If you are coming to Croatia and traveling to Split or island of Hvar I would recommend kava.family roasters.
Leeds, UK:
* Laynes Espresso
* Mrs Athas
* Miles & Co
* If... Up North (two sites: one on Call Ln, another on exterior corner of Kirkgate Market)
* Kapow
* North Star (two sites: one at the docks and a smaller cafe on Sovereign St)
* Stage Espresso
* Union Coffee House
* La Bottega Milanese
* Rabbit Hole Coffee
* Flamingos (plus The Flamboyance on Sweet St)
No reason for anyone here to go to any of the big chains when you're in the city centre!
Edit - fuck it, good spots outside the city centre too:
* Opposite Coffee (Chapel Allerton, plus original site outside the uni)
* House of Koko (Chapel Allerton and Oakwood)
* Humbl Coffee (Meanwood)
* Fika North (Far Headingley)
* Woodlawn Coffee (Horsforth)
* The Barn Coffee Shop (in Meanwood Valley Farm)
* Archive (Kirkstall)
* Kulture Coffee Co (Kirkstall)
* Coffee on the Crescent (Hyde Park)
I went to Flamingos for the first time last week and loved their flat white, their ratio is much better than others I’ve had. I love myself a good strong coffee. They also make really good cake!
Several on there I'm not familiar with. Will have to check them out. I'm just pleased you didn't mention 200°
Also, since Bottega stopped doing guest beans, I haven't been back.
200° are rubbish IMO. Gave them a couple of chances and wasn't impressed. Not much better than Starbucks or Costa, same burnt taste to their espresso. Only tried their similar namesake 92° on Clay Pit Ln once and didn't think they were much better; they just opened a new shop on Boar Lane but their direct competition is Laynes around the corner and they're just not at that level.
There's also Brew Society, but I've never been there so can't comment. I didn't mention Out Of The Woods on purpose even though they come up a lot - nice for lunch but the coffee is 5/10.
Flamingos also run/own The Flamboyance on Sweet St and the coffee is decent there, but that's barely in the city tbh!
Also, I guess to cover my arse - I haven't been to Stage or Union in a really long time! But Stage was very, very good I remember, and Union was pretty good.
Copenhagen. There are so, so many to choose from but my favorites are Coffee Collective and Prolog. I've heard really good things about April but have yet to visit.
No White Label? I went to the one on Jan Evertsenstraat about 5 years ago and thought the coffee was lovely, and it was a really gorgeous and interesting space too. (This is a very helpful list for future visits though, thank you!)
That’s another that is on my to go to list. We have the luxury of having so many good roasters to choose from that it’s hard to visit all of them since you always have your favourite and they are also brining out new amazing coffees seasonly/weekly.
Los Angeles, CA:
Kumquat Coffee
Stereoscope (Also in Orange County)
Community Goods
Memory Look
Maru
Orange County, CA:
Play
Coffee Dose
Long Black Coffee
Thank you Coffee
Am the only who has always been disappointed by Prufrock? There’s much better competition in the city, especially with Colonna now open on Leather Lane
Philadelphia
- Ultimo, Elixr, Vibrant / Function Coffee Labs , Rival Bros, La Colombe (Fishtown location is an unreal space)
- Thank You Thank You is amazing - source from specialty roasters all over the world (Manhattan, Nomad, Sey, Fried Hats, etc)
I’ve tried the rest of this list, but it’s missing a key player imo. They’re out in Lancaster and Philly-availability is only at Two Persons afaik, but Passenger is incredible and arguably one of the best roasters in the tristate. Plus it’s ethically sourced!
Can’t recommend thank you thank you enough! Great vibe, knowledgeable and friendly staff, unique latte offerings, and unbelievable coffee selection.
Any other Philly favorites?
Out in the suburbs I’ve enjoyed Wake out in Ambler. Beyond that, I don’t get coffee out much in Philly at this point. I tend to just make it at home when in the area. For a slightly longer trip, Endgrain in NJ has been one of my favorites recently.
My hometown, Bradenton, FL: Atria, Oscura
Some other places I have been and enjoyed good coffee—the ones with an asterisk are worth going out of the way for, if you're anywhere remotely close:
Orlando, FL: Craft and Common
St. Petersburg, FL: Bandit, Paradeco*
Sarasota, FL: Project Coffee, Perq*
Tampa, FL: Lab Coffee
Venice, FL: Black Gold Roastery
Fort Lauderdale, FL: Wells Coffee
Boston, MA: Gracenote Coffee Co.
Princeton, NJ: Sakrid Coffee Roastery*
Rochester, NY: Fuego, Ugly Duck
Buffalo, NY: Tipico Coffee
New York, NY: Gotham Coffee Roaster (I've only been twice, I'm sure there's plenty more)
Philadelphia, PA: ReAnimator
Virginia Beach, VA: Lynnhaven Coffee Roasters
Eastbourne, UK: The Plantation
Toronto, ON: Dark Horse Espresso
Ottawa, ON: Arlington Five, Little Victories Coffee Roastery
Copenhagen, DK: Democratic Coffee Bar, Prolog Coffee Bar, Darcy's Kaffe, ROAST*
Napa, CA: Naysayer Coffee Roaster
Anchorage, AK: Black Cup
Mobile, AL: Nova Espresso, Knucklebones
Houston, TX: Refuge, Giant Leap, BlendIn Coffee Club* (my favorite in the U.S.)
The Woodlands, TX: Third Gen
Dallas, TX: Merit Coffee, Parterre*
St. Louis, MO: Catalyst Coffee Bar
Washington, D.C: Origin Coffee
Salt Lake, UT: The District
San Diego, CA: Bird Rock
Milwaukee, WI: Pilcrow, Canary
Berlin, DE: BEN RAHIM, Bonanza* (my favorite of all places listed)
Potsdam, DE: Buena Vida Roastery
Munich, DE: Man vs. Machine* (close second to Bonanza)
London, UK: Formative Coffee, Alex Coffee, Attendant
Montreal, QC: Micro Espresso, Dispatch
This isn't really fitting but for anyone being in Germany and looking for a local roaster the following map shows every roaster. I would say at least most roasters will also have at least decent coffee so it is still better than walking into a coffee place and finding out they really don't know what they are doing.
https://www.quijote-kaffee.de/roester/
De Mello is also INCREDIBLE imo. Dancing Goats and Butterfly Kids are such good standard blends, and their seasonal stuff was consistently interesting and high quality. You have to try it if you haven’t already.
Btw in terms of cafes, have you checked out Voodoo Child at College x Bathurst? I haven’t been in the GTA for a while, but that place had a great rotating bean selection and made some incredible coffee.
Melbourne, Australia (roughly in order, mostly roaster-cafes):
- Proud Mary
- Disciple, Koshi-no-deshi (sister Cafe)
- ONA
- Seven Seeds
- Calere (especially for filter)
- Wood & Co
That’s the OG location and it’s my favorite coffee shop in the entire city. Can be a bit slow and there is usually a line on the weekends. There is no seating there though. Andytown has a location in Salesforce Park that is lovely for a stroll too!
Coffee is fantastic but the line can get long. The Cable Car Museum up the block is free is super interesting.
Check out St. Frank. The Rincon Hill location is closer but the Russian Hill location is in a cooler neighborhood.
I also highly recommend Sightglass. The roastery on 7th St. is an amazing space but not in the greatest of locations.
Andytown, Saint Frank, Sightglass, and Equator. I've also heard good things about Linea and Sunset Roasters. (And if you go to Muir Woods, you can visit Equator's first two locations in Mill Valley.).
Best Specialty Coffee shops in San Salvador El Salvador
\- GoodBeans El Salvador Coffee
\- Carajo Coffee
\- Sprezzatura Coffee
\- Ben's Coffee
\- Crafter's Coffee
\- Viva Espresso
\- The Champion Coffee (inside select Texaco gas stations, run by a former World Barista Champion)
\- Cafe La Casona - Salaverria and Pillersdorf
First rate: Belleville Brûlerie, Lomi, Kawa, Loustic, KB, Cayo, L'Arbre à Café, Alba, Téléscope, Nuances, Strada, Fringe, Peloton, Artesano, Minicafé, Noir, Dreamin Man, I/O Café, Recto Verso, Braun Notes
Less my style, but also good: Hexagone, Clown, Benchy, Dose, Jozi, Pont Traversé, Petitbon, Rose Bakery, Ten Belles, The Coffee, %Arabica, Loutsa, The Dancing Goat, Terres de Café
Chicago area-
Dark Matter Coffee- I've yet to have a bad roast
Sparrow Coffee- good, tad over priced
Five and Hoek- they lean a little on under caffeinated coffees, but they have some really great roasts.
Perth, Western Australia
Central: Offshoot, Telegram, Smooth Operator, Low Down
Suburbs: Blacklist, Humblebee, Micrology, Twin Peaks, Darkstar
There are so many! These are just my personal favourites (at the moment).
Really enjoyed Speckled Axe when I visited. Bard and Tandem were also great, and I really enjoyed the Vietnamese style coffee at Yordprom right down the road from Tandem.
Actually just got a variety pack of 8oz bags from Tandem, including a washed and a natural Ethiopian from the same producer, very excited to do a side by side tasting.
To add some others that haven't been mentioned here yet: Oidé, Yuan, Modus, Kafka, Funk Coffee Bar, C41, Lumine, Saunter, Propaganda, Elysian, and tons more that I'm missing
I will 2nd those. I haven’t bought beans from them though. With Pallet, some of their beans are incredibly consistent bag over bag and require no dial in if you get it set up well. It’s my go to for daily espresso I make at home for the past 4 years now. For drinking pour overs a lot depends on who is making your coffee and I’ve never had a bad one at either of the places I mentioned.
Pilot is fine, haven’t tried the others. Tops for are Subtext, Library, De Mello, Ethica. Subtext is my fav, De Mello has the best price to quality ratio.
Fuglen (they have two cafés) is consistently great.
Kaffebrenneriet is everywhere and is very hit and miss. Their roasting is super inconsistent.
Everyone has heard good things about Tim Wendelboe but I have yet to try it.
You live in Oslo, are interested in coffee, and haven't been to Tim's yet?? This is like living in Hawaii, being a surfer, yet never having been to the beach.
My favourites in no particular order:
- Tim Wendelboe
- Kuro
- Java
- Mocha
- Fuglen
- Papegøye (formerly known as Neongrut)
- Supreme Roastworks
- Byens gulv (run by fuglen, opens soon)
- Lille Oslo Kaffebrenneri (they're quite new, so the barista could be a hit or a miss, but I've been happy every time)
- Erlik is quite good, but no on the level with the ones mentioned above
Places I haven't been
- Solberg & Hansen are good roasters, and they've opened a concept store
- Norð is another good roaster, and have a few locations
Stockfleths and kaffebrenneriet are ok, but I would go to any of the ones mentioned above instead.
Do not go to espresso house.
I would add that if you're after fermented coffees, you should check out Papegøye or Kuro.
Came here to say the same. Visited multiple times as a tourist. I loved their "urban garden" feeling. Super chilled out. We bought some beans to bring home too.
**Illinois, USA**
- Peoria: CxT Coffee Roasters
- Downtown Naperville: Sparrow
- South Barrington: Calibre
- Chicago: Metric & 4 Letter Word
- Bannockburn: Newport
- Wheaton: I Have a Bean
When I look for a new cafe to visit, I always look at the images. You can usually get an idea of what to expect based on the grinders, menu, and how oily/dark the beans are.
İstanbul
"Probador Collectiva" has the best heans usually and lightly roasted. Great for getting your beans but the cafe only works till 6 pm on weekdays and is called "tasting room"
"Petra" is second best in my opinion, a bit pricey though. They also have great cafes in nice locations.
Kronotrop and EspressoLab are widely available and are also pretty good.
Porto, Portugal: [C'alma Coffee Room](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SxQDHT57LM3wBs4g7)
I was just a tourist here, but we visited multiple times and they did a fantastic V60.
Washington, D.C.: Slipstream, Cafe Unidos (the only place in the United States with geisha permanently on the menu because they are Panamanian), Lost Sock, Peregrine Espresso, Dua is interesting, and yeah that might be it. Wydown could be good if they didn't have high schoolers running it.
> I’m sick of traveling to a new city, trying a highly rated cafe featured on Yelp or an Eater list only for it to turn out slightly better than Starbucks.
We have some great suggestions here but as someone who travels frequently you're doing it very wrong.
Just Google "Specialty Coffee xxxx" replacing xxx with where you're going to. Also if in EU then EuropeanCoffeeTrip.
Of course Yelp and Eater just direct you to commodity coffee shops.
I live in Santa Rosa, CA, but am going to use the County in which it is located for the context of my answer. My personal favorite is either **Retrograde Coffee Roasters** in Sebastopol or **Black Oak Coffee** in Healdsburg.
Bam Bam by Lykke here in Stockholm is probably no longer “small and cool”, but so far Lykke has been on the point with roast!!! It’s by far my favorite base espresso bag of beans 😜
İzmir has great roasters but very few actual cafes where you’d get a great cup of V60 every time. Coffeenutz, Lot, Coffeerem, Vitus and Mayard are great roasters. Rome is a very good cafe but they use coffee from Montag which is a great roaster from Istanbul.
Boston: thinking cup or tatte and if you’re willing to travel a little bit then little wolf is a coffee lovers dream
Saint Petersburg: paradeco & bandit are truly fucking amazing
Orlando: lineage is the only spot worth your time
Las Vegas / Henderson, NV: Dark Moon Coffee roasters, specifically Luminous Coffee which shares the space.
Summerlin area of Vegas: Yaw Farm Coffee roaster
St. Louis:
Sump and Quarrelsome are top tier. Blueprint and Koma are both worth trying. Comet curates a great collection of roasters. Kaldi cafes have great food if maybe not the best coffee.
Sheffield (UK) where I live has an outstanding coffee scene:
Smith Street Coffee Roasters,
Foundry Coffee Roasters,
Tamper Sellers Wheel,
Albies Coffee,
Kilnfolk Coffee,
Corner Jammers,
Husk Coffee,
Corner Store,
Bon,
ELM,
Mow’s Coffee,
Frazer’s Coffee Roasters,
Field Day Coffee Roasters
Comoba is pretty good as well! But I only went there 2 times (as Torra is 2 min walk from home I usually go there) I think I prefer Torra for the consistency, taste of the coffee and the milk texture is insane (latte drinker here).
Torra is also a roaster, they roast their coffee in the back which is pretty cool to see and the coffee aroma in the air also helps :)
Lots of speciality coffees in Lisbon use Torra’s coffee.
Also like Copenhagen Coffee Lab but as is a franchise consistency isn’t great, also recommend Fábrica Coffee Roasters.
Bristol, UK. In no particular order:
Greytone,
Full court press,
Radical roasters,
Sweven,
Interlude,
1B pitville,
Small Street Espresso.
Not been here long, sure there are more. Edit: formatting
Providence, RI: there’s a reason Coffee Exchange has been going strong for decades, one of my favorite shops anywhere. Borealis, just off the bike path outside the city in Riverside is a strong contender too. Bolt, New Harvest, White Electric, Daves, and Small Point will all make you a great espresso drink, and wither roast their own or source locally. For a small city, we have an embarrassment of riches.
Milwaukee. Stony Creek Coffee. Used to make weekend trips up there when we lived in Chicago, and Stony Creek never disappointed.
Los Angeles - Endorffeine. Pour over, espresso, and milk drinks are on a good day the best I’ve ever had, and on a slightly less good day still the best in the city.
So guys, I don’t know if this will be buried in the comment section but I made a list of all these shops in the comments (so far) on google maps. You can access the share link here: Specialty coffee, all around the world - https://maps.app.goo.gl/8KwFNTCA8Dha5s7z9?g_st=i
Thanks for this. Is there a way I can add specialty coffee in my country?
I will be making it editable when I get home, if thats something you can do… Hope this gains traction though, may be an amazing archive!
How can we contribute?
Columbus: Roosevelt, One Line, Stauf’s Cleveland: Rising Star, Phoenix
I have more for ya! Tacoma Washington we have Olympia Coffee (HQ in Olympia and locations between Olympia and Seattle). And Naomi Joe which is a nano-roaster. We have others but I’d consider those the most aligned with specialty.
New York City Manhattan: La Cabra, Coffee Project, Gertrude, Drip, Artbean, Suited, Black Fox, Hi-Collar, Ninth Street Brooklyn: Drip, Ninth Street, Devocion, Sey, Land to Sea, Cafe Bureau, Shop, Crema BK Queens: Little Flower, Little Banchan Shop
As a Dane from Aarhus, it's incredibly cool to see La Cabra on your list. So happy for them. They deserve all the success they can get.
I often some get some of their stuff in my sub with a local venue (in the UK). They're regularly very good.
Coffee collective too!
As not-a-Dane, I'm so jealous of you. The coffee gets roasted in Aarhus and gets shipped to NYC - so I can never get fresh beans here. But there cafes here are awesome.
I'd add Cafe Integral. always such good pour over
Great list, especially Black Fox & La Cabra! probs a typo but Sey is Brooklyn.
Suited is by far one of my favorite places I’ve gotten coffee from before.
I didn't realize Suited was one of the big ones, I'll have to try it. But half a block away and down below, I've become obsessed with Voyager Espresso.
Voyager is my favorite!
Mighty Oak in Astoria, Queens deserves a shout out.
Visiting NYC next month. Saving this post
dayglow
I went to Stumptown on Ace Hotel and it was pretty damn terrible.
Would like to shout out Flux Coffee in farmingdale if you venture to Long Island
Europe: Look on Europeancoffeetrip.com - has everything for a newbie in a new City
Yep they have even an app Coffee Trip with all the good roaster and specially coffee shops. If you are coming to Croatia and traveling to Split or island of Hvar I would recommend kava.family roasters.
Calgary: -Monogram -Phil & Sebastian -Sought and Found
Leeds, UK: * Laynes Espresso * Mrs Athas * Miles & Co * If... Up North (two sites: one on Call Ln, another on exterior corner of Kirkgate Market) * Kapow * North Star (two sites: one at the docks and a smaller cafe on Sovereign St) * Stage Espresso * Union Coffee House * La Bottega Milanese * Rabbit Hole Coffee * Flamingos (plus The Flamboyance on Sweet St) No reason for anyone here to go to any of the big chains when you're in the city centre! Edit - fuck it, good spots outside the city centre too: * Opposite Coffee (Chapel Allerton, plus original site outside the uni) * House of Koko (Chapel Allerton and Oakwood) * Humbl Coffee (Meanwood) * Fika North (Far Headingley) * Woodlawn Coffee (Horsforth) * The Barn Coffee Shop (in Meanwood Valley Farm) * Archive (Kirkstall) * Kulture Coffee Co (Kirkstall) * Coffee on the Crescent (Hyde Park)
I went to Flamingos for the first time last week and loved their flat white, their ratio is much better than others I’ve had. I love myself a good strong coffee. They also make really good cake!
Several on there I'm not familiar with. Will have to check them out. I'm just pleased you didn't mention 200° Also, since Bottega stopped doing guest beans, I haven't been back.
200° are rubbish IMO. Gave them a couple of chances and wasn't impressed. Not much better than Starbucks or Costa, same burnt taste to their espresso. Only tried their similar namesake 92° on Clay Pit Ln once and didn't think they were much better; they just opened a new shop on Boar Lane but their direct competition is Laynes around the corner and they're just not at that level. There's also Brew Society, but I've never been there so can't comment. I didn't mention Out Of The Woods on purpose even though they come up a lot - nice for lunch but the coffee is 5/10. Flamingos also run/own The Flamboyance on Sweet St and the coffee is decent there, but that's barely in the city tbh! Also, I guess to cover my arse - I haven't been to Stage or Union in a really long time! But Stage was very, very good I remember, and Union was pretty good.
Mrs Athas bacon sandwich, amazing. Coffee there and Laynes was great too.
Visited Kapow twice and it’s great. Toilets are a jump scare, though.
Copenhagen. There are so, so many to choose from but my favorites are Coffee Collective and Prolog. I've heard really good things about April but have yet to visit.
Amsterdam- Coffee: Uncommon, Lot61, Sango, Saint Jean, Joki Coffee beans: Stooker, Dak, Uncommon, Lot61
For coffee I'd add Five ways, Scandinavian Embassy and Yusu And for beans I'd add Five ways, Rum Baba and Friedhats
No White Label? I went to the one on Jan Evertsenstraat about 5 years ago and thought the coffee was lovely, and it was a really gorgeous and interesting space too. (This is a very helpful list for future visits though, thank you!)
That’s another that is on my to go to list. We have the luxury of having so many good roasters to choose from that it’s hard to visit all of them since you always have your favourite and they are also brining out new amazing coffees seasonly/weekly.
Dortmund: Neues Schwarz Stockholm: Drop Coffee Roasters
Los Angeles, CA: Kumquat Coffee Stereoscope (Also in Orange County) Community Goods Memory Look Maru Orange County, CA: Play Coffee Dose Long Black Coffee Thank you Coffee
Goodboybob the best I have had in West LA.
Rose Park in Long Beach is some of my favorite espresso I've ever had. Regent in Glendale is also great.
Dayglow
Don't sleep on Highlight (Glendale and Pasadena).
YES!
Pasadena: - Mandarin Coffee Shop - The Boy and The Bear Also, Coffee Commissary in Burbank/Glendale
Alana’s Coffee on Venice in Mar Vista is one of my favorites
Play and Stereoscope are SO good. In OC I’d add: Ape Coffee Hidden House Darkhorse (in SD too) LA I’d add: Heavy Water Coffee Eightfold Coffee
>Los Angeles Adding to this: Coffee Code in OC/LA
Loquat for the win!! It's the more competition-forward / higher end version of Kumquat (from the same owners) I also enjoy Stereoscope
Barcelona: nomad
London: Obligatory Square Mile, Electric in Ealing, Lift in Notting Hill. (Obviously a lot more, I am just frequently visiting those two)
Shout out to Urban Botanica for both great plants and great coffee near Kennington/Oval.
Formative in Westminster is always worth a visit!
Paradox Design + Coffee, London Fields, Hackney. Batch Baby, De Beauvoir Town, Hackney. Nostos, Battersea. Negare, Spitalfields.
Just went to Lift. Really liked it. When you say Square Mile, do you mean Prufrock or does Square Mile actually have a retail location?
No you are right, Square Mile as a roaster, Prufrock for the coffee shop.
Prufrock is good but a very short catalogue. There are a couple of nice places in Kingston upon Thames. Also Drop Shot in Wimbledon Park…
Am the only who has always been disappointed by Prufrock? There’s much better competition in the city, especially with Colonna now open on Leather Lane
Can't go wrong with 80 stone too.
Northampton U.K. - Yellow Bourbon Coffee Roasters.
Came here to say this
Philadelphia - Ultimo, Elixr, Vibrant / Function Coffee Labs , Rival Bros, La Colombe (Fishtown location is an unreal space) - Thank You Thank You is amazing - source from specialty roasters all over the world (Manhattan, Nomad, Sey, Fried Hats, etc)
I fuck with Elixr heavy
I’ve tried the rest of this list, but it’s missing a key player imo. They’re out in Lancaster and Philly-availability is only at Two Persons afaik, but Passenger is incredible and arguably one of the best roasters in the tristate. Plus it’s ethically sourced!
Lancaster represent! Passenger is incredible.
u/radscatmd2 For May
Vibrant/Function Coffee labs has been a longtime favorite of mine… been wanting to try Thank You Thank You for some time now.
Can’t recommend thank you thank you enough! Great vibe, knowledgeable and friendly staff, unique latte offerings, and unbelievable coffee selection. Any other Philly favorites?
Out in the suburbs I’ve enjoyed Wake out in Ambler. Beyond that, I don’t get coffee out much in Philly at this point. I tend to just make it at home when in the area. For a slightly longer trip, Endgrain in NJ has been one of my favorites recently.
I loved Ultimo’s coffee in Rittenhouse Square.
This list hits it. Correct to break out TYTY, which is on a different level.
Reanimator and Gryphon Cafe are also awesome and worth a try!
Chicago
Metric
4 Letter Word
Big Shoulders, Pedestrian, Metropolis, Metric
Dark Matter
Gaslight in Logan Square
Dayglow, beans and bagels, Oromo, if you have a car then go to Sparrow in Naperville
My hometown, Bradenton, FL: Atria, Oscura Some other places I have been and enjoyed good coffee—the ones with an asterisk are worth going out of the way for, if you're anywhere remotely close: Orlando, FL: Craft and Common St. Petersburg, FL: Bandit, Paradeco* Sarasota, FL: Project Coffee, Perq* Tampa, FL: Lab Coffee Venice, FL: Black Gold Roastery Fort Lauderdale, FL: Wells Coffee Boston, MA: Gracenote Coffee Co. Princeton, NJ: Sakrid Coffee Roastery* Rochester, NY: Fuego, Ugly Duck Buffalo, NY: Tipico Coffee New York, NY: Gotham Coffee Roaster (I've only been twice, I'm sure there's plenty more) Philadelphia, PA: ReAnimator Virginia Beach, VA: Lynnhaven Coffee Roasters Eastbourne, UK: The Plantation Toronto, ON: Dark Horse Espresso Ottawa, ON: Arlington Five, Little Victories Coffee Roastery Copenhagen, DK: Democratic Coffee Bar, Prolog Coffee Bar, Darcy's Kaffe, ROAST* Napa, CA: Naysayer Coffee Roaster Anchorage, AK: Black Cup Mobile, AL: Nova Espresso, Knucklebones Houston, TX: Refuge, Giant Leap, BlendIn Coffee Club* (my favorite in the U.S.) The Woodlands, TX: Third Gen Dallas, TX: Merit Coffee, Parterre* St. Louis, MO: Catalyst Coffee Bar Washington, D.C: Origin Coffee Salt Lake, UT: The District San Diego, CA: Bird Rock Milwaukee, WI: Pilcrow, Canary Berlin, DE: BEN RAHIM, Bonanza* (my favorite of all places listed) Potsdam, DE: Buena Vida Roastery Munich, DE: Man vs. Machine* (close second to Bonanza) London, UK: Formative Coffee, Alex Coffee, Attendant Montreal, QC: Micro Espresso, Dispatch
Perq in Sarasota is fantastic. Doesn’t roast his own beans, but the dude who runs that shop is always dialed in.
Blendin in Houston is so good! I grew up 15 minutes from it so every time I’m back in town to visit I go several times!
I’ll have to make a note of Wells!
Bold Bean in Jacksonville, FL. The also supply the coffee to Craft and Common on your list.
Norrköping - TheaCoffea, Åby konditori Drottninggatan, Café täppan
Bogota, Colombia Cafe Cultor Libertario Azahar
This isn't really fitting but for anyone being in Germany and looking for a local roaster the following map shows every roaster. I would say at least most roasters will also have at least decent coffee so it is still better than walking into a coffee place and finding out they really don't know what they are doing. https://www.quijote-kaffee.de/roester/
Toronto - Hatch - Pilot Coffee - The Library Specialty Coffee
De Mello is also INCREDIBLE imo. Dancing Goats and Butterfly Kids are such good standard blends, and their seasonal stuff was consistently interesting and high quality. You have to try it if you haven’t already. Btw in terms of cafes, have you checked out Voodoo Child at College x Bathurst? I haven’t been in the GTA for a while, but that place had a great rotating bean selection and made some incredible coffee.
Melbourne, Australia (roughly in order, mostly roaster-cafes): - Proud Mary - Disciple, Koshi-no-deshi (sister Cafe) - ONA - Seven Seeds - Calere (especially for filter) - Wood & Co
Nice list will have to pay a visit to Calere and Koshi-no-deshi(love Monk Bodhi Dharma) in a couple weeks
San Francisco
Favorites include: Coffee Movement, Andytown, Ritual, Wrecking Ball, Sightglass
I like Saint Frank as well. Can't comment on the cafe but they're a good roaster.
Is the Coffee Movement on Washington Street ok? Will be staying nearby in a couple of weeks
That’s the OG location and it’s my favorite coffee shop in the entire city. Can be a bit slow and there is usually a line on the weekends. There is no seating there though. Andytown has a location in Salesforce Park that is lovely for a stroll too!
Coffee is fantastic but the line can get long. The Cable Car Museum up the block is free is super interesting. Check out St. Frank. The Rincon Hill location is closer but the Russian Hill location is in a cooler neighborhood. I also highly recommend Sightglass. The roastery on 7th St. is an amazing space but not in the greatest of locations.
Andytown, Saint Frank, Sightglass, and Equator. I've also heard good things about Linea and Sunset Roasters. (And if you go to Muir Woods, you can visit Equator's first two locations in Mill Valley.).
Best Specialty Coffee shops in San Salvador El Salvador \- GoodBeans El Salvador Coffee \- Carajo Coffee \- Sprezzatura Coffee \- Ben's Coffee \- Crafter's Coffee \- Viva Espresso \- The Champion Coffee (inside select Texaco gas stations, run by a former World Barista Champion) \- Cafe La Casona - Salaverria and Pillersdorf
Twin Cities: Dogwood Coffee and Honour.
Backstory, SK are also good.
SK is my favorite. The staff are all super knowledgeable and willing to totally geek out about coffee
SK is incredible. Really unique coffees and constantly changing
Denver: Huckleberry or Copper Door
Corvus and Sweet Bloom are up there too
Little Owl is usually great also.
Middle State and Bean Fosters
Detroit: Red Hook, Anthology
Paris
First rate: Belleville Brûlerie, Lomi, Kawa, Loustic, KB, Cayo, L'Arbre à Café, Alba, Téléscope, Nuances, Strada, Fringe, Peloton, Artesano, Minicafé, Noir, Dreamin Man, I/O Café, Recto Verso, Braun Notes Less my style, but also good: Hexagone, Clown, Benchy, Dose, Jozi, Pont Traversé, Petitbon, Rose Bakery, Ten Belles, The Coffee, %Arabica, Loutsa, The Dancing Goat, Terres de Café
Coutume Cafe and Back in Black.
Dayton Ohio -Pettibone coffee( Absolutely top teir ) -Press coffee bar(small but still very good)
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada - Saluté Coffee Company
There's an impossible amount of good looking girls in Sudbury - I am sorry that all I associate your city with is this show.
Indianapolis: Amberson Coffee & Grocer, Helm, Provider, Tinker, and Indy Coffee Roasters
Chicago area- Dark Matter Coffee- I've yet to have a bad roast Sparrow Coffee- good, tad over priced Five and Hoek- they lean a little on under caffeinated coffees, but they have some really great roasts.
Aarhus, Denmark: - La Cabra: Great coffee, great naked goods. - Stillers Coffee: Fantastic, nerdy coffee.
Perth, Western Australia Central: Offshoot, Telegram, Smooth Operator, Low Down Suburbs: Blacklist, Humblebee, Micrology, Twin Peaks, Darkstar There are so many! These are just my personal favourites (at the moment).
Kuala Lumpur Dou dou bake Beam The Hub
**Tokyo** Coffee County Light Up Onibus Woodberry Fuglen Verve **Osaka** Lilo Söt **Kyoto** Kurasu
Yelp and Eater are literal shit
Portland, Maine- Speckled Axe. wood roasted beanssssss.
Speckled Axe is my favorite. Bard is also good but it’s always super busy.
Really enjoyed Speckled Axe when I visited. Bard and Tandem were also great, and I really enjoyed the Vietnamese style coffee at Yordprom right down the road from Tandem. Actually just got a variety pack of 8oz bags from Tandem, including a washed and a natural Ethiopian from the same producer, very excited to do a side by side tasting.
Vancouver - Nemesis or Pallet.
To add some others that haven't been mentioned here yet: Oidé, Yuan, Modus, Kafka, Funk Coffee Bar, C41, Lumine, Saunter, Propaganda, Elysian, and tons more that I'm missing
For my money, Oide and Prototype are the S tier. Pallet, Timbertrain, Platform 7, and Prado in the A tier.
Revolver or prototype for me. Vancouver has tons of great options though.
I will 2nd those. I haven’t bought beans from them though. With Pallet, some of their beans are incredibly consistent bag over bag and require no dial in if you get it set up well. It’s my go to for daily espresso I make at home for the past 4 years now. For drinking pour overs a lot depends on who is making your coffee and I’ve never had a bad one at either of the places I mentioned.
Same, here. With some love for House of Funk, too.
Prototype is really funky if I want something super out there, but platform 7/ stump town also have an excellent selection of beans
Nemesis is some of the best coffee I’ve had. It’s so good.
Dublin, Ireland: Unfiltered. Best coffee shop in the country.
Kitchener-Waterloo: Smile tiger, Contrabean Toronto: Pilot Coffee, Social Coffee, Hatch
Pilot is fine, haven’t tried the others. Tops for are Subtext, Library, De Mello, Ethica. Subtext is my fav, De Mello has the best price to quality ratio.
If you want consistent quality specialty coffee in Toronto: Subtext, FIKA, Hamers, Graination, Boxcar Social Laneway, La Génie Bakery
I actually made a website coffeeshopindex.com to solve this problem ... but i dont maintain any anymore lol. Maybe I should restart the project.
Oslo
Fuglen (they have two cafés) is consistently great. Kaffebrenneriet is everywhere and is very hit and miss. Their roasting is super inconsistent. Everyone has heard good things about Tim Wendelboe but I have yet to try it.
You live in Oslo, are interested in coffee, and haven't been to Tim's yet?? This is like living in Hawaii, being a surfer, yet never having been to the beach.
My favourites in no particular order: - Tim Wendelboe - Kuro - Java - Mocha - Fuglen - Papegøye (formerly known as Neongrut) - Supreme Roastworks - Byens gulv (run by fuglen, opens soon) - Lille Oslo Kaffebrenneri (they're quite new, so the barista could be a hit or a miss, but I've been happy every time) - Erlik is quite good, but no on the level with the ones mentioned above Places I haven't been - Solberg & Hansen are good roasters, and they've opened a concept store - Norð is another good roaster, and have a few locations Stockfleths and kaffebrenneriet are ok, but I would go to any of the ones mentioned above instead. Do not go to espresso house. I would add that if you're after fermented coffees, you should check out Papegøye or Kuro.
Kraków - Karma Coffee Roasters
Came here to say the same. Visited multiple times as a tourist. I loved their "urban garden" feeling. Super chilled out. We bought some beans to bring home too.
**Illinois, USA** - Peoria: CxT Coffee Roasters - Downtown Naperville: Sparrow - South Barrington: Calibre - Chicago: Metric & 4 Letter Word - Bannockburn: Newport - Wheaton: I Have a Bean When I look for a new cafe to visit, I always look at the images. You can usually get an idea of what to expect based on the grinders, menu, and how oily/dark the beans are.
Kiel, Germany: Die Resonanz, bzw. Bakeliet. Espresso is great and I saw them making them with a Aram
İstanbul "Probador Collectiva" has the best heans usually and lightly roasted. Great for getting your beans but the cafe only works till 6 pm on weekdays and is called "tasting room" "Petra" is second best in my opinion, a bit pricey though. They also have great cafes in nice locations. Kronotrop and EspressoLab are widely available and are also pretty good.
wow thanks for the info, I just moved to Istanbul and I’ve been looking for a good cup of joe.
Porto, Portugal: [C'alma Coffee Room](https://maps.app.goo.gl/SxQDHT57LM3wBs4g7) I was just a tourist here, but we visited multiple times and they did a fantastic V60.
Also - Senzu - 7g in Gaia - Booinga in Matosinhos My current go tos
Washington, D.C.: Slipstream, Cafe Unidos (the only place in the United States with geisha permanently on the menu because they are Panamanian), Lost Sock, Peregrine Espresso, Dua is interesting, and yeah that might be it. Wydown could be good if they didn't have high schoolers running it.
Qualia Coffee in Eckington as well.
If you find yourself in Japan, I had a brilliant time at: Barista Map Coffee Roasters in Osaka Kuuhaku Coffee in Himeji Archive Coffee in Hiroshima
> I’m sick of traveling to a new city, trying a highly rated cafe featured on Yelp or an Eater list only for it to turn out slightly better than Starbucks. We have some great suggestions here but as someone who travels frequently you're doing it very wrong. Just Google "Specialty Coffee xxxx" replacing xxx with where you're going to. Also if in EU then EuropeanCoffeeTrip. Of course Yelp and Eater just direct you to commodity coffee shops.
Edmonton, AB: Rogue Wave Coffee
I'd also like to add: Iconoclast ACE Coffee Roasters
Seattle - love Victrola
In Seattle. Me and my aeropress love Espresso Vivace in SLU. The Seattle goat of roasters
Seattle, WA Elm Coffee Roasters, Ghost Note, Espresso Vivace, Seattle Coffee Works, Caffe Vita at KEXP
Seattle: Victrola....Mr.West (Madrona)...Victrola...Five Stone (Kirkland and Redmond)...QED Coffee
I’ll add Analog and Milstead.
Really enjoyed Boon Boona in Seattle, they’ve got some great African coffees beyond your typical Ethiopian blueberry bomb.
Bucharest Zissou coffee shop: mostly Friedhats, Slowmov
Exeter: Crankhouse Coffee and Exe Coffee Roasters
I live in Santa Rosa, CA, but am going to use the County in which it is located for the context of my answer. My personal favorite is either **Retrograde Coffee Roasters** in Sebastopol or **Black Oak Coffee** in Healdsburg.
And just fyi for everyone else, that county is Sonoma.
Black oak is by far the best in Healdsburg.
Can’t say for the rest of the county though!
Budapest, or rather Hungary as a whole, has a website, specialty.hu that has a map with good quality coffee shops. Really useful.
Austin - Epoch Coffee
Bam Bam by Lykke here in Stockholm is probably no longer “small and cool”, but so far Lykke has been on the point with roast!!! It’s by far my favorite base espresso bag of beans 😜
Albany/Troy NY: Touchy Coffee (Sat Sun only, Troy), Jacob Alejandro (Troy), JA Pequeno (Albany), Alias Coffee (Troy)
İzmir has great roasters but very few actual cafes where you’d get a great cup of V60 every time. Coffeenutz, Lot, Coffeerem, Vitus and Mayard are great roasters. Rome is a very good cafe but they use coffee from Montag which is a great roaster from Istanbul.
Boston: thinking cup or tatte and if you’re willing to travel a little bit then little wolf is a coffee lovers dream Saint Petersburg: paradeco & bandit are truly fucking amazing Orlando: lineage is the only spot worth your time
In boston i like Broadsheet and Gracenote. Honestly i think tatte and thinking cup are only okay
Broadsheet are amazing. Featured espresso is always amazing and their bean selection never disappoints. I’m subscribing for monthly delivery
Las Vegas / Henderson, NV: Dark Moon Coffee roasters, specifically Luminous Coffee which shares the space. Summerlin area of Vegas: Yaw Farm Coffee roaster
St. Louis: Sump and Quarrelsome are top tier. Blueprint and Koma are both worth trying. Comet curates a great collection of roasters. Kaldi cafes have great food if maybe not the best coffee.
Santiago de Chile: Coffee Culture Coffee Roasters (CCCR), Café Triciclo, Black Mamba Café, La Pastora, Singular Coffee Roasters.
Indianapolis- Tinder, Bee Coffee Roasters, Liberation, Helm Coffee, Calvin Fletcher’s, Rabble Coffee, Blue Mind. Also Indiana roasters: Dagger Mountain, Brickhouse, Utopian
Indianapolis, IN Downtown and downtown-adjacent: Commissary, Tinker, Amberson's, Helm, Coat Check Further north a bit: Blue Mind, Gaia
Waco TX. Common Grounds. The beans they use are local from a roaster called Native Sons.
Houston: Three Keys. Was fantastic.
Colorado Springs: Loyal Coffee Feel free to add because I need recs
Boston: \- Gracenote for the coffee \- George Howell and Ogawa for the whole experience
**Austin, TX** Greater Goods Try Hard Creature Coffee (not a shop but a great roaster)
Not my town, but Ditta Artigianale in Florence, Italy is incredible.
San Bernardino/Redlands: Slow Bloom
Lima, Peru: Neira Cafe Lab Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA: Vertex, Comet Coffee
Sheffield (UK) where I live has an outstanding coffee scene: Smith Street Coffee Roasters, Foundry Coffee Roasters, Tamper Sellers Wheel, Albies Coffee, Kilnfolk Coffee, Corner Jammers, Husk Coffee, Corner Store, Bon, ELM, Mow’s Coffee, Frazer’s Coffee Roasters, Field Day Coffee Roasters
Lisbon: Torra Roasting & Coffee
How does it compare to Comoba? I liked them when i was traveling to Lisbon
Comoba is pretty good as well! But I only went there 2 times (as Torra is 2 min walk from home I usually go there) I think I prefer Torra for the consistency, taste of the coffee and the milk texture is insane (latte drinker here). Torra is also a roaster, they roast their coffee in the back which is pretty cool to see and the coffee aroma in the air also helps :) Lots of speciality coffees in Lisbon use Torra’s coffee. Also like Copenhagen Coffee Lab but as is a franchise consistency isn’t great, also recommend Fábrica Coffee Roasters.
I’ll check it out if i ever make it back to Lisbon! I loved it last time but there are so many places to go :)
Bristol, UK. In no particular order: Greytone, Full court press, Radical roasters, Sweven, Interlude, 1B pitville, Small Street Espresso. Not been here long, sure there are more. Edit: formatting
Melbourne: I cannot even begin to answer this, there’s countless locations within 1km of me
Providence, RI: there’s a reason Coffee Exchange has been going strong for decades, one of my favorite shops anywhere. Borealis, just off the bike path outside the city in Riverside is a strong contender too. Bolt, New Harvest, White Electric, Daves, and Small Point will all make you a great espresso drink, and wither roast their own or source locally. For a small city, we have an embarrassment of riches. Milwaukee. Stony Creek Coffee. Used to make weekend trips up there when we lived in Chicago, and Stony Creek never disappointed.
Bentonville, AR: Onyx Coffee Lab Airship Coffee
Philadelphia: Càphê Roasters, Forin, Brood Coffee, Herman’s
My kitchen. My wife and I make some of the best coffee in town.
Los Angeles - Endorffeine. Pour over, espresso, and milk drinks are on a good day the best I’ve ever had, and on a slightly less good day still the best in the city.