WanderingJustin.com has an interesting post about his challenges finding good coffee when traveling. It made me think about all of the sites I’ve stumbled across that are about coffee. And frankly there aren’t many. Why is that? You’d think there would be more sites like this one, but in other states. I know about a few: CoffeeRatings.com does a good job rating shops in San Francisco, and Milwaukee Specialty Coffee covers coffee in Wisconsin (and beyond), and Coffee City does a good job covering Seattle. A few other places to look are CupofNYC.com (for New York City), and the Forums on CoffeeGeek allow messages by country and state. If you happen to be visiting Denver, check out the infrequently updated blog MileHighBuzz.com. There’s a map on EspressoMap.com, and a great site for Melbourne, and some old posts about Portland. If you’re Swedish, give Kaffesnobben a try. In Vancouver, the (infrequently updated) Vancouver Coffee site may help you find a good cup. There are other places you can find coffee reviews, for example try searching on Yelp or Barista Exchange. Lastly, the Arizona Coffee Forum is a great place to ask fellow coffee fans about coffee shops in other states. Numerous times I’ve mentioned I’m visiting a city and received suggestions. What are YOUR favorite coffee shops out of state?
Isaac Weinhausen West coast love… Intelligencia (LA) http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/ Ritual Roasters (San Fransisco) http://www.ritualroasters.com/ Stumptown (Portland/Seattle) http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/ 0 Reply December 30, 2009
O SD: I enjoyed Cafe 976 in Pacific Beach and the Living Room on El Cajon Blvd near SDSU during my college years. Both were a hike from my campus but still great places to hang/study, with good coffee to boot. SF: Philz, Blue Bottle, Ritual. I never went to Philz when I lived in SF because there were so many other coffeehouses closer to me, but I’ve gone on my last few visits back and they make a great cup of drip and some specialty drinks as well (their mint mojito iced coffee is awesome). They also carry a pretty great selection of beans. Really friendly owner and staff. NYC: Not a coffeeshop per se, but McNulty’s in the Village is probably the only place I shop at when I’m in NYC. Awesome selection of beans from there. You feel like you’ve walked into that old apothecary place at the beginning of Gremlins when you first walk in. 🙂 0 Reply December 30, 2009
Patrick As a Seattle native, there are tons of places to recommend, but I will say my favorite is All City Coffee, particularly their Georgetown location by the airport. Good coffee, kind of a gritty, industrial neighborhood. Especially on a rainy day – it’s perfect. Also worthy: Stumptown Roasters in Portland and Seattle is pretty tasty. And just for the eye candy factor, Cowgirls Espresso gets a vote. Coffee’s not that great, but that’s beside the point. 0 Reply December 30, 2009
Chris Tingom @gdickinson writes: Gimme! Coffee and 9th St Espresso in NYC are my current faves. 0 Reply December 30, 2009
Psyd Abe Carmelli has his favorite espresso joints in NYC. I’ve been fond of both of the murky coffee jernts, the one on Pennsylvania Ave in DC, and the one across the river in Arlington. Lessee, NC gets the Blue Bottle on Linden, for it’s great espresso and funky alley vibe, Santa Clara’s Barefoot is not to be missed and is worth the drive around the bay, Seattle is Victrola, Vivace (a tie) then Monorail, again for it’s funky alley, hole-in-the-wall-you’re-not-that-special vibe. Calebria in Sand Diego, with a jaunt down to the Big Kitchen to watch Judy-the-Beauty-on-Duty make me eggs, Pick and Intelli shop in Chicago, but downtown fer sher. Keane’s if you ever get stuck in Orange County’s rich neighborhoods (the one in Newport Beach is da bomb), La Muse East Village Cafe and Modica’s Deli for Cappu and Crepes and lunch respectively (although, it’s La Muse for coffee) if you happen to be in Orange Counties less affluent neighborhoods, like Long Beach. I have friends call me form all over to ask where to get coffee. I steer them there, and charge ’em a pound of whatever’s fresh roasted on their return. Last one netted me two pounds of SO Guatemalan from Barefoot! 0 Reply December 30, 2009
Chris Tingom Psyd, I fixed the URL. To insert a link inline, you can either just paste the link as part of your message, or use normal html. Example code: <a href="http://www.google.com/">Visit Google!</a> 0 Reply December 30, 2009
dave p When I’m headin’ somewhere in AZ I always check the map for someplace to go when visiting. Otherwise, it’s google and search and look for websites. As the calibration point, my fav here is Lux, since their latte always grabs the senses, taste, touch, sight, smell, and if you’re speaking to those behind the counter, sound. While traveling, only a few stand out to me. Crema in Portland, – great latte. Cafe Dawn in Salida, CO – great latte, great view, great cookies, pretty much everything sold there is CO local. Stone Cup in Lyons, CO has good lattes, but great cookies. Kind Coffee in Estes Park, CO has good lattes, but absolutely phenom views. 0 Reply December 30, 2009
David Favorite spots outside AZ: * Blue Bottle Coffee (San Francisco) * Nostalgia Cafe (Salt Lake City, UT) * Stumptown (Portland, OR) 0 Reply December 30, 2009
Wandering Justin With Stumptown getting all these votes, I’ve really gotta check it out. Thanks, everyone! 0 Reply December 31, 2009
Steve Chicago (outside of the inevitable) Uncommon Grounds. NY (Mnhatn) Grumpys 0 Reply January 1, 2010
Tom Maegdlin Chicag0-Intelligentsia (Randolph/Mil. Park) Milwaukee-Alterra Coffee (Prospect Ave.) Seattle-Victrola 0 Reply January 2, 2010
Kathy If you ever find yourself on the east coast check out High Rise Cafe in Boston or A&E Coffee Roastery in Amherst New Hampshire. Two of my favorite spots. 0 Reply January 3, 2010
