America's best coffee cities
Before you order an espresso at a Seattle coffee bar, you can often read where the coffee beans came from, how those beans were roasted — and even a short résumé of the barista who’s making your cup.
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Such passion made Seattle a shoo-in to win the title of best coffee city, according to Travel + Leisure readers. In the annual America’s Favorite Cities survey, readers ranked 35 cities on such features as friendly locals, cultural ambience and ice cream.
Some everyday fans may feel overwhelmed by the sophisticated options, say, whether to order a pour-over versus a siphon or drip. When in doubt, just treat your barista like a bartender. A good barista loves questions.
No. 1 Seattle
Even without the omnipresent homegrown Starbucks shops, this town of brainy locals was a no-brainer to win the coffee championship again, thanks to the sheer numbers of cozy coffee bars, roasters and drive-through espresso shacks. You’ll find the caffeinated cognoscenti at Joe Bar in Capitol Hill and branches of local chains such as Caffe Ladro, Espresso Vivace (which also has a sidewalk stand), and Caffè Vita, which offers a blend infused with local chocolate Theo.
No. 2 Portland, Ore.
Oregon’s hipster haven is probably rolling its collective eyes at coming in second to Seattle, but it may get the last laugh: Portland’s hottest coffee, Stumptown, now has branches in Seattle and is offered in increasing numbers of high-end coffeehouses around the nation. At Stumptown’s Annex location, you can participate in free public cuppings each weekday at 3 p.m. Serious coffee drinkers also love Barista, in the Pearl District, and Courier Coffee (near famed bookstore Powell’s), where the staff pride themselves on their 23-karat-gold filters and on playing vinyl records rather than CDs.
No. 3 New Orleans
The Crescent City’s most famous java — the coffee with chicory at Café du Monde or the French drip at Morning Call — is unapologetically old-school, and it holds its own alongside the near-obligatory beignet. For an only-in–New Orleans cup, but with a different kind of kick, try the Café Brûlot Diabolique at Antoine’s, first created in 1890: it’s a hot spiced coffee, flaming with brandy at your table.
No. 4 Providence, R.I.
How seriously do Rhode Islanders take their coffee? In 1993, the state legislature declared coffee milk the official state drink. You can explore the locals’ high standards at Seven Stars Bakery, where baristas get trained for two months, each cup is weighed to ensure consistency, and no coffee older than 30 minutes is ever served.
No. 5 San Francisco
Caffe Trieste has been a go-to cappuccino spot since the 1950s, while relative newcomers like Four Barrel, Ritual and Blue Bottle appeal to the same kind of purists who have given this town a serious foodie reputation. Blue Bottle’s downtown Mint Plaza location, for instance, features a stylish, five-light siphon bar and a Kyoto-style iced coffee apparatus. Four Barrel, meanwhile, challenges its coffee lovers to stay unplugged by literally not offering outlets or Wi-Fi — perhaps a refreshing change in this otherwise techie city.
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No. 6 San Juan, P.R.
It says something that readers ranked the island city’s esteemed coffee even higher than its party-ready cocktail lounges. Finca Cialitos and Cuatro Sombras are the main institutions, but it’s also worth seeking out a newer spot in Old San Juan: Caficultura, a restored home off Plaza Colón, where you can order breakfast or tapas with a cortadito (espresso with just a bit of steamed milk) or con leche (with a lot of steamed milk).
No. 7 Minneapolis/St. Paul
Here’s more proof that long winters create a hot market for great coffee. The Twin Cities’ version of Starbucks is the sustainably farmed Caribou Coffee, while Dunn Bros. offers coffee from micro-lots roasted in small batches. Costa Rica Las Lajas Honey Coffee, for instance, has apple, caramel and wine-like notes. Explore Minneapolis’s unconventional side at the Angry Catfish Bicycle Shop & Coffee Bar, where you can sip single-origin coffee (including a smoked sea salt mocha) and get tips on cycling gear — a nice combo in this fitness-minded town.
No. 8 Portland, Maine
In this scenic base for day trips, a cup of coffee is the best way to kick-start your morning. Speckled Ax on Congress Street stands out for using beans roasted over local fruitwood. Yet plenty of locals still swear by the micro-roasted Coffee by Design, which has been around since the ’90s and has a branch inside the L.L. Bean flagship store. T+L readers were more impressed with New Englanders’ accents than their fashion sense, however, so if you want to brush up on the local lingo, check out Wicked Joe, where the wicked-good options include fair-trade, shade-grown blends like the Wicked Italian.
No. 9 New York City
In a city where street performers have Broadway-worthy talent, coffee lovers expect a lot from their baristas. Joe the Art of Coffee is one purist magnet, with locations from the West Village to Grand Central up to Columbia University. (At its Chelsea Pro Shop, techie coffee snobs can buy espresso machine parts, or take classes like Milk Steaming Theory.) Brooklyn holds its own with Blue Bottle Coffee, Café Grumpy, and the quirky Parlor Coffee, a tiny espresso shop tucked in the back of a barbershop.
No. 10 San Diego
While sunny San Diego may not seem like an obvious top 10 coffee city, readers may have changed their minds after taking a dip in the chilly Pacific. Near the beach in La Jolla, check out the award-winning Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, started by a former English teacher.
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