Everyone loves coffee, and sometimes it's better to get a more authentically brewed coffee than heading to Starbucks. There are great coffee shops all over the country, though cities like Seattle and Portland are most associated with coffee.
San Francisco
This café in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco was host to famous writers like Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. It opened in the 1950s, serving Italian-style coffee. Today, the walls are covered with pictures of the celebrity regulars who have stopped in for a cup through the years. This café only accepts cash and on Saturday night they have live musical acts accompanied by an accordion player.
Portland, Oregon
This is considered one of the best coffeehouses in a city obsessed with coffeehouses. It is decorated with pop art from local artists, which gives color to the walls made of exposed brick and reclaimed wood. The baristas serve Sterling Coffee espresso, single-origin pour-overs and rich hot chocolate made with Michel Cluizel Venezuelan dark chocolate and Portuguese sea salt.
Nashville
This coffee bar has a polished dark wood interior and serves hand-poured direct-trade coffees from suppliers such as Counter Culture Coffee and Humphreys Street Coffee.
Austin
This establishment serves coffee from premium roasters such as Cuvee, Counter Culture, Intelligentsia and Verve. They also have a well-regarded in-house training program for baristas. On "Fancy Friday" baristas dress up in bow ties and formal wear, in contrast to casual Fridays.
Atlanta
Octane is Atlanta's best choice for premium small-batch roasts brewed in French presses and Chemex equipment. At night, they serve a selection of craft beers, wine and specialty cocktails.
Seattle
Victrola stands out in Seattle, which is not an easy thing to do. They hand-pick organic, fair-trade blends and single-origin crops from around the world, processing and brewing them at their Pike Street roasting facilities. The coffee shop has exposed brick, wooden beams and cushy bright red couches where customers can sit with their coffee cups.
New York
This tiny coffee shop is located in Manhattan's East Village. They brew Counter Culture coffee beans and have a food menu with Spanish and Portuguese influences, including selections such as olive oil cake and vegetable and Cheddar frittata.
This Swedish coffee shop has a rotation of roasters, including Toby's Estate, Intelligentsia and Counter Culture Coffee. Sweden is a country with some of the highest coffee consumption in the world, and while you wait for the barista to make yours, there is a screen with interesting facts about coffee.
Santa Cruz
Verve supplies roasts to local shops, two of which were recognized by the 2013 Good Food Awards. Co-founder Ryan O'Donovan told Good Times Weekly that the plan is to "provide the best service and be unwavering about that, and have it be a nice atmosphere, the highest quality yet still feel totally accessible." The shop also provides detailed tasting notes on the variety of coffees they source from and roast, from bean to cup.
Denver
Happy Coffee started off as a coffee kiosk in a bike shop and is now serving Fourbarrel, Heart and Sightglass beans, among others, in a brick and mortar shop. They brew coffee using the Toddy system for iced coffee, which takes 18 hours to drip all the way through. They also use the Aeropress or Vario V60 drip machine.
Stumptown (multiple locations)
Stumptown is an original boutique coffee roaster, which began in Portland in 1999 and now has nine locations on both coasts. Baristas serve the house blend, Hair Bender, using several methods, from traditional press pots and espresso machines to vacuum pots, pour-overs and Chemex devices.
Intelligentsia (multiple locations)
This coffee roaster began in Chicago and has expanded to many other cities, including New York and Los Angeles. They roast meticulously sourced single-origin coffee, such as a micro-lot from Santuario, Colombia. They also serve their trademark Black Cat espresso. Baristas measure the temperature and volume of water used for each cup to consistently highlight the flavors in every roast, so you may have to wait for a few minutes for your cup of coffee.
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