Best Coffee Shop

Every time I go somewhere one of the first things I look for is where to get the best coffee. I think you can learn a lot about a city by the cafe culture or lack of it. 

Not sure if I could pick one in the world so here are a handful of my favorites.

Pergamino café is one of the few coffee shops in Colombia brewing and selling locally sourced single origin estate coffees. The family running it grows much of the coffee on their nearby farm. The cafe is also beautifully designed and the people working there really know coffee.

Origin Coffee Roastingin Cape Town is a coffee school, cafe and roaster in one. They have a regularly changing menu of coffees from Africa and other regions as well as tons of brewing options--such as chemex, siphon and V60.

Ditta Artigianale is one of the only coffee shops in Italy that's combining modern and traditional. They have award winning baristas who are equally capable of making a traditional cappuccino or a pour over filter coffee. Amazing vibe too. It's this modern cafe down one of Florence's beautiful medieval side streets.  

Sightglass has incredible single origin coffees. The cafe is massive and spans a couple floors. It's incredibly modern and spacious which definitely adds to the experience.

Qahwah is one of my favorites in Istanbul for Turkish coffee. It's easy to miss inside one of Istanbul's bustling market areas. Nearby is an open air food market, filled with fresh fish, olives, fruits and vegetables. After dark it transforms into a prime nightlife spot. 

If you visit the south-shore of Montreal, please go to Rumeurs... Bistro | Café | Comptoir & La Maison Demers Traiteur in Saint Jean Sur Richelieu. All their coffee is great, but their latte, in my humble opinion, are the best!

I have to go with Kilimanjaro Native Coffee Union Cafe in Moshi. Weirdly enough they have really good banana milkshakes. I didn't even know I liked banana milkshakes until I had one at Union. Oh yeah, and their coffee is also pretty amazing. :)

Here's a picture I took inside of one of their roasters. 

I had my best coffee ever - outside of Italy - in San Francisco at Caffe Greco. Coffee is just like the best Italian one you might dream drinking when not at home. The service is good and the place is so comfy you can spend hours in there...

In Vancouver, our local and fave is The Mighty Oak.  

When we were in Tokyo, we made sure to visit Omotesando Koffee. A bit hard to find but well worth it.

Lastly, we would rank Toby's Estate Coffee in Melbourne in our top three.

And now I'm craving a coffeeeeeeeee!

Best coffee shop I have ever been to would be Revolver on Cambie street in Vancouver. It has a really cool atmosphere and the baristas are like coffee scientists. 

If I were to choose solely on the quality of the coffee then I would go with Victor's Espresso bar in Haarlem, Netherlands. It has some of the strongest espresso I have ever had!

I like the Bean and Tree in Portland for its quirky art, delicious Stumptown brewed espresso drinks and friendly staff. Try the Sleeping Giant.

Vertigo Coffee in San Juan Bautista has occasional live music and serves phenomenal coffee roasted in house and phenomenal food as well. 

My favorite District of Columbia shop is in Georgetown (Washington DC). You've got to check out Baked & Wired - have a coffee - any coffee (they also use Stumptown). I love their Chai lattes and if you go, you have to try a handpie (to die for).

Cafe Middelberg in Aachen and Cafe Schleypen in Geilenkirchen are both fabulous for coffee (cafe macchiato) and cake.

I had amazing coffee in Krakow in every shop that I tried.

I suppose if I lived next door to any of those above, they'd be the "best coffee shop" for me, but my best coffee shop is sort of like my second home. It's like Cheers where "everyone knows my name." That shop is in Pucol. At Pastelería C. Aixa, they not only serve phenomenal coffee, but they have an award winning pastry chef that creates delicious pastries and desserts as well as savory items. It's a family fun business and they are friendly.

They became my family while I lived there. Somehow we connected so that we'd share meals and recipes. It was my favorite place before, but after, it really was home. My daughters would run into the kitchen and come out with bags of chocolate and "Uncle" Eliseo would just smile. We helped make panquemao and other treats and Carmen taught me a little Valenciano.

They get crowded now because it's just a wonderful place, but just grab a seat at the bar and chat. Say hello to Carmen and Santi for me if you go. :)

In Florida along 30A Alys Beach a spot called Fonville Press. So cool, and obscure. Sells the most random and exclusive alcohol as well. Coffee is exquisite and larger than Starbucks.

Shells Cafe looking out on the wild Atlantic and all is 100% home-made down to the sauces. Hard bet!

I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but I will always have a cup in Manuel Antonio at Cafe Milagro.  Great coffee!

For some reason, my favorite coffee shop is no longer in business. It was called Cafe Rot, and it was in Reykjavik. The espresso drinks were pretty solid, probably not quite as good as Kaffitár. But what made Cafe Rot were its books and basement. You could grab something to read off the bookshelves while you were there ... as for the basement, it had huge leather sofas where you could gather to watch soccer with other people. I was there during the 2010 World Cup, and I watched most of my matches there.

I really like the idea of drinking a bunch of espresso while watching sports instead of beer and deep-fried bar food. Much more my style (even though I love craft beer ... you can only drink so much of it.

My favorite local coffee shops are Echo Coffee and Royal Coffee Bar at Biltmore Fashion Park. Always great espresso, and I've started many an odd an entertaining conversation at them both.

What a delightful question! I love coffee shops. Hands-down my favorite one I've ever been to is the cafe inside El Ateneo in Buenos Aires. It's an old theater, and the stage has been converted into the seating area. Free wi-fi, good food, but really, the setting is the best part. It's been named as one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world. And I'm sure you can see why...

I don't know if there's one but I'd say Melbourne had incredible coffee. Some of the best in the world. If you've been to Australia, you know this as the truth. 

I was recently in New York City and there's an Aussie coffee shop called Two Hands. They serve flat whites and delicious food. I wouldn't say it's the best in the world but it's my favorite of the moment in NYC.

Here's a blog post I wrote about coffee in NYC: http://bit.ly/NewYorkcoffee

On a recent trip to Myrtle beach I found the BEST coffee shop with the BEST customer service!! One of the owners chatted to us, shared her amazing stories and offered plenty of sight seeing tips.....the coffee (free refill) was an amazing companion to our perfect chat!

I highly recommend The Roasted Bean

You can read about it on my blog as well as see some great pictures! :)

https://coffeechalk.wordpress.com/2014/11/08/saturday-safes-and-saves-11-08-14/

For wonderful coffee and atmosphere that shouldn't be missed on a trip to NOLA try Café du Monde.

I might be missing the boat on the Hawaiian islands coffee, but until I found a cup of Morning Madness from Kalaheo Cafe & Coffee Company. My next best option was a Starbucks. 

Starbucks!!

The one when I walk in we do not have to say nothing, just hand me my 12oz Blackeye. No need for punch card reward type crap. Just a jolt of caffeine on the house now and then. Ya see, I know my barista, she knows me, we share.. names, attitudes...