I love discovering new places that have a great cup of coffee or tea. To be honest the majority of the time I use Google Maps to discover new coffee shops, but sometimes I have to turn to other map or restaurant rating services to find discover new places. This post is to bring attention to the best coffee shops in the world.
This is an ever evolving list of the top 25 coffee shops in the world. Factors include diversification of milk types, roasting methods, flavor profiles, purification of water, waste management, sustainability, branding, ambiance, price, accessibility, speed (or lack of), aroma, and desire to return. Factors not considered for ranking include: personality of staff, parking, size of location, wifi, decor, or other physical amenities. You will find that everyone on this list are considered to be on the third wave of coffee. While any coffee shop, roaster, or company can make the cut, traditional “basket” brewed coffee shops will underperform. Coffee purveyors who have been knocked off the top 25 list will be moved to a top 50 list. Also, coffee shops that once made the top 25 spots but have since closed will receive an honorable mention.
Top 25
- Caffe Fiore, Seattle, WA Locations on Google Maps
- ETG Coffee, Seattle, WA, Fremont
- Anchored Ship Coffee Bar, Seattle, WA, Ballard
- Sugar Bakery & Coffeehouse, Seattle, WA, Lower Queen Anne
- Caffe Ladro, Lynnwood, WA
- El Diablo, Seattle, WA
- Flying Apron, Seattle, WA
- Koffi, Palm Springs, California
- Laguna Coffee Company, Laguna Beach, California
- Slate Coffee, Seattle, WA
- La Marzocco, Seattle, WA
- Cherry Street Public House, Pioneer Square, WA
- Hood Famous, Seattle, WA
- Analog Coffee, Capitol Hill, WA
- Herkimer
- Evoke
- Storyville
- Elm
- Woodland
- Diva
- Cafe Allegro
- Milstead
- Cloud City Coffee
- Ballard Coffee Works
- Union Coffee
Honorable Mentions (permanently closed locations):
- Crossroads Coffee Shop
- Cafe WA
- Cafe Go-Go
- Chogos
About the author:
My name is Matt Dolge and my first “real” job was as a barista pouring Seattle Best Coffee. I was classically trained on La Marzocco espresso machine and developed a passion for delivering the highest cup of coffee imaginable. Patrons would often wait for me to come shift or ask when I would be working so they could get an excellent cup of coffee. In my college years I worked nights at a drive-thru espresso stand until one patron loved their cappuccino so much they asked if I could come work for them at their establishment as a barista stating “this is the best cappuccino that I have ever had, and I want my customers to experience this”. I took up that offer and began to dabble in the dark arts of flavored coffees and even developed what I still believe to be the first Frappuccino using ice cream mixed with half-and-half and espresso.