EricZeiler Senior Member Joined: 29 Dec 2003 Posts: 51 Location: Los Angeles, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Espresso Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Vac Pot: None Drip: None Roaster: Popcorn Pumper
Posted Mon Jan 3, 2005, 11:22am Subject: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
This may get out of hand and most likely will result in incredibly biased results, but I would be interested to see people's top 5 list of the cafes in the U.S. I hear tons of mention about ones like Intelligentsia, Coffee Klatch, etc.... Top 5, in order? -Eric
Posted Mon Jan 3, 2005, 2:17pm Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
That's a tough one - even the most dedicated of us have stopped something short of a national espresso tour. I can say after some intensive local research that the best three in Austin are:
And, yeah, "best" is of course completely subjective, and takes into account the coffee, the people, and the place, as well as a million non-quantifiable non-repeatable factors that likely had nothing to do with the place.
I've got an interest in this thread for a second reason - as someone who gets stuck in random cities with some frequency, I'd love a central thread where people from all over could list out their top few shops. If we get a lot of responses, maybe I'll try to throw a searchable summary online somewhere.
EricZeiler Senior Member Joined: 29 Dec 2003 Posts: 51 Location: Los Angeles, CA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Gaggia Espresso Grinder: Solis Maestro Plus Vac Pot: None Drip: None Roaster: Popcorn Pumper
Posted Mon Jan 3, 2005, 2:18pm Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
I would say "best" in terms of overall quality of cafe experience, including quality of drink, overall atmosphere, etc. Which place would you most likely frequent if all of the best cafes were down the block from your home? -Eric
malachi Senior Member Joined: 5 May 2002 Posts: 1,758 Location: SFCA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Monster Mia (for now)_ Grinder: Monster Cimballi Junior Vac Pot: Not any more Drip: never Roaster: Ecco, Stumptown, Intelli,...
Posted Mon Jan 3, 2005, 3:13pm Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
given that i cannot vote for my employer (though i honestly consider Stumptown to be in that top five)...
Hines Zoka Intelligentsia Counter Culture Vivace
Note: areas i've "toured" coffee bars extensively would be Seattle, Portland, California, New England, NYC metro, Nevada. In other words, if your favorite is in Texas or Florida or Wisconsin or Hawaii then the fact that i don't list it does not mean i don't appreciate it.
expobar Senior Member Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 3,003 Location: .
Posted Mon Jan 3, 2005, 3:29pm Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
or you could to the top 5 baristas' coffee shops:
Hines, Lava Java, Coffee Klatch, Barista's Daily Grind, and Stumptown. I've only had coffee from Barista's, and it was pretty good. You also have to realize that the winners of these awards are oftentimes trainers, not baristas.
If you ask me, I've only had coffees in Nebraska and Colorado, it'd go something like this: NuVibe Juice and Java (Lincoln) Barista's Daily Grind (Kearney) Margie's Java Joint (Greeley) Black Sheep Coffee Roasters (Kearney) no 5th place, sorry
Posted Mon Jan 3, 2005, 8:19pm Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
I would put gimme! coffee(Up-state and Brooklyn, NY) in there...(of course I would, but really I came to work for them for a reason)...along with as mentioned by Chris...Vivace(Seattle), and 9th St Espresso (NYC), Caffe Fiore (Seattle), Stumptown(Portland) and Caffe Vita (Seattle...at the moment I prefer them to Vivace)...Also Doma (Idaho) -Chris Deferio gimme!coffee Barista Trainer
onocoffee Senior Member Joined: 5 Sep 2002 Posts: 729 Location: Towson, Maryland Expertise: Just starting
Espresso: La Marzocco Linea 2AV, 3AV &... Grinder: 4 Mazzer Major Autos, Compak... Vac Pot: That crazy Bodum eSantos Drip: Bunn CWT Twin, Bunn Water... Roaster: Petroncini The Crumb
Posted Mon Jan 3, 2005, 10:50pm Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
Here's my Top Five - and yes, I've had all of their coffees.
United States 1- Hines Public Market Coffee - Seattle, WA 2 - Stumptown Coffee Roasters - Portland, OR 3 - Zoka Coffee Roasters & Tea Company - Seattle, WA 4 - Intelligentsia Coffee - Chicago, IL 5 - Murky Coffee - Washington, DC
Western United States 1- Hines Public Market Coffee - Seattle, WA 2 - Stumptown Coffee Roasters - Portland, OR 3 - Zoka Coffee Roasters & Tea Company - Seattle, WA 4 - Barefoot Coffee Roasters - Santa Clara, CA 5 - Lava Java - Vancouver, WA
MidWestern United States 1 - Intelligentsia Coffee - Chicago, IL 2 - Paradise Roasters - Anoka, MN 3 - Espresso dell'Anatra - Kansas City, MO 4 - PT's Coffee - Topeka, KS 5 - Java Jazz - Overland Park, KS
Eastern United States 1 - Murky Coffee - Washington, DC 2 - Gimme! Coffee - Brooklyn, NY 3 - Hyperion Espresso - Fredericksburg, VA 4 - 5 -
The East Coast is really lacking. And, of course, there's one more company I think should be on the Eastern list but since I work for the company it's a conflict of interest for me to place it there.
Posted Tue Jan 4, 2005, 1:18am Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
Vivace is an interesting situation. Undoubtedly Schomer pioneered a huge part of the top-tier North American espresso industry but I won't hesitate to say that I've been there seven or eight times and have been disappointed by their straight doubles every one of those times.
The new Murky coffee location in Arlington, VA is fabulous. Absolutely some of the best shots I've ever tasted, and I've had quite a few. Nick, start roasting and compete for that number one spot!
Granted it's outside of the US, but Artigiano's in Vancouver, BC deserves mention in my book. I've never seen a shop so efficient without sacrificing quality.
Anyway, my top five - I've never visited Stumptown, so keep that in mind
Posted Tue Jan 4, 2005, 3:04am Subject: Re: Top 5 cafes in U.S.?
it's cool to see hines public market coffee on so many lists. it's only a block from my house, so i guess i kind of take the great coffee for granted sometimes.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 