Living Car Free - What is your favorite coffee shop?

Just like the question ask. Post a link if there is one. Here's mine. Inversion Coffee. Great people behind the counter and customers. Very friendly environment, good coffee, free WiFi!
http://www.inversioncoffee.com/

There's one locally owned coffee shop in town which has phenomenal coffee and great service. (I'm not a coffee drinker myself so I'm taking the word of my coffee-loving friends.) The owner gets organic coffee and roasts his own blends. The place is always busy.

Stumptown, on 45th and Division. The baristas there are excellent and they know more about espresso than a shameless coffee hedon like me. I've never been in another shop where the baristas will directly attend to the shot they're pulling throughout the process. Not only that, when the shot shows signs of misbehaving, they show no hesitation to dump the shot straight down the drain and start over!

And the coffee is roasted right in the shop in big Probat drum roasters, by a few of the same people who pull shots. They're good with the roasters, too, better than I can do with some coffees. (although my personal roaster is much more flexible with roasting profiles, which brings out bright coffees better than drums, imnsho :D ) Good beans, too.

That's why I like them! They have full control over the entire process, from taking the time to secure the best coffee, all the way to the demitasse. And they really work hard at every step of the process, no shortcuts.

Ugh. I hate coffee. I'm a tea guy. There's actually a coffee/bike shop around here called "Bikes & Beans". Higher-end shop carrying brands like Cannondale and Fuji. Interesting concept, and they seem to be doing quite well.

Southside St. Louis: Hartford coffee

Rolla, MO: Giddy Goat (it's the only coffee shop in town, but it's good stuff.)

Tea? Well, to each their own. Coffee/bike shop huh? I like the idea.
Ugh. I hate coffee. I'm a tea guy. There's actually a coffee/bike shop around here called "Bikes & Beans". Higher-end shop carrying brands like Cannondale and Fuji. Interesting concept, and they seem to be doing quite well.

The ones that provide free wifi for my laptop. I'm much more of a tea & cocoa guy as well. If I bring my own cup, I can usually get a .10 to .25 discount.

Couches are a bonus too.

http://www.taftstreetcoffee.org/

Maybe not the best in Houston but it's my favorite, from my understanding it's a non-profit and all of the workers there are volunteers. Everything they have is wonderful and the staff is always friendly. They have an art venue, farmers market, bookstore, and other things and it's a part of a church I believe.

Just like the question ask. Post a link if there is one. Here's mine. Inversion Coffee. Great people behind the counter and customers. Very friendly environment, good coffee, free WiFi!
http://www.inversioncoffee.com/

I have been meaning to check this place out since it opened, is there a place to lock up the bike?

I make coffee at home. It's really possible. They make special machines and you can get almost any beans you want. (There's even a local roaster around where I life.):D

I make coffee at home. It's really possible. They make special machines and you can get almost any beans you want. (There's even a local roaster around where I life.):D
:D No kidding?
I tend to avoid most coffee shops around here for these reasons:
1. They generally serve coffee in paper cups, which I regard as a) uncivilized and b) a tremendous waste of paper resources, even if those resources are recycled. If I go to a coffee shop and they insist on serving me a paper (or anything other than a standard cup), I tell them to keep their coffee.

2. I wonder where most of the coffee comes from. I try to avoid coffee that I know has been sourced from near virtual slave conditions. So, I try to buy fair-trade coffee and hope a coffee shop would do the same.... although they often won't guarantee this.

3. Caffeine is not that good for you. (Or at least it's not that good for me...)

4. Coffee shops coffee costs about 5 times what it costs me to make it at home.

5. I really try to avoid any coffee shop that has a drive-thru. It's not that I am so car-free myself, but I think it panders to some very bad North American habits.

True Grounds in Somerville Mass. If you are lucky and get a good puller, the Northern Italian Espresso makes a nice Cap.

They have good regular coffee as well. It's very good by today's modest standards.

At Christmas, my brother in law took me to his church. It's a mega-church in Phoenix and it has its own Starbucks; and cupholders in the arena area. So I'm not sure if what you feel is the holy spirit or the caffiene. ;)

I prefer to make my own. I don't drink lattes or any fancy drink. I don't like to pay 3$ for a cup of coffee. I use a french press and good good beans from Kona.

http://www.beaverfallscoffeeandtea.com/

Pretty new. I worked there when it first opened last year and stayed there for about 6 or 7 months. Organic, fair-trade, shade grown coffee. They do a lot to try and be green, too. Great people.

Actually, I'm still listed as working there! Look up Brett Wagner in About Us.

I have been meaning to check this place out since it opened, is there a place to lock up the bike?
I've been in Taft Street a couple of times. Nice place, great setting. I usually lock my bike up to one of the handicapped parking sign post. There's also the handrail next to the parking lot on the Bomar Street side. If you see a Blue Motobecane Elite there, it's me.

Ashland Coffee and Tea, Ashland, VA. 15 miles north of Richmond, 18 miles from my home in Montpelier (actually 21 on my usual route avoiding the main, heavily trafficked road into town). It's the local hangout for the cycling community, and a wonderful folk venue in the evenings.

http://www.ashlandcoffeeandtea.com/

During the summer, I'm invariably there in the late morning towards the end of my Sunday ride, then in the afternoon I grab the Harley and hit Richmond's biker bars. You'd be amazed at the similarities between the two venues.

beans north on Takhini hot springs road. organic,fair trade. Yukon Canada's best kept secret.

Cafe Le Madeliene, West 43rd St. and 9th Avenue New York, New York (when I'm there). Starbuck's drive-through here in Venice.

Higher Grounds Trading Co. (http://www.highergroundstrading.com/) Roasters and coffee shop. A co-op located in the old state hospital in Traverse City, MI. Delicious organic fair-trade blends. And they even have a bike co-op (Broke Spoke (http://www.highergroundstrading.com/broke-spoke-bike-co-op-at-higher-grounds/news_15.html)) on the premises. I also buy their coffee here in Lansing at the City Market.

(The Market also carries Intelligentsia beans from Chicago--regarded as one of the best roasters in the country. It's so hard to make up my mind when I go there!)

(The Market also carries Intelligentsia beans from Chicago--regarded as one of the best roasters in the country. It's so hard to make up my mind when I go there!)

I'm familiar with the name, ("black cat", to be specific) but never tried the coffee. I don't think they sell green coffee... checking... Nope. Real live single origin lots, though. But it's definitely the wrong side of the continent for me to order roasted beans from. I'd have to convince them to airmail some right out of the roaster to get it here with a few days to try it out before it staled. From what I've heard, they would do it!

--If you have trouble making up your mind there, don't take up homeroasting (http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.greencoffee.mvc.shtml)!

My fave place for coffee - in my den, relaxing on the sofa that faces my 6ft. aquarium.

Stumptown does have the best coffee in Portland, and Portland has some pretty good coffee. However it's not necessarily my favorite coffee shop to just hang out in--that would be Common Grounds on 40 somethingth and Hawthorne. Just a very firendly, cozy place. In high school I would go there to unwind and do some homework. Portlanders do have the luxury of a multitude of good choices.

In Missoula where I go to school I rather like this little bakery that also does espresso: Le Petite Outre. Good french style pastries. they have outdoor seating but not indoor, so I haven't been there as much now that winter has hit.

I spend the most time in The Break. Good coffee, they also do some baking, free wifi, and lots of tables, usually filled with other students. The 1.25 cups of coffee and 25 cent refills have helped many a student through finals week.

The former is an easy walk and the latter is a long walk or short ride. Who needs a car?

At Christmas, my brother in law took me to his church. It's a mega-church in Phoenix and it has its own Starbucks; and cupholders in the arena area. So I'm not sure if what you feel is the holy spirit or the caffiene. ;)


Oh Lord :eek: !

I'm a tea drinker--don't really like coffee at all. Hey, I'm a Brit, what can I say?

East Hill

Oh Lord :eek: !

I'm a tea drinker--don't really like coffee at all. Hey, I'm a Brit, what can I say?

East Hill

I have to go with you there. A strong whiff of coffee from a cup makes me nauseous and I can only take short periods of time in a Starbucks before I get a headache.

Oh Lord :eek: !

I'm a tea drinker--don't really like coffee at all. Hey, I'm a Brit, what can I say?

East Hill

But most coffee shops have good tea also--even Starbucks :eek:

I like Tazo's line of teas. They make the only green tea I actually enjoy. Stash is pretty good too.

But most coffee shops have good tea also--even Starbucks :eek:

I like Tazo's line of teas. They make the only green tea I actually enjoy. Stash is pretty good too.

That's true about the Starbucks, in fact, that's where I found the Tazo teas first. I like to try different teas wherever I go. At least try a different brand than Lipton!

East Hill

I'm a simple man. The best coffee ever IMHO is Dunkin' Donuts. Unfortunately, I'm 500 miles from one right now, so I order it and brew it in my kitchen. Mmmmmm.....good. I'll go to the local Peet's if I'm out, my 3 year old loves to get a cup of coffee there and watch the trains go by.

As far as I've seen, we only have Starbucks here. I never cared for coffee, but I like their green tea frappacinos and green tea lates. I also like regular tea, but it has to have either little or no caffeine, due to my acid reflux.

I have to vote for the Home Coffee Shop

I can make whatever I like
Don't have to worry about parking
free internet
Cheaper than $3/cup
served in my personalized mug
Can be fortified with bailey's etc as the mood strikes me
Always plays my favorite music
The other customers seldom surprise but they never dissapoint either ;)

I go to one named Adriana's Its the bomb, people are really social and actualy... GASP... talk to strangers. Its a cool place. REALLY good espresso too.

i would have to pick the espresso maker in my house - service is great/quick, and there's aren't any stoopid hipster-baristas talking to their friends to slow me down.

but when i'm out, it's anything but s-bux.

I'm not sure what coffee shops have to do with living car free.

Nevertheless ...

1) I make my coffee at home. I can buy a jar of instant coffee for $2 which will apparently make 100 cups. For me, it will probably make about 60 cups ... I like my coffee strong. Even at 60 cups for $2, that comes to about $0.03 a cup. Compare that with the $1.75 a cup the University charges. Why waste my valuable money on coffee from a shop???

Calculating that out, using the difference between what I pay for a coffee, and what I could pay for a coffee ($1.75 - $0.03 = $1.72) ... if I drink only one coffee a day through the year, I'm saving myself $627.80 a year. That's roughly half the price of a flight to Europe.

2) However, if I were to go to a coffee shop, Tim Hortons would be my favorite: http://www.timhortons.com/ I've organized my brevets so that they start (and sometimes finish) at the local Tims. And I'll go for a coffee and a donut there a few times each year, as a treat.

I prefer making my own at home. Custom made, gourmet beans and tastes better than 99% of places, and probably costs me about .15 versus $2-3. Then just put in a thermos and take it with me.

Java Creek - (http://www.futuregringo.com/index.php/2007/07/24/java-creek-again/) Cherry Creek Neighborhood of Denver, and "Under the Umbrella" in Congress Park

bloc 11, somerville, ma.

There really aren't any good coffee places here in Tuscaloosa. There are some places that are pretty good coffee wise but the atmosphere of arrogant frats or empty headed sorority girls really ruins it for me (not saying all frats and sorority girls are like this, just the ones in the coffee shops).

I have to agree with other people though that tea is better than coffee. Because of that I have recommendations for 1 coffee and 1 tea place and none of them are in Tuscaloosa, AL

The Dripolator in Black Mountain, NC. Great people who work there and great atmosphere.

The Tao of Tea in Portland, OR on Belmont St. For some reason their website is down so check back later to see if it works. They make THE best tea in the world and will sell it in bulk to you as well. I have never seen a place like this before(mind you I am from the sticks of Alabama). Check it out if you are in the area.
www.taooftea.com

Home. My wife is a former barrista from Charbucks. We buy our beans mail order from a shop called Birds and Beans in Toronto. With the quality beans and my wife's experience in making drinks it's like living in my own coffee shop. I'm always highly caffeinated as a result. :D

Just like the question ask. Post a link if there is one.

In Montreal, the place to go is Caffé ArtJava (http://www.caffeartjava.com/artjava.html) on Mont-Royal Boulevard in the Plateau area.

Cheers,

Shamrocks in Bel Air, MD

They let me bring my bike inside (I am a regular) and let me and my friends hang out there.
They also have live music and an open mic night. One of the few places where I live where there is music in a non-drinking establishment (I don't support drinking establishments if at all possible).
I even borrowed some tools from them one time when my chain guard broke off of my bmx.

It is a pretty cool place between the music and the people hanging out doing art and all the regular crowd. Oh and of course they have good coffee.

I dont like coffee.

I dont like coffee.

I don't understand that which you speak of or this world you come from...

ever since i started to roast my own coffee beans in a popcorn popper, i dislike coffee sold in establishments. i'd rather not drink coffee if i can't have my own fresh roasted coffee beans at home. plus it's a heck of alot cheaper. i pay 3.17 a pound shipping included for my fresh roasted beans, since i no longer roast my own . i tried starbucks but they overroast the beans so you are tasting the roast not the bean.

Tim Hortons

Jittery Joes, I know the cats who started it and it Joe's has a cycling team.
http://www.jitteryjoes.com/index.php?section=28

Stumptown, on 45th and Division.

I'm jealous that Stumptown is a local café for you. I've heard good things about that place.

Here in Vancouver there was a good shop I used to go to called Re-entry (http://www.re-entry.ca/) but I don't live in that neighbourhood anymore. When I'm nearby, I go to the JJ Bean (http://www.jjbeancoffee.com/) on Granville Island, otherwise, I just rotate through the selection of generic cafés up here in North Vancouver.

Caffe Artigiano (http://www.caffeartigiano.com/) is a safe bet when downtown, but the baristas there are a little like coffee robots. Some baristas genuinely love coffee, others just work in fancy cafés.

I don't go there too often, but I'd be remiss in not giving The Elysian Room (http://www.elysiancoffee.com/) a nod.

Um... I like coffee.

I do instant Safeway or Richfood coffee at home- fast with little cleanup. If I'm out and want a cup I go to 7-Eleven. My first experience with coffee was with Air Force box lunches, those packets of instant are my benchmark standard for what coffee should be.

I just got back from Higher Grounds in Traverse City. It's located in one of the buildings of the old State Hospital, now being converted to shops, apartments, etc. I drank a good cappucino as I watched them working in the roasting room and bought a bag of Bolivian beans to take home. This place delivers coffee by bike and they're home to the Broke Spoke Bicycle Cooperative, whatever that is.

You all are lucky to have cool coffee shops within a short riding distance.

I live next door to a university and there is a Starbucks there (where nobody hangs out and no bike parking) along with Panera, Chipolte, and other chains. The mom-and-pop coffee places and English tea rooms around here are either in strip malls in the 'burbs where the automobile is king and I don't enjoy riding to or 30 miles away in the sticks. The funky "poetry slam" type places are all closed.:(

Maybe when gasoline gets to $5/gal things might change.