Caffeine-fuelled travel: the world’s top coffee spots

19 August 2009 10:27am

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It inspires passion, opinion and addiction. It’s the world’s second most valuable commodity (after petroleum), and it will almost certainly play a memorable role in your travels, no matter where you’re headed. We’re talking about coffee, of course, and the best places to partake…

Addis Ababa

Some claim that Ethiopia is coffee’s birthplace, so it’s not surprising that the good stuff is ubiquitous here. If you’re invited to an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, don’t miss it: it’s a unique and elaborate ritual you’ll never forget. If not, there’s always Tomoca, a traditional Italian-style café that’s guaranteed to please.

Havana

Cubans love their coffee, which is served strong, black and sweet in small espresso-sized cups. Homegrown in the Escambray and Sierra Maestra Mountains, a fresh brew will be brought out as an icebreaker wherever you go. Coffee houses are sprouting by the minute in Havana, but you can’t go past local classic, Café de las Infusiones.

Istanbul

Surprisingly, Türk kahve (Turkish coffee) isn’t as widely consumed in its homeland as çay (tea). But don’t worry: you’ll have no trouble getting your caffeine fix in Istanbul. Traditional coffee houses such as Etham Tezçakar Kahveci serve a brew thick and powerful enough to put hair on your chest!

Medellín

Colombia is famous for its rich, aromatic coffee. Unfortunately, it exports most of its best beans, leaving a mainly mediocre brew for its own citizens. One exception to this rule is groovy Le Bon Café in Medellín. You can also visit plantations in the Zona Cafetera and purchase coffee directly from the growers.

Melbourne

Coffee in Melbourne is often trumpeted as the world’s best, lovingly prepared with both Italian and supreme local roasts. The café scene is integral to much of the city’s socialising; lingering over a coffee is sacred, whether with a newspaper or with friends. Try Pellegrini’s for a quintessentially Melburnian experience.

Rome

As befitting the land of espresso, Italians take their coffee seriously. Do as the Romans do, and be precise about what you’re drinking: will it be un caffè, un caffè macchiato, un caffè lungo, un cappuccino or un caffè corretto? Famous throughout Rome, Caffè Sant’Eustachio is the perfect place to practise your newfound vocabulary.

Santa María & Valle de Dota

Coffee is probably Costa Rica’s most popular beverage - you’ll be offered cafécitos everywhere you go. Aware of its energising qualities, the country’s government even decreed in 1840 that all labourers building roads should receive a free cup every day. Visit Santa María & Valle de Dota for an insight into the Tico coffee industry.

São Paulo

Brazilians like their coffee strong as the devil, hot as hell and sweet as love. In the morning they take it with milk (café com leite). After that, it’s cafezinhos, regular coffee served in either a glass or an espresso-sized cup. Thanks to its Italian heritage, São Paulo boasts Brazil’s best cafés, with Café Floresta being one of our favourites.

Seattle

It’s hard to complain about Seattle’s weather when one of the best forms of rainy-day solace, coffee, is available in such abundance. Trust us, this is one inviting city to get a buzz on. Though Seattle is where Starbucks originated, there’s no need to go the chain café route: not with one-off gems like Caffé Vita to choose from.

Vienna

Vienna has a strong claim to the ‘Coffee Capital of the World’ title. Its Kaffeehäuser (coffee houses) are as famous as its classical music, and an attraction in themselves. The sheer number of coffee houses is staggering, but each has its own flair and flavour. Aida is a 1950s timewarp of a place, with a clientele to match and coffee to sing about.

Nothing like a slug of liquid gold to get a hard day’s sightseeing off to a good start! Which city do you think has the best coffee?

Comments

21 August 2009 11:04AM janeyo Report this comment
Had seriously one of the best coffees in my entire life yesterday (and I have put gallons in the tank...) - a place in Melbourne called Brother Baba Budan (catchy, huh? You just end up saying 'bababubba booboo badabing' half the time). Has to be the strongest, smokiest long black in the city. Tough call but try it if you're in the neighbourhood - 356 Little Bourke St. Wildly recommended.
21 August 2009 5:39PM bartverdeyen Report this comment
If you want to have your coffee in style, and add some sweets while you're at it, Gerbeaud in Budapest is a must-experience. True, it's not really off the beaten path, but it isn't a tourist trap either. The Hungarians are serious about their coffee and the surroundings they savour it in. (http://www.gerbeaud.hu/)
21 August 2009 5:44PM remelila Report this comment
I'm not into coffee, but my father has always loved a hot cup of black coffee, accompanied by a nice bit of cake or pastry. The first time he came to visit me here in Melbourne, I took him up to Daylesford, to a place called Sweet Decadence (http://www.sweetdecadence.com.au/). He ordered a cup of coffee and a slice of homemade rhubarb cake.
About halfway through the cake, he squeezed his eyes in a grimace and put his fork down. "What's the matter?" I asked. "Is the cake bad?"
He shook his head. "No, the cake is delicious! But this is just about the best cup of coffee I've ever had in my life, and it's so good that the cake is ruining it."
21 August 2009 9:51PM fieldgate Report this comment
A good cuppa is usually a problem anywhere outside Europe. In North America you've got to get into a fancy Italian style restaurant, with white tablecloths, candles and flowers. In South America which is famous for their (export) coffee, the only places that serve decent java can be found in Brazil, and occasionally in Colombia.
23 August 2009 7:42AM cmldc Report this comment
how could you forget YEMEN??? I love the little cups of coffee shell coffee, or their cinammon tasting coffee, or the little cups of coffee that kick your butt from Sanaa to Aden and back. Just sit back, watch the sunset, enjoy...
23 August 2009 12:12PM rossome Report this comment
I realize you probably are being somewhat diplomatic in your selections spanning the continents, and that readers may think you're biased if you chose two Italian cities, but I'd take Naples' coffee over Seattle's any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
23 August 2009 11:34PM mjturp Report this comment
On a negative note (sorry) don't go to Bhutan if you're a coffee snob and addict! Incredible, energising country - and the most beautiful people - but coffee? Nup.
Probably no surprise, but be warned... after a week you'll be desperately hankering for your daily cup at home (depending on where that is, of course).
24 August 2009 8:18AM el_gallo Report this comment
Strange that San Francisco didn't make the list.
24 August 2009 8:32AM mef78 Report this comment
I've been to Istanbul, Melbourne and Seattle, but the place that really stands out as far as coffee is Auckland, New Zealand. I <3 flat whites! The coffee there was way better than in Melbourne. I'm sure Auckland's omission was just an oversight on the part of Lonely Planet.
31 August 2009 8:35AM danielsolomon Report this comment
I Have been drinking coffee for over 25 years.I pretty much average 2-3 cups of strong coffee a day.But I have never tasted a coffee as prestigious in its quality and strenght as TOMOCA COFFEE. Ethiopia is a birth place of coffee in which high quality coffee is abundant; even its capital city Addis Ababa is filled with so many cafes, it feels like Rome at times.But TO.MO.CA(meaning modern coffee roasting in Italian)which has been around for over 40 years has the best coffee hands down. I got addicted to its coffee so much , that I get my personal coffee packages shipped to me from tomoca website www.tomocacoffee.com every month.
16 September 2009 1:14AM thehutch Report this comment
Blue Mountain coffee in Jamaica - best consumed after a hike on the mountains that give the coffee its name...
16 October 2009 1:40PM meghanjward Report this comment
I have to add a few from travel this past year:
Boulder, Colorado, US - Book Ends Coffee Shop (both for the coffee and the ambiance)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada - The Sleepless Goat
If you're in the Canadian Rockies, Kicking Horse Coffee made in Invermere, British Columbia. There is a factory there, and you can get it at various stores and coffee shops in the region.
Costa Rica - anywhere, but I love the coffee from Monteverde
16 October 2009 2:26PM sarskylicious Report this comment
Indonesia should be on the list. Sumatra and Java have the best coffee in the world.
16 October 2009 10:31PM sonoflusus Report this comment
This is a very poorly researched article because as everyone who's tried it agrees, the best coffee is in Lisbon, Portugal. Try it at Café A Brasileira, Nicola, Versailles, or any neighborhood café and you'll see this is true, as many have reported around the world.
25 October 2009 3:15AM ken173 Report this comment
Coffee ? I have traveled all over the world,62 countries.The best cup of coffee,by far,is in Viet-Nam.I rate Cuban coffee a close second.
13 November 2009 6:34PM mangomoon99 Report this comment
San Francisco beats Seattle and Rome. I don't know about the other places. Why would you even say Seattle. They created Starbucks, the worst coffee in the world.
13 November 2009 7:32PM valentinpredutoiu Report this comment
I had my best coffee in a bar located very close to the Piazza Navona, in Rome. Unfortunately I don't remember its name. It was inside a modern art museum. Maybe somebody could help me with the name...
13 November 2009 7:53PM lucylooooo Report this comment
I totally agree with sonoflusus, Lisbon is the best place in the world for coffee!
13 November 2009 8:07PM simmo-lp Report this comment
Your author has gone it just right. Ethiopia, Colombia, Melbourne...
Here's my own contribution:
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/1/3/lifeliving/2909287&sec=lifeliving
14 November 2009 3:00AM dicryan Report this comment
Boquete in Panama has coffee fincas all around it and you can go to a local coffee bar where they will brew up each different kind for you in a french press. So you can sample them all. Some are excellent.
14 November 2009 3:27AM wandererkm Report this comment
I am fairly new to coffee consumption, compared to most people that is...sad but true.
My first ever coffee in my whole life was Turkish coffee in Jordan, loved it! I was buzzed for days it seemed.
I live in Toronto, Canada and we have some rockin' cafes, Jet Fuel for one is cheap and rather good, even for this inexperienced drinker.
14 November 2009 8:03AM toyemen Report this comment
You made a big mistake, actually you don't know about the Yemeni coffee "Best Coffee in the World" I can send you Yemeni coffee beans and i want to taste it but promise to write an article telling What Do You think.
Contact me if you wanna try it.
14 November 2009 8:52AM jeraboa Report this comment
Definately agree with Addis being no 1 sitting on the Bole road with a machiato watching the morning rush hour is one of my favourite travel experiences.
Cafe De Hunza in Karimabad Pakistan deserves a mention after weeks of Instant who'd have expected to find an espresso machine in the midst of northern Pakistans mountains.
Booby prize goes to Uzbekistan even finding instant is a struggle never mind the real stuff.
15 November 2009 4:54AM farissah Report this comment
new zealand, new zealand, new zealand - best roasters and barristas in the world!!!!! Go C4 Coffee in Christchurch especially - grab a double shot flat white using Krank Beans! i've been living in Egypt for 2 years and i am sooo missing C4 coffee... but there are lots other great roasters in Enzed. Lonely Planet has it wrong - Seattle? pah :-)
15 November 2009 6:29AM danielseabra Report this comment
My best coffee experience happened in Jordan, where I discovered the coffee with cardomomo, so called "arab coffee"! Try it!
19 November 2009 9:13PM nch Report this comment
Totally agree, Brother Baba Budan best in Melb but I am also for the Wine Shop on Spring Street (http://www.citywineshop.net.au/) and if you are fussy with your vino, it beast BBB hands-down.