What makes a good coffee shop
Hot people, pastries, pretty good drinks. Plus a classic bangers and jams roundup.
A couple years ago, I conceded that I’m stuck spending $70 a week at coffee shops. That’s $3,640 a year. I’ve tried saving money and time by doing the coffee-at-home thing. I have a good french press and a Fellow Kettle. If I’m up late with a project or the weather is ass, they get good use. But I need the ritual. The walk, the line, the scene, the barista chat and light flirting, a leisurely place to hang before heading off to work. As someone who has never been forced into a real office job, the coffee shop trip is a worthwhile tax to effectively transition into the day’s digital grind.
Akira Akuto, former Konbi founder and operator of one of the most entertaining private food Instagrams, is fond of saying that $7 is actually not charing enough for good coffee. When you consider the cost of goods, labor and rent, he’s right. The best coffee at the best shops is a luxury good.
Here’s what my favorite spots — including Maru in LA, which still has no real competition — have in common:
Coffee that’s pretty good. I think the idea that, like, there are significant varying degrees between good, very good, great and excellent coffee is a fallacy. At a certain point, you pass the threshold into very good coffee, and then it’s all kind of the same.
Mostly classics, done well. A simple latte, cortado, cold brew and cappuccino. But a couple specials, too. The iced vanilla latte at Maru is perfect. So is the cream top and the spiced cold brew. If you have a full, separate menu of specials with a long list of fruit infusions and riffs on candy flavors, you’ve done something wrong.
Good pastries. They don’t need to be made in-house.
Not much more food than that. I don’t want to watch someone house a breakfast burrito next to me. They can do that elsewhere.
A hot staff. The hotness of the crowd is usually a pretty good indicator, too.
A place to read, and a playlist that’s good for both reading and conversation.
No QR codes, no order ahead. I used to work for one of those restaurant financial services platforms and people were obsessed with efficiency and using technology to optimize the order flow. I get how that might be helpful for margins. But it tanks the vibe.
Well-designed, with a sense of place. What works for Maru in LA is different than what works for Tandem in Maine, and that’s how it should be. A little global, accessible aesthetic creep is inevitable here. But the best spots still differentiate themselves.
Maru gets all of that right. Here are some more favorites:
Kitty’s | Hudson
The Sentinel | Marfa
Alright. Back to the classics.
