St Louis Riley's Coffee and Fudge
Chicago Intelligentsia and Metropolis
NYC Grumpy
Pittsburgh Aldo
Dayton Oh, forget it
Newark NJ, drink the water
Columbus Oh, Crema Cafe
Las Vegas, the green mermaid reigns, drink beer

Hey all, I'm in the navy and about to make a port visit in victoria bc. (in fact I'm typing this from my iPhone aboard ship in the strait of juan de Fuca right now.) I saw the recommendation above for that one place in victoria. Anyone have any more? I wish I could make it to Elysian room but that looks like a 2 hour ferry ride.

I take "away from home" as meaning far far from home.

Phoenix, AZ: http://www.luxcoffee.com/ Lux Coffee Bar

This place has awesome espresso's. Maybe it's because they use a commc'l lever. Maybe cuz they roast their own beans. This place convinced me that 'spro's using lever is the way to go.

It also helps that you can get great Italian style Pane next door, Pane Bianco - related to Pizza Bianco fame of Phoenix.

Tacoma, WA : Satellite Coffee

St Paul: Kopplin's

I will add a few more which have not been mentioned yet:

Newton, MA Taste
London, UK flat white, Milk Bar

Navin

I am enjoying this thread.

And I thought of another one: Seattle: Trabant in the U District. They started apparently with Intelligentsia and now make fine coffee with the 49th Parallel Roasters out of Vancouver, BC.

Orange County, CA - Kean Coffee (Newport Beach), Chapman Coffee House (Orange, CA)

On vacation here in SW NH just had two really exceptional double espresso's at Prime roasters in Keene. The blend was a custon one using their Demon blend and other coffees. It tasted so wonderfully balanced. Great richness without being extreme. There was soft chocolate which was also in balance. The crema persisted through the whole cup. This was as good a cafe/professional espresso as I have had in recent memory. It is as good, but very different from Cafe Grumpy in NYC.

They have a La Marzocco and use a Mazzer grinder. The cup was Inker made in the round bowl style like the Nuovo Points but less thick than the latter. Quite nicely made.

Very friendly people.

Clearly worth a try.

KS

My wife and I found a great coffee shop in the Destin/Panama City Beach area. It's called Amavida Coffee. They have a roaster in Panama City, a shop in Seaside, and a shop in Seagrove Beach.

They roast several different varieties, but I was especially glad that they also roast Malabar Gold for use in their coffee shops. I've had a couple of espressos in their shops and each one has been excellent. So far, it is the only one I've found in this area that's good.


This was the first time I had ever tried Malabar Gold. It was very smooth and had a thick, persistent crema.


If you are ever in Seaside or Seagrove, I would give them a try.

Beezer wrote:Santa Cruz: Verve Coffee Roasters, Fins, Lulu's.

Santa Rosa: Ecco Cafe.

I second the call for Lulu's. I had two of the best ristrettos I've had in a long time when I was there just a week ago, and they only charge $1 per shot! Another good one just south of Santa Cruz (just east, actually) is The Ugly Mug in Soquel. Particularly great milk drinks.

Ecco Cafe is not a cafe. Though they've been kind enough to pull shots for me, they aren't open for walk-in espresso.

Sonoma County Wine Country, CA: My Friend Joe in Sebastopol pours good shots, and will do it over if a shot ain't right. That's how it ought to be! Flying Goat in Healdsburg makes very good drinks & particularly good espresso. An excellent foil to too much red wine...