I love drinking coffee but it gotta be good (for the snobs: I like my coffee with low acidity, full body and usually dark roasted). Fortunately, there are plenty of specialty coffee places I like. This list includes the ones I like the most.
Table of Contents
Tel Aviv
Mae Café
My favourite coffee roasters. You can visit either the roasting shop (technically it's part of Ramat Gan's Diamond Exchange but everyone counts it as part of the city) or one of their beautiful store. My personal favourite is their flagship store placed in the historical centre of Tel Aviv.
- The roasting shop: Tuval St. 15, Ramat Gan
- The flagship store in the historical centre: Montefiore St. 3, Tel Aviv-Yafo
- The store in the city centre: Shlomo Ibn Gabirol St. 98, Tel Aviv-Yafo
WayCup Coffee
A strong competition for Mae, WayCup is also roasting their coffee inside the city in an open store. Though, their main store is even more delightful to sit: for the lovely people that sit there and converse with each other. From bohemians, to techies. Babysitters to elders. All enjoying excellent coffee and (mostly) sunny days.
- The main store: Yohanan HaSandlar St. 23, Tel Aviv-Yafo
- The roasting shop (near the historical centre): Mikve Israel St. 17, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Mela
Self described as: fresh local vegetarian deli with great coffee. Couldn't describe it better. Equipped with excellent coffee from Ruth Coffee, fresh food and unbelievable pastries (various vegan and gluten free options as well) Mela is THE place to go for coffee if you'd like to take a sandwich / a pastry next to it.
- Bazel square store (the old north): Ashtori HaFarhi St. 20, Tel Aviv-Yafo
- Mikve Israel store (near the historical centre): Mikve Israel St. 23, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Timothy
Another great coffee roasters. Timothy have stated with a small store just on the brink of the Yarkun river. Later, they expanded the store to also include a dedicated quiet office space and opened another branch in the Levinski market downtown.
- The main store: Shlomo Ibn Gabirol St. 187, Tel Aviv-Yafo
- The Levinksi market store: Zevulun St. 9, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Nahat Coffee
Nahat Coffee is a micro-roastery ran by two coffee experts. In addition to their supreme coffee, I love their graphic design and story-telling about coffee.
- The main store: Dizengoff Square 1, Tel Aviv-Yafo
- The Herzliya store: Wingate St. 168, Herzliya
Cafetish
Hidden inside the Montefiore neighborhood (not to be confused with Montefiore street), Caffetish is an excellent coffee micro-roastery that serves the locales, techies working nearby it (recently the neighborhood got connected with the tech park that resides on the other end of the Ayalon river). The coffee place is quiet, minimalist, and down to earth. A well kept secret in plain sight.
Edmund Coffee
Edmund is the poster hipster coffee of Tel Aviv. Ran by 4 incredible men, who I got to befriend during the year I lived above it Edmund is a place that will make you feel at home and chic at the same time. Other than excellent coffee that they source from Nahat, they have Thema's matcha (a business I got to hear dreams about from the owner before she even started it, but nonetheless excellent matcha) and delicious pastries and food!
- The main store: Yehuda Halevi St. 33, Tel Aviv
- The Bavli store (more residential and for parents): Toledano St. 6, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Origem
Origem (Portuguese for origin) is a coffee place stated by a Brazilian whose daughter moved to Israel and they moved with her. Though they don't have many vegan options for sides to the coffee I like to occasionally go there for a good Brazilian coffee. When I went to Lisbon in 2022 the Brazilian owned coffee places there reminded me of this intimate coffee place in the old north.
Coffee Shop 51
In the middle of one of the streets with the most beautiful buildings in Tel Aviv resides a café with a large garden filled with hipsters drinking freshly roasted coffee. This place is Coffee 51 and it's located in Ahad Ha'am St. Aside from the excellent coffee, take some time to stroll around the beautiful buildings built in the unique eclectic Tel Avivi style. It is my favourite place for Shabbat noon coffee as most of the stores are closed on Saturday.
Chacho's Cafe
A "hole-in-the-wall" kind of cafe where you sit outside in the street (but a very cosy quiet street with breeze in the summer). Chacho's is a small coffee place with excellent coffee giving a good fight to the other specialty coffee places while staying grounded and humble. You would still find the hipster specialty coffee types here but the atmosphere is very home-y. My favourite for a cup coffee just before the city starts to prepare for Shabbat dinners with my friends. Also if you want an alternative source for caffeine, they have a good matcha
- Store: Ge'ula St. 51, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Jerusalem
Roasters
In the middle of Machne Yehuda market in Jerusalem there's a small shop roasting fresh coffee every day and a small group of customers sitting on a bar and the next room enjoying world-class coffee in the heart of Jerusalem. Roasters is the poster third-generation coffee place and in every visit to the capital I visit it for a good cup of joe. But, do not come on busy market days! It gets really cramped around it. On regular weekdays it's great to go through the market, maybe get something to eat and sit down for a cup of coffee. Recently they opened a few other branches through Israel that I didn't get to visit yet.
- The main store: HaAfarsek St 20, Jerusalem
- The Jerusalem city center store: Betsal'el St 2, Jerusalem
- The Be'er Sheva store: Ya'akov Cohen St 12, Be'er Sheva
- The Modiin store: Dam HaMacbim St 55, Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut
You Need Coffee
Just after Machne Yehuda in the Davidka square there's a small modest looking shop entrance that has some small signs saying "You need good coffee". Inside you will find a roasting machine that fill half of the space and in drawers a dozen of different coffee beans ready to be ground on the spot. There is one table inside and a few outside. The coffee is supreme, and you can also have it with chocolate (usually I'm not that impressed but this one I can highly recommend). Really recommended and a true secret Jerusalem gem.
- Roasting House: Jaffa St 78, Jerusalem (the one I described)
- Shop: Jaffa St 30, Jerusalem
Power Coffeeworks
Another excellent coffee roasters outside of the Machne Yehuda, a small shop with a steam-punk theme started by a couple who immigrated from South Africa, the café has a unique vibe to it. I like going through it to grab a quick coffee after visiting the market, but it also nice to sit inside.
Be'er Sheva
Trés Jolie
Be'er Sheva has a special residence and business area called "The Block". Inside of it reside the excellent restaurant and cafe of the same owner: Oh La La and Trés Jolie. There, you will find menus that would be as fitting as if they were in the centre of Tel Aviv. The coffee is a special mix made for the café and served in handmade ceramic cups. The cafe is self-titled a patisserie for a good reason: featuring french style pastries (unfortunately since I become vegan before the opening I can only testify for the vegan brownie - which was good!). The playlist of classic chansons definitely adds to the Parisian vibe.
Roasters
Lisbon
I visited Lisbon with my mom in 2022 and fell in love with the city, and it's local coffee scene which is both unpretentious yet rich
Simpli Coffee
The first specialty coffee place I got to visit in the city is Simpli. I adore the illustrated cards they give with each serving detailing the notes to look for as with wine. Service was good and fast in all of their branches that I got to visit and the vibe was very cosy and chill.
- Braamcamp - R. Braamcamp 64, 1250-096, Lisboa
- Picoas - Av. Fontes Pereira de Melo nº41 loja C, 1050-119, Lisboa
- Rosa Araújo - Rua Rosa Araújo 17 1250-194, Lisboa
- Chiado - Largo de São Carlos, 5, 1200-410, Lisboa
Bettina Corallo
Even though this place specialises in chocolate (they treat cacao beans as specialty coffee places treat coffee beans) this cute small store has excellent coffee from Brazil. The store is a family business ran by a family that used to live in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Lisbon and brought with them special knowledge about cacao. The passion for excellent coffee and cacao is felt from the moment you enter the store.
Numa Café
This chic coffee place is always hosting the local matcha girls, hipsters, but also regular people that just look for quality coffee and food. With minimalist design celebrating the sunshine and natural wood you can enjoy a good cup of coffee in Numa with a pastry (the menu changes daily, so there's something fresh every day!). The menu is GF and vegan friendly (for reals).
Baobá Café
Tanoa Café
A LOBA'MA
Rome
I visited Rome with my mom in 2019 and was amazed to discover espresso costs exactly 1€, yet excellent coffee is sold everywhere (in small local stores as well as specialty ones)
Tazza D'oro
The first coffee store I had to get to in Rome was Tazza D'oro. Growing up, they used to have a single branch outside of Italy in Tel Aviv and I used to go there with my mom every week to listen to the Jazz elite of Israel play and eat delicious granitas (a dessert composed of crushed iced espresso and whipped creme, maybe there my coffee obsession started?). The store is running since 1944 and its design stayed in the early last century style - including staff's clothes. My top recommendation for anyone visiting Rome.
Zürich
I visited Zürich for two days in 2022 and was very happy to discover a thriving coffee scene
MAME
First of all Mame's slogan is the whole vibe of this list: "the best coffee is the coffee you like".
Mame is an elegant café, with quiet but strong energy. Their coffee was balanced, to the point and generally excellent. Also, I had an amazing vegan crumble cake there.
- Roastery: Uetlibergstrasse 65/67, 8045 Zürich, Switzerland
- Seefeldstrasse Store: Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
- Josefstrasse Store: Josefstrasse 160, 8005 Zürich, Switzerland
Café Miyuko
Miyuko is a beautiful cozy 2000s japanese culture inspired wonderland with french style pastries. Although I haven't tasted their coffee, their matcha was good!
Boréal
Boréal is a cozy, spacious café. They have a good coffee and you can sit for hours with your laptop or have a lengthy conversation with a friend. Their coffee was great.
Bean Bank Coffee & CO
Although a bit snobby, Bean Bank has excellent coffee from around the world and really are the experts for good coffee. Expect a suprising coffe, don't expect them to be nice! (and don't ask for a dark roast they don't like that term).
- Main Store: Lagerstrasse 18c, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
- Bärengasse Store: Bärengasse 29, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Miró Manufactura de Café
A delicate suprise in the train station! Miró has a tiny coffee place in the central train station in Zürich. If you go through there on your way I highly recommend it.
- Main Store: Brauerstrasse 58, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
- Miró Central (central train station): Haupthalle, Bahnhofpl., 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Rethymno
I went through Rethymno for a day and and a half in 2023 as part of a wedding of one of my closest friends
Brew Your Mind
Located in the middle of the city it is easy to stumble upon Brew Your Mind even by accident (or by simply doing a little research on coffee places in Rethymno). I was suprised by the excellence and quality of the coffee shop. The coffee is roasted and ground on premises. Only non-acidic roasts were offered (I wish other speacitly cafés would follow suite) and iced drinks were made in Greek freddo fashion (the coffee and or the milk are shook to make a more foam like texture).