Hi! I’m Elaine. I’m lucky enough to work remotely. I’ve used this bit of luck to create a curated list of the best coffee shops around the world. I waste money testing out new coffee shops so you don’t have to – and so that you don’t have to fear having a bad cup of coffee in a new city.

In the last two years, I’ve traveled a ton – mostly Europe but also Mexico and Brazil (with more on the horizon). The only problem? It’s not always easy to find an *actually* good coffee. I’ve even considered bringing my AeroPress on the road with me when I know I’ll be without.

I live in San Francisco, where good coffee is abundant and where I cultivated my love of coffee and my (twice) daily ritual of coffee. It’s the single most important part of my day.

Blue Bottle – although now owned by a global conglomerate and no longer top on my list – was born in an alley in Hayes Valley. Ritual has been around for a couple of decades. San Francisco has been one of the great coffee towns for a while. (Today, my favorite coffee shop in town is Linea Caffe. They do everything right always.)

What makes a good cup of coffee?

But since traveling, I realized that outside of some major cities (and even in some cities), it’s not always easy to find a really good coffee. I can’t stomach the burnt espresso taste or milk that’s been steamed too long or at too high of a temperature. Badly done milk can really ruin a drink, so whether a drink is good also comes down to the barista. But it starts with the establishment’s beans, training, machine and a hundred other little decisions they’ve made along the way.

How does a coffee shop make the list?

Everyone who takes coffee seriously has their preferred cup, whether it’s made by pour-over or AeroPress or whether it’s a double espresso or a flat white.

My baseline is a flat white. It has the two components that matter and that can both go wrong. It’s what I like to drink, so it’s what I order as my gauge. If the flat white is good, so will be your pour-over or shot of espresso or latte or whatever your preferred poison may be.

Why do I need your list of the best coffee shops around the world?

I know the struggles. I know the feeling of trying to choose a coffee shop and hoping I don’t choose the one that will leave me disappointed. And then choosing the wrong one and being disappointed. I don’t always want to search and guess. I want to just know that I’m going to a place that will be good. I don’t want to waste time getting to and money on a bad or even just a disappointing coffee.

I know the struggle of trying to actually find a suitable coffee shop on Google Maps – and coming up short. Google Maps hasn’t yet figured out how to surface what I’m actually looking for. When I search for “coffee” or a related search term, I want to see the tell-tale signs that it’s going to be good. Google can search for a word among its listings, but it doesn’t understand the sentiment behind the word, and especially not as it pertains to my preferences. I mean, Google has all my data – why does it fail me over and over again? Google Maps just doesn’t get me.

I try out different neighborhoods. I make it my mission to find different “unverified” coffee shops in each neighborhood of the city I’m in. So let’s say you’re in Downtown Rio de Janeiro at the Museum of Art; the best roaster in Rio is nearby. But how would you know that if you haven’t been there and there are others that Google Maps surfaces that appear to suffice (and some are really not good).

Coffee Five is the best I had in Rio but it’s hard to surface this info without extra effort and time you don’t have when traveling. And why bother when you have my list over on Instagram at ThirdWaving?

And that’s how I’ve curated this list of the best coffee shops around the world.

On my quest to find the best coffee shops around the world, I plan my coffee adventures around my work schedule. I try to hit as many coffee shops as possible during my time there and in as many neighborhoods or near some key sites. I never want to miss my afternoon coffee after visiting the Mucem in Marseille, France. If I have time, I’m definitely headed to Deep – my favorite coffee shop in Marseille – but if not, I’ll head over to the nearby (and quite good, with a nice outdoor spot) 7VB Café.

Why my list of the best coffee shops over others?

If you have the same passion about a really good coffee/flat white/latte as I do, you’ll know you can trust my list. I share my Tier 1 list over on my ThirdWaving Instagram account. That’s what’s available to you so that your experience in a new city is even better.

How I keep it all straight: The Good, The Bad, the Yet-To-Be-Tried

I keep my own “unverified” list of places I plan to visit but haven’t yet had the chance to visit. Once I visit, a place gets converted to either Tier 1 (my publicly shared list that you can access and use) or I move it to my Rejects list (not shared) so that I don’t accidentally return to that shop.

My list is constantly updated and expanded to maintain value to you (and me – I’m drinking from my list as well).

My local news outlet put out the list of the “100 best” in the SF Bay Area and while it may be someone’s taste, it’s missing out on my top – and includes some shops that are 100% about the sugar and flavoring and not at all about the espresso. :shrug:

So if you want a sure thing in over 10 (and counting) European countries (it includes coffee shops all over Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia) as well as Mexico City, Brazil, Panama City and more, check it out. Follow along. Use the list for a sunny day in a far off land. And feel free to send over any suggestions that aren’t on the list. I’d love to hear from you!