Reviews of 12 new coffee shops
Here's where to get your next cup of coffee
Get us in your inbox
🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!
Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!
From the best coffee shops to how to do pour-over, here's everything you need to navigate Chicago's coffee scene
Coffee as mere caffeine conveyance? That's so 1992. In Chicago and other big cities, people's interest in their cup of joe actually tasting good started with, yes, that big green monster called Starbucks in the early '90s. But about 10 years later the second wave of coffee innovation was upon us, and everybody (Intelligentsia and Metropolis, specifically) started roasting their own beans in small, carefully sourced batches. We were hooked.
Chicago is now deep in the third wave of coffee culture typified by new brewing techniques, such as the time-consuming pour-over method, that bring out nuanced flavors. Indie coffee shops are so serious about their beans and brewing they're as obsessive as Chicago's best bartenders. But the more obsessive they become about their techniques, the more obsessive we become about their coffee.
Here's our guide to Chicago coffee: where to drink it, Chicago restaurants making great coffee drinks, what to eat at coffee shops (hint: the best doughnuts in Chicago) and unexpected spots for a great cup.
Here's where to get your next cup of coffee
Add these eight new drinks to your summer to-do list
Here are six to try at brunch
These are the best spots to fuel up
We review 5 new cafes
Six places to get good decaf coffee
Grap a cup of joe at a hat store, bars and more
These spots take their food as seriously as their coffee
Readers and staffers reveal their favorite baristas
We go to Asado Coffee Co. to learn the pour-over
Five coffee shops with quirky decor
Kris Vire confesses his crush on a barista
Discover Time Out original video