Outside Asia

The best option in New Haven. It is slightly far away from Yale Campus (5 minutes driving), but I believe it is worth the trip. Their pour over and bagels are also very good.

605 East St, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

Fussy Coffee: Descent

The espresso is ok. Finding parking is difficult.

290 Winchester Ave, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

Cafe Romeo: Descent

Sadly closed. They use beans roasted a little too dark for my taste. They have good paninis.

534 Orange St, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

East Rock Coffee: Drinkable

And barely drinkable. Plus they have a silly rule of 'no laptops inside,' which is written on a board on the street (and on a place that is impossible to see unless someone points it out... then it becomes visible).

49 Cottage St, New Haven, CT 06511, USA

Hawai'i

Honolulu

ARS Cafe and Gelato: Descent

This seems to be the best option in Honolulu... really! ARS is the only coffee shop I found that actually imports coffee. And I know, the local coffee (from the big Island) can be amazing. However, it seems that only the leftovers stay in Hawai'i. The high-end beans are probably shipped overseas and to mainland US. The espresso at ARS was not amazing, but it was ok and consistent (across baristas).

3116 Monsarrat Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

Aloha Coffee: Drinkable

A tiny kiosk in Waikiki beach. I stopped by with no expectations, but it was honestly much better than the coffee chains in this area.

120 Kaʻiulani Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

Kona Mountain Coffee: Trap

Kai Coffee Hawaii: Trap

Island Vintage Coffee: Trap

Kona Coffee Purveyors: Trap

Downtown Coffee Honolulu: Trap

The same review applies to all the local chains... they have low quality beans and the baristas are not well trained. There are a few locations, I can guess they are all the same. I was specially disappointed because all of these shops had great reviews; therefore, I won't even provide the address.

Nevada

Las Vegas

Sambalatte: Descent

Located at the Monte Carlo Casino, the only descent espresso I found in Las Vegas.

3770 Las Vegas Blvd S, Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA

New York

New York City

New York City has an outstanding number of good coffee shops. I can't remember everyone I have been to, but I will try my best.

Intelligentsia Coffee: Great

My favorite espresso in Manhattan. There's usually 2 or 3 types of beans to choose from and they are extremely careful and professional. Unfortunately the location is not so great.

180 10th Ave, New York, NY 10011, USA

WTF Coffee Lab: Great

Apparently it is permanently closed. They had a great espresso and also tasty paninis.

47 Willoughby Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205, USA

Champion Coffee: Good

Straightforward and simple.

336 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018, USA

Gasoline Alley Coffee: Good

It is the only place I would recommend near Chinatown.

154 Grand St, New York, NY 10013, USA

Cafe Grumpy: Good

This is my favorite chain. They have several locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I have been to about half of them, and they are very consistent across locations. I will write down all locations, from Noth/East to South/West.

Grand Central Terminal, 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, USA

200 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018, USA

224 W 20th St, New York, NY 10011, USA

177 Mott St, New York, NY 10012, USA

13 Essex St, New York, NY 10011, USA (I haven't been to)

20 Stone St, New York, NY 10004, USA (I haven't been to)

193 Meserole Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222, USA (I haven't been to)

383 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA

Kávé Espresso Bar: Descent

I was coming back from JFK on a holiday, and this is the nearest coffee shop that seemed to be open. The espresso was not particularly good. The 'vegan-pesto sandwich' was amazing.

119 Knickerbocker Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237, USA

Mexico

Tulum

Ki'bok Coffee Tulum: Descent

If you're traveling around Tulum, this is the only actual espresso you'll probably find.

Centauro Sur MZ05 LT11 kibok AV.TULUM Y Calle Andromeda, Centro, 77710 Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Bolivia

There is no Bolivian coffee shop that imports beans from abroad. And, although local beans have the potential to improve, in most cases they fall behind African and Central American competitors.

La Paz

Typica Coffee Roasters, South La Paz: good (last visit: February 2020)

Typica Coffee Roasters, Central La Paz: drinkable (last visit: January 2020)

Typica Coffee Roasters, North La Paz: not visited

There's a large difference between locations, including the ones in La Paz and Santa Cruz. The best espresso I had in Bolivia was at Typica's South La Paz location. Their pour over was also very good. Unfortunately all the other locations are way inferior.

South La Paz: FW4C+V4 La Paz, Bolivia

Central La Paz: Av.6 de Agosto #2584, La Paz, Bolivia

North La Paz: Estación Teleférico Central, Av. Perú, La Paz, Bolivia

BUNNA - Cafetería de Especialidad: Good (last visit: February 2020)

Although their location is not ideal, it is one of the only two espressos that I consider good in the entire Bolivia. It is considerably cheaper than all the other coffee shops I visited. They are located on the way to La Paz's dead road (bike trail).

GV7H+X7 La Paz, Bolivia

Kilometro 0 - Coworking & Coffee: drinkable (last visit: February 2020)

I want to start by saying that they had one of the best pour overs I ever had. They processed a geisha coffee with an anaerobic method and it was delicious. Unfortunately, this blog is about espresso. Theirs was drinkable at best.

Calle Comercio 1280, La Paz, Bolivia

Geisha Coffee House: descent (last visit: February 2020)

Descent espresso. Probably the best one around 'old La Paz' area. There's not much more to say.

C.Bolivar, esquina Ballivian # 616, Bolivia

Hb Bronze Coffeebar: drinkable (last visit: February 2020)

Drinkable espresso. I appreciate that the barista is an indigenous person (cholita). The espresso was drinkable at best.

Plaza Tomas Frias 1570, La Paz, Bolivia

Retrato Café: Trap (last visit: February 2020)

Despite the good reviews, this place is bad. Both, the espresso and the pour over were disappointing. The baristas do not know how to prepare the coffee and their roasting is inconsistent.

FVPC+GC La Paz

Santa Cruz

Cafe Typica: Descent (last visit January 2020)

They have only one bean option for espresso, and it's a blend.

La Plata (8 Oeste), Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Cafeina Coffee Shop: Descent (last visit January 2020)

The espresso at Cafeina is almost at the same level as Typica (perhaps slightly lower): one bean option which is a blend. Although pour over does not affect the grading, Typica has a notoriously better pour over.

Calle los Lirios 86, Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Libreria Cafe Ateneo: Drinkable (last visit on January 2020)

Just like every other coffee shop in Bolivia, they use exclusively local beans and only a blend for espresso. The reason why I am grading Ateneo below Typica and Cafeina is that the beans at Ateneo were clearly older (thin crema).

6QGW+QX Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Cafe Buena Vista: Trap (last visit January 2020)

They focused too much on the appearance, and not on the quality. The espresso shot was bitter, over extracted and extremely hot.

6QMW+QJ Santa Cruz de la Sierra

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