Best Coffee in New London, CT: Rate Your Cup

The best coffee in New London depends on the cup you want: a quick espresso before the ferry, a big mug near the college or a latte with a harbor view. Compare the city's coffee fairly, and let the Best in town coffee question in the Mosey app record the result.

A small port city often hides good coffee on side streets.

That means walking, and walking is the best way to see New London. Turn off the main street once or twice, and you will find a bakery with a line, a cafe in a former shop or a counter with two stools and a steady crowd. Keep an eye on the chalkboards, which tell you the daily special and the mood.

How do you find the best coffee in New London?

Decide what you are choosing for. Strength, milk, seating, speed, pastries and noise all matter, and no cafe wins at every one. Pick the two things you care about, then try three places and compare the same drink at each. A plain latte or a drip coffee is a fair test.

Write down the details while the taste is fresh.

Temperature matters, as does the cup. A drink in a real mug tastes different from one in paper. A well-steamed milk has a gloss, and a burnt one smells flat. A good barista can tell you what the beans are and where they came from.

What are New London coffee shops like?

Small, personal and busy. Downtown has independent cafes, a few bakeries that pull espresso and a handful of counters near the station. Most have limited tables, and the best seats go early on weekends. Students, sailors, office workers and travelers share the space.

Hours are short in winter and longer in summer.

If you need a seat, go in the middle of the morning, between the commuters and the lunch crowd. If you need a quick cup, go at opening, when the line is short and the staff are fresh. And if you want to talk, pick a cafe with a back room.

Where can you get espresso near State Street?

Within a few blocks of the main street, a handful of cafes serve espresso, cappuccino and cortado for the morning crowd. Lines peak before eight and again at mid-morning. A takeout cup for the walk is the standard order, and a seat at the window is a treat.

See the State Street restaurants guide for the wider picture.

Is there coffee with a harbor view?

A few cafes near the water have windows that look onto the piers, the bridges and the ferries coming and going. A cup by the glass on a stormy morning is a good way to watch the harbor. In summer, a bench outside does the same.

Dress for the wind if you sit outside.

A window seat in winter is the best seat in the harbor. Steam rises from your cup, the glass fogs and the ferries slide by. Bring a book, order a second cup and stay until the light changes.

Where is a cafe near Connecticut College?

On the hill and at the foot of it, there are coffee shops that serve students and faculty. Tables with outlets are prized, and study groups claim the big ones. If you need to work, arrive early, buy something and settle in. Over breaks, hours shrink and some places close.

Faculty and staff are regulars, and they often recommend the quiet corner. If you want to meet people, sit at the bar. If you want to be left alone, sit in the back. Either way, the cup is the same.

What is the Best in town feature?

Best in town is a set of quick questions in the Mosey app, asked one at a time, about places near you: coffee, pizza, brunch, burgers, bakeries and more. You pick a place, give it stars, and every place you rate helps the next person find somewhere good. It suits towns with few ratings, and New London is one.

The answers belong to the people who give them.

How do you rate a cup of coffee?

Stars, then the drink: "oat latte, large, strong, mug not paper". Add one fact about the room, the seat or the wait. If you had a pastry, rate it as a dish too. Add the Coffee Shop tag so the next person can find the place by what it is. If friends came, tag them and they can add their own rating of the same cup.

A list called New London cups keeps your comparison together. Add a short note to each cafe, such as "quiet after ten" or "good for two", and share the list with a friend who is moving to town.

Where next from the cafe?

The US food guides hold the rest of the country, and the summer waterfront page shows the city at its warmest.

This is one of many Connecticut guides, and the Food in Connecticut page lists them all by town.

Over the next cup, get the Mosey app, answer the coffee question for New London and rate the first cup by the dish.