Coffee Shops in Atlanta: Roasters, Cafes and Counters

Coffee shops in Atlanta range from a Reynoldstown counter known for its cortado to an East Atlanta roastery serving South Indian filter coffee. Four that recent coverage keeps naming are Con Leche, Raani Coffee Roasters, Chrome Yellow Trading Co. and Coffee Was Black, and this page shows how to choose between them.

What kinds of coffee shops in Atlanta are there?

Think of Atlanta coffee in four groups, because they suit different mornings.

• Roasteries. The shop roasts its own beans and often sells them by the bag. Expect a short menu and strong opinions about origin.
• Neighborhood counters. A small room, a few seats, a cortado or a drip coffee, and a regular who knows the staff.
• Work cafes. Larger rooms with outlets and a menu that includes breakfast, built for a laptop and a long morning.
• Cultural cafes. Places where the coffee comes from a tradition, such as Indian filter coffee or Caribbean drinks.

Asking which group you want is quicker than asking where the best coffee is.

Which Atlanta coffee roasters and cafes do people go to?

Each of these appears in at least two independent outlets and was listed in recent coverage.

Raani Coffee Roasters. The AJC named it a Critic's Pick, praising the founder's coffee expertise and the shop's transparent sourcing. It is on Moreland Avenue in East Atlanta and is known for South Indian coffee such as the Madras kaapi, with Indian-inspired food. The Infatuation's guide also lists it, with a gulab jamun latte.

Con Leche. The Infatuation calls it a quick grab-and-go counter in Reynoldstown, and an Atlanta chef told Atlanta Magazine that its cortado is the one to order. Atlanta Magazine's earlier guide also describes the weekly membership for unlimited drip coffee.

Chrome Yellow Trading Co. In Old Fourth Ward, both The Infatuation and Atlanta Magazine describe a work-friendly cafe with its own coffee blends and food to go with them: breakfast empanadas in one, a maple oat latte in the other.

Coffee Was Black. The Infatuation lists the Caribbean cafe on Auburn Avenue for its spiced plantain latte and salmon patties, and notes seating is limited. It also appears in a locals' list from What Now Atlanta.

Where can you find Atlanta roasters that sell beans?

Raani, described by the AJC as a roastery with a tasting room, is the clearest example in this list. Atlanta Magazine's guide also names other local roasters, including Brash, Portrait Coffee and East Pole, so a bag of local beans is an easy souvenir. Ask the barista what they are brewing at home and which roast to try first.

Which Atlanta cafes with food suit a long morning?

If you want breakfast with your coffee, pick a cafe that cooks. Chrome Yellow's breakfast empanadas, the cheese biscuit sandwiches that The Infatuation mentions at Raani on Mondays, and the salmon patties at Coffee Was Black all show how different "food with coffee" can be. For bigger breakfast plates, the Atlanta breakfast guide is the better stop, and the bakeries guide covers pastries.

Are there Atlanta study cafes and espresso bars?

Chrome Yellow is the one in this list that both outlets describe as work-friendly. Coffee Was Black has limited seating, so it suits a short stop, not a study session. Con Leche is a grab-and-go counter, a better fit for an espresso on the way to work than a four-hour block.

Whatever you choose, judge the room as well as the cup. A study cafe earns its name only if you can stay without a fresh purchase every hour, so notice how staff treat a laptop and note it for the next reader.

Whatever the room, judge it the same way each time. Is there somewhere to plug in? How loud is it? Would you be welcome to stay once the cup is empty? Put those answers in your note for the next person.

How do you judge a cup so your rating helps the next person?

Rate the drink you ordered, not the shop. A cortado, a drip coffee and a latte with a house syrup are different dishes. Write one line each on the flavor, the temperature and whether the milk was well steamed. If you ate something, rate it separately.

If you drink espresso, compare the same drink across shops: a cortado at Con Leche against a cortado somewhere new tells you more than a cortado against a latte. If you prefer filter coffee, order the drip or the Madras kaapi and compare those. Keeping one drink constant is the simplest way to make your own ratings mean something over a year of cafes.

Also note what the shop does well besides coffee. A cafe that serves breakfast empanadas, a pastry case or a bookshelf is a different outing from a counter that serves only drinks, and your friends will want to know which one they are walking into.

How can you rate and keep Atlanta coffee shops in Mosey?

Mosey is a food app, and a coffee list grows slowly, one cup at a time. Only a place and stars are needed for a rating, but you can name the drink, add tags such as Specialty Coffee, Great Coffee or Coffee Shop, and attach a photo. The ratings page shows how it works.

Add each shop to a list called Atlanta coffee, write why it belongs (cortado, Wi-Fi, quiet corner) and send the invite link to friends who also work from cafes. Following people you trust shows what they rated and saved.

The Atlanta town hub and the US food guides hold more.

Next time a cup is worth remembering, open the Mosey app, rate it by name and add the shop to a coffee list for the friends you meet there.