I’m Caleb. I love coffee (which doesn’t make me a snob) and I love travel. I’ve spent a majority of the past five years away from home. I’m thankful for when I come back, but I live for the thrill of adventure and I feel out of place when I’m in one place for too long. The longer you are away, the more you learn to find home in moments and places where you might not expect it.  The most consistent home for me is a great cafe, because I’ve found that no matter where you end up around the globe, when you stumble on a coffee shop that really cares about the craft and quality of their coffee and they discover that you share this passion, they are almost always quick to welcome you into their space, inviting you into their process, and eager to hear your thoughts on the drinks they pour themselves into.

Whether it’s after a long day of flights or bus rides, or a restless night in a crowded hostel, nothing quite resets my heart and mind like the bright, rich smell of freshly ground beans welcoming me home. Through my travels, I found myself spending hours on hours trying to sort through yelp listings and travel blogs to find these coffee havens. I quickly realized that a high rating or recommendation from these sites has to be taken with a grain of salt, as 5 stars (when not from bogus accounts created just to boost ratings) are often awarded based on the taste of a brownie and the sugar rush from a frozen desert drink. And those are (mostly) legitimate reasons to think a place is great; you know, follow your bliss and all that. I’m just after a niche that excels at coffee, and when I do discover just such a place, my heart swells in excitement and a desire for them to succeed. 

A few years into this personal database of amazing cafes, I realized I was spending a lot of time developing something, and that it could really become a resource and a blessing to a lot of people.  
So this website is a listing of great places, places that aren’t satisfied to pass, or keep things as good as they are now. The shops you will see on this site are caffeinated innovators, constantly striving to find an even better extraction, a still more incredible cup of coffee. It’s not for everyone, but if it helps someone else find their new favorite place (like how about an actually great espresso in Italy, or an amazing aeropressed Ethiopia served out of a truck in the jungle of Thailand) then it’s worth it to me.

I don’t really enjoy telling people what they’re doing wrong, so instead, I’m only talking about the places that do things really well. If your favorite cafe isn’t listed, please let me know. I’d love to check it out. If your country isn’t listed, I’m probably half-way finished with my plan to get there. Let’s hang out and share a moment of home, tucked away in some little cafe, over a perfect cortado or pour-over. 

This is A Traveler’s Guide to Quality Coffee Around the World.