Coffee, coffee, coffee, let’s talk about coffee and the coffee culture. I happen to love coffee, probably more than any other form of liquid. I have lived in the Seattle area since 1992, right about the time coffee started to explode in the area.

In the early ’90s, a coffee stand on the corner could turn an average Joe into a millionaire, and Starbucks was climbing to the top of the coffee world. In this article, I will talk about some of my favorite coffee in the world and compare some of the coffee cultures across the globe. This will be my personal top five.

I feel like I have been drinking coffee all my life. It was one of the few drinks my Mom would let me drink. As a kid, it was the sugar I got to add to the coffee that I enjoyed. Over the years, I grew to love coffee and tea, for that matter. I moved to Seattle in the summer of ’92 and felt like I missed Starbucks when it was just a corner store.

I was going to school in downtown Seattle at the time, and one of my instructors bought me my first Cappuccino and wow I was hooked. With the intense flavor of the coffee and the frothy milk, I knew from that moment on that this was my drink. Back in the early days of the coffee craze in Seattle, a coffee stand would rent a small corner and plug into the nearest building using an extension cord. I’m not sure if it was the weather or music scene that made Seattle so addicted to coffee. Soon Starbucks started popping up all over.

As the coffee craze spread throughout the Seattle area it created this weird phenomenon of drive-thru coffee.  We stop getting out of our car and would just pull up to the coffee stand and order our coffee. The coffee culture really fits neatly into that American need for everything to be fast and convenient. That does make for a good vibe, and you could still get a good cup of coffee if you don’t mind your coffee coming in a disposable cup. Other things that came out of this craze was Starbucks and it’s a global march for world domination.

All kidding aside, it is really quite fascinating the impact Starbucks has had on coffee and the world. Their impact in the US has been huge, on top of that all of the start-up coffee shops especially in the Seattle area you can find a drive-through coffee stand on every corner. That is only a slight exaggeration.

So why should we care so much about coffee? Well it goes hand in hand with mornings and morning time rituals. For myself, on a workday, I get up, get dressed, brush my teeth, and head to the kitchen and fire up my Nespresso, grab my lunch and breakfast and head out the door. I tend to finish my first coffee before I get to the freeway. I will then proceed to have at least 2 more coffees maybe 3 on a tough days. But (I digress) I am not here to talk about your regular morning or my regular morning.

I want to talk about how you really enjoy a great cup of coffee. For me, I’m not going to talk about drip, you can definitely enjoy drip coffee anywhere, but I think you need to enjoy whatever the country you are in. You need to have their coffee. I will discuss 3 countries and their own unique way of drinking coffee.  After that, I will discuss my favorite coffee joints so far. I am by no means an expert, but I do have a lot of coffee drinking experience. 

Let’s talk about the US first, this is where I am from and have the most drinking experience. Like I said earlier in this article, in the US (especially Seattle) we have moved away from sitting and enjoying your coffee to getting it as quickly as possible.  The process is made easier to not have to get out of the car. Now at first glance that is depressing, but you can get a really good coffee to go. I do tend to go to Starbucks, not because they are the best, but because they are consistent. I can order any drink and get the same drink at any location.

The only caveat is Starbucks overseas, which can get a little tricky, sometimes the lingo doesn’t translate very well. I hesitate to enjoy coffee too quickly, but life has a tendency to get in the way. If I had my way I would find a local shop where I can go in a sit and drink my coffee out of an actual mug. A mug is a key to a great cup of coffee. Almost every Friday I go to a local shop in Everett Washington; Choux Choux Bakery and get a coffee and a pastry and write. Like at this very moment writing this article. I find that this is when I am at my best when it comes to writing. 

Next, I am going to talk about the UK. I found that they are very similar to the US minus the drive-thru coffee stands. There what I found is large chain coffee companies like Cafe Nero, Illy, and of course Starbucks. Now there are definitely some mom and pop coffee stands. The last time I was in London we found a great breakfast place, that also had great coffee Gail’s Bakery Southbank. Now it didn’t have that real cafe feel, it was a more modern feeling but it really did have great coffee.

Cafe Nero also has good coffee, but again it was like any other chain coffee place. People were in a hurry, just like in the states; the only difference was that they were not using a drive-up window. I’m sure that has to do with people not driving in London. If you wanted to sit and enjoy, you could do that, or get a cup to go. So I really felt at home in London. For me, Illy makes the best coffee. Illy is an Italian company with baristas in Europe, and I have to say they make a perfect coffee cup. Most chain coffee shops like Starbucks would have a huge variety of coffee iced or hot, blended drinks like shakes if you wanted something more than just coffee-flavored coffee.

I am now going to combine two countries mainly because they share a lot of the same customs—France and Belgium and more like Paris and Brussels. Now I found the two countries shared many similarities when you went to the cafe in the morning. Very similar food and coffee were delicious. If you have never had a café au lait, make sure you order one at breakfast. The French have mastered the cafe experience. It’s more than just getting coffee on the run. You actually sit down to enjoy your coffee. If you get a typical French breakfast, it will come coffee, some juice, a baguette, croissant, some cheese, and maybe some deli-style meat.

If you are by a tourist area, you can get a breakfast that will say “American” in the name and come with some egg. The best part about the café is that no one will be bothering you to leave.  You can sit, and people watch and really enjoy that coffee. As an American, you always hear about the French wait staff and being rude, which is so not true. They are there to do a job and not engage in small talk. If you really want to make a good impression, give speaking French a try while you order. They love it. Even if you fail, they really appreciate the attempt.

In French, I once called myself a cup of coffee with milk.  I had a good laugh with our waiter when I realized what I had said. It was pretty funny. But after we had a good laugh, he stopped and helped me out with the proper French sentence for, “I would like a coffee with milk, please.” The rest of the time, he was all smiles, came over talked to us. It was great.  I don’t embarrass easily, so I didn’t care if people got a laugh out of my mistake. I love to make people laugh, whether they are laughing at me or something I did or said.

Our first experience in Europe was in Brussels.  We flew into Brussels, spent the night, and took the train to Paris the next day. We had breakfast in Brussels, and we found this place by the Grand Place, which was amazing. It had newspapers from the past 50 years that were strung all about, all of this great woodwork, and the old crusty guy making the coffee. I felt like we had been transported back to the ’60s. That place was great. Plus, the food was great. I just wish I could remember the name of the place. 

What I really like about the Paris café scene is the fact they are all consistently good. The food, the bread, and the coffee are all good….no, they are all great! I never had any coffee or bread in Paris that wasn’t fantastic, especially the bread. Wow! The bread was fantastic. There are two café’s I liked the most. They had all of the requirements to be great. The first one was Café du Marche on Rue Cler and Royal Opéra on Avenue de l’Opéra. These two cafés were fantastic, but it is tough to go wrong in Paris, as I said. The price will vary from location to location, and the staff will be friendly or not, but the food and drink are always good. So what I am saying pick a café and you won’t be disappointed. 

Now moving on, Paris may have had the best experience, but the Italians make the best coffee. That is no joke. The Italians take this drink seriously, which I love because I take this drink seriously. Now the biggest change between the two countries is the way they drink their coffee. In France, you sit and eat, drink, and enjoy. In Italy, you come into the coffee shop, and you stand at the counter order a cappuccino, which is ready to drink in lighting speed. The coffee comes warm enough to be able to drink in about 3 drinks.

The Italian’s coffee is not blistering hot like you will get in the States. It’s warm. You drink, eat a cornetto (which is an Italian croissant just sweeter), and then leave. Now don’t get too worried about the in and out the speed of the locals. You can sit down, order, and enjoy just like any other coffee shop. Let me tell you. This is the best coffee you will ever have, that is no lie. A cappuccino should cost you around 2 euro unless you are going on a tour of the Colosseum and you have some time to kill, and the tour director tells you to go across the street and have some coffee.

This happened to us, we were early and we and sat in the café to have some coffee and breakfast, and let me tell you that was probably the most expensive coffee I have ever had. Mind you, it was still a great cup of coffee, just really, really expensive. In Italy, like France, everything is consistent. I never had a bad cup of coffee, and I drank a lot of coffee while I was there. We happen to get lucky. The apartment we were staying at was across the street from the Vatican, and just down the street was Feffo Roma. Oh, a man, was this place great. Not only did they have great coffee, but they also had gelato, pastries, alcoholic drinks. Feffo’s became our starting point, and our afternoon break.

We were in Rome in August, and it was as hot as the surface of the sun. We figured out that if we got our tour or big sightseeing excursion done early, it was still kind of cool. Then we would go back to the apartment to have lunch, take a nap, or just relax. Then about 2 o’clock, we would wander down to Feffo’s and have some cold drink. If you have never had a spritz, I highly recommend it. Now I know it’s not coffee, but man, is it good. 

I couldn’t get enough coffee while we were in Rome, so good thing they have a lot of coffee shops. Towards the end of the trip, I started walking up to the coffee bar, order my cappuccino, stand there, and three or four sips later, it was done. Sometimes I wish the cups were bigger, and I always wanted more. I thought I would be able to tell, without a doubt, where to buy your coffee in these places.  It turns out to be harder than I thought it would be.

So far in Europe, all of the coffee was consistently great. Hands down the best cup of coffee I have ever had was a place near the entrance of the Vatican Museum across the street, down a set of stairs and to the right about half a block down. I have no idea what it is called, but I can still remember that cup of coffee. That doesn’t help one bit, I know.

Another great cup of coffee I had was in a shop in downtown Seattle. There was a big Macy’s in the heart of downtown, kind of a staple of Seattle, but they recently shut their doors, so I am not sure about this coffee shop in one of their corner stores. It literally felt like it was in on the windows, but there it was, this great coffee shop. There was a single barista working very slowly, or at least it felt very slow. Sure enough, this guy delivered, what was the best coffee I have had in Seattle.

Like Paris or Rome, Seattle all have a strong coffee culture and are very consistent at getting you some great coffee. Now outside of the Seattle area, you can find some terrible coffee. That was the result of the coffee boom in Seattle, and after Starbucks took off, there were several start-ups and people just trying to cash in. So there you have it, my coffee story. Oh, if you need some coffee for home, buy Illy.  You cannot go wrong with that. I think I will re-visit my love for coffee after I have tried some more during my travels. If you want to know about other places to travel check out this post. Now usually, I tell you to get out shoot (camera). This time I will say get out there, sit and enjoy some coffee.