If there is one thing Chicagoans love, it is their coffee! Everyone has their favorites and connoisseurs are very protective over their beloved coffee of choice. It’s a very exciting day when you’re brunching and the restaurant serves your coffee of choice. Chicago has several local roasters so today I thought I would highlight a few of those for you. You can also find my Oak Park guide to coffee here.
Intelligentsia: Direct trade coffee from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. Has six coffee bar locations: Lakeview, Loop, Millennium Park, Logan Square, Old Town, and Wicker Park.
Metropolis: Small batch artisan roasted coffee from Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica. The cafe is located in Edgewater. You can also find their coffee at Dollop Coffee Co. which has six locations: Buena Park, Lakeview, Streeterville, Evanston, Downtown, and Gold Coast.
Bow Truss: Direct trade coffee from Colombia and Ethiopia. Has six locations: Lakeview, River North, Pilsen, Logan Square, Michigan & Jackson, and the Loop.
La Colombe: Direct trade from coffee farmers in Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Ethiopia, El Salvador, Tanzania, Rwanda, Haiti, Madagascar, Nicaragua, and Peru. Has three local cafes in Wicker Park, Andersonville, and West Loop.
Dark Matter: Fair trade with local farmers in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. Has three coffee bars: two in West Town and one in Lakeview.
Sparrow: Organic and sustainably sourced coffee from Colombia, Burundi, the Congo, and Guatemala. The roastery is located in the West Loop.
Asado: A direct trade green coffee source working with growers from Tanzania, Brazil, and Haiti. They have three cafes: West Town, Loop, and Lakeview.
Gaslight: A small batch coffee roaster in Logan Square. Their coffee is sourced from Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, and Ethiopia.
For more coffee options, Thrillist recently put together a list of the Best Coffee Shops in Chicago by Neighborhood.
Are you a coffee drinker? What is your favorite local coffee roaster?
Leave a Reply