As anyone who has ever stopped at a service station at 1am can confirm, not all coffee is created equal. We’ve put this guide together to help you cut right to the excellent cups. And if you thought it was all one big old yawn of extraction chat and brew pressure, think again. The coffee shops on this guide are fit for connoisseurs and caffeine-hounds alike. 

If you need a coffee shop to work from, we’ve got a guide for that, and if you’re one of those lucky people who can drink coffee past 6pm and still sleep—or don’t plan on sleeping—we’ve got a dedicated late-night coffee shop directory too. And finally, we’ve got a guide dedicated to the best places for a coffee catch-up in the sun.