How to survive north America's awful coffee

[Jonathon]

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Going out for coffee is tough. My wife loves a latte, and the above places all seemed OK. We are off to NY and she will make a straght line for Stumptown once there. We are staying nearby to save on daily transport costs (last time she blew the budget on cabs there)!

I just love that you've picked your accommodation based on local cafés!

[beabeabeaner]

Now 5 months on the road in the US, I can say the aeropress and grinder is a great idea. You can buy them over here, most of the roasters sell them. Good fresh roasts are still hard to find. My home roasted lasted me the first month, then it was time to explore. Around SF a lot of coffee seemed either over-roasted or under-roasted for my taste. I did have success with Verve in Santa Cruz, Ritual and Sight Glass in SF, and Bird Rock in San Diego. Verve in particular seems to do central Americans for the Aeropress just right. You can get them posted anywhere in the US. For some reason I was not crazy about Blue Bottle (seemed hit and miss to me) and four barrel (under roasted, tart espresso) which are the big names in Ca.
Going out for coffee is tough. My wife loves a latte, and the above places all seemed OK. We are off to NY and she will make a straght line for Stumptown once there. We are staying nearby to save on daily transport costs (last time she blew the budget on cabs there)!
Most of the paces we have been that serve Stumptown coffee were OK. Thinking Cup in Boston comes to mind.

Anyone who has a refined taste for coffee should stay away from those nasty thermos black water dispenser things. The burnt rubber taste lingers for hours.

Another tip for espresso lovers in the USA - its time to embrace the pour-over! When we finally get her a latte I usually get one.

And......long live the Aeropress!

[Salgar]

I drank and enjoyed American drip coffee for 20 until I moved here. I'm so spoiled now that when I go back it's like a month in the desert, even where they have espresso it tastes like burnt rubber or watered down burnt rubber. I can get a decent flat white almost anywhere in Aus but I didn't find a single good cuppa anything last trip. This time I'm doing more research, even in Nashville there's a roaster/coffee shop I want to try. I'm also packing coffee beans, a grinder and an Aeropress.

[Darkfalz]

The coffee culture in Australia is brilliant.

The coffee served in most cafes in Australia is complete crap.

I suspect USA isn't much different, apart from their coffee-based Wendy's franchise.

[Jonathon]

Article from the SMH:

How to survive North America's terrible coffee | smh.com.au

I think it's a pretty good article, clearly a bit more thought gone into it than some of the garbage the media write about coffee.

[Budgiesmuggler]

Article from the SMH:

How to survive North America's terrible coffee | smh.com.au