2024 Coffee Shops Recap
It's not all VC, per the description
Let’s have some fun for the final post of 2024.
For those who know me a bit more closely and follow my personal Instagram account, you’ve probably noticed that my favorite subject in stories is coffee cups. While I always enjoy a great flat white, I’m far from being a coffee connoisseur. However, over the past few years, I’ve made an effort to visit different coffee shops and document my visits with a photo of the coffee cup, which I share through Instagram stories. Most photos look something like this:
I began documenting my coffee shop visits in late 2018, and the trend has continued to date. As a result, friends often ask me about coffee shop recommendations, my favorite spots in the city, or even if I could share a map of coffee shops to visit. This post is my first attempt at sharing some of my coffee shop explorations from this year.
Key Stats
New Coffee Shops Visited: 29 (I generally only document new coffee shops I visit)
Cities: 8 (Bogotá, Cape Town, CDMX, Madrid, Maun, Miami, Monterrey, and NYC)
Likes: 34
Views: Unknown (Instagram doesn’t share these stats after 48 hours of a story’s publication)
Highlights
Favorite Coffee Cup Design
Kali Coffee Roasters (Monterrey)
East Crema Coffee (Madrid)
Both made an effort to create unique designs for their cups. Coffee cups are amazing real estate, and these coffee shops are taking full advantage of it.
Favorite Coffee
Good News Coffee (Madrid)
During our honeymoon in Madrid, my wife and I discovered Good News Coffee right next to our hotel. We enjoyed several cups there, and every one of them was great. It wasn’t the fanciest or most sophisticated coffee shop I visited this year—in fact, their coffee machines weren’t top-tier—but they’ve mastered the art of making a great cup of coffee. Additionally, their cup designs are really fun.
From their origins repurposing a news kiosk in Barcelona, Good News Coffee has expanded to Madrid, Paris, and Amsterdam. Their story is as good as their coffee.
Simple Yet Smart Coffee Cup Design
Cicatriz Café (CDMX)
Café Grumpy (NYC)
Both coffee shops keep it simple by stamping a logo on a white cup. This minimalist approach works well and proves you don’t need a graphic designer to have a memorable coffee cup. (Looking at you, coffee shops that don’t brand your cups!)
Really Good Coffee Shops I Visited This Year
Ambu (Madrid)
La Colombe (NYC)
Both Ambu and La Colombe serve fantastic coffee and feature solid coffee cup designs. It doesn’t get much better than these two shops.
Honorable Mention
Juan Valdez (Bogotá)
While their coffee cup featuring Colombian singer and songwriter Carlos Vives felt a bit over the top, it was definitely memorable. The folks at Juan Valdez understand the value of coffee cup real estate and are making the most of it. It would be interesting to see where similar collaborations could go.
Wrapping Up
That’s it for my first attempt at sharing my coffee experiences in 2024. Are there any coffee shops you think I should visit? Please share your recommendations in the comments. Hopefully, we’ll try this again in 2025!
