Coffee

Baristas, Bartenders and Bouncers: Jason Silberschlag at Cartel Coffee Lab

Bartenders & Baristas: Lisa Dowd at A Shot of Java

Bartenders & Baristas: The enigmatic Xoe at Fair Trade Café

The Willow House gets shut down

Bartenders & Baristas: Jenifer Stern at Mama Java's

Bartenders & Baristas: Russ Kaskalla at Xtreme Bean

Bartenders & Baristas: Joe Boos at Coffee Rush

Bean a Long Time Coming

Starbucks, the high-powered gourmet coffee-house chain, finally finds grounds for expansion into Arizona

Know Doubt

Long-awaited Know Qwestion CD answers all skeptics

Sticks and Scones

The Scones try to overcome the cover-band stigma and earn respect for their classic-sounding originals

Best Place for Coffee and Dessert Under the Stars

Coffee Talk
48 North Robson, Mesa
480-844-2353

Best Coffee House

The Muse

Second Cup

The Muse

BEST COFFEE HOUSE FOR KIDS

Mama Java's Coffee House

BEST BUZZ

Espresso Martini at AZ 88

Phoenix Phoodies: Jeff at Lux on a Mission

By Sloane Burwell Jeff Fischer isn’t your ordinary barista. After 20 years in the hospitality industry, he and his wife took ownership of Lux Coffee Bar, so that his wife could pursue her life’s dream of owning a coffee shop. Under his watchful eye and warm smile, Lux has emerged as more than a ... More >>

Playground PHX

By Sloane Burwell Jeff Fischer isn’t your ordinary barista. After 20 years in the hospitality industry, he and his wife took ownership of Lux Coffee Bar, so that his wife could pursue her life’s dream of owning a coffee shop. Under his watchful eye and warm smile, Lux has emerged as more than a ... More >>

Pop Culture: Java Pop

By Martin Cizmar It’s 10:45 a.m. and you’re thirsty. Do you go for a cup of coffee or a bottle soda? Either you’re drinking coffee in the middle of the say like a cop with 30 years on the force or you’re drinking soda before noon like some punk kid who got up at 6:30 to catch his school ... More >>

Caffiend: Coffee Plantation's Eye Opener

The first time I ever made coffee in my life, I almost killed somebody. It was my sophomore year in high school, and I was the "singer" in a punk/metal band called Legion of the Dead. The guitarist asked me to make coffee at practice one day, and, never having made coffee and with no frame of refere ... More >>

Phoenix Phoodies: Jason Silberschlag of Tempe's Cartel Coffee Lab Serves a Winning Cup of Coffee

  College towns and coffee joints go together like peanut butter and jelly. This is good news for Jason and Amy Silberschlag, founders of Cartel Coffee Lab, whose Tempe-based roaster and coffee bar is mere meters from Mill Avenue. Open less than a year, they've earned legions of adoring fans, both ... More >>

Caffiend: Iced Coffee from Lux

Iced coffee from LuxAnybody who's ever stepped foot into Lux coffee shop on Central knows the weekend and weekday morning scenes there can be chaos, with caffeinated hipsters and business-types all tapping away on their laptops or reading the morning papers. There's a reason they consistently flock ... More >>

Liberty Market: The East Valley’s Answer to La Grande Orange

Iced coffee from LuxAnybody who's ever stepped foot into Lux coffee shop on Central knows the weekend and weekday morning scenes there can be chaos, with caffeinated hipsters and business-types all tapping away on their laptops or reading the morning papers. There's a reason they consistently flock ... More >>

Coffee O.D.

Acoustic does not mean soft

Cafe Olé

Making a mountain out of a hill of beans

The Last Days of Gold Bar

The doors are closing on the Valley's most eclectic coffee house.

Joe Dirt

Make mine a venti -- and hold the pigeon poop

Gut Reaction

Make mine a venti -- and hold the pigeon poop

Phoenix Phoodies: Royal Coffee Bar

Sloane BurwellDespite its modernist tendencies, Royal Coffee Bar's building was actually constructed in 1890. Hayes McNeil has hidden powers. If he's not at Royal Coffee Bar (www.royalcoffeebar.com, 209 W. Jackson, 602-374-8044), the modernist java joint in downtown Phoenix he co-owns with brother-i ... More >>

Caffiend: Gold Bar Espresso's Mocha Especiale

If you can drive just 20 feet past the Starbucks in the Basha's Plaza on the northeast corner of Southern and McClintock in Tempe, you'll find another gem of a coffee house in the same shopping center: Gold Bar Espresso. This cozy little corner shop touts itself as "simply the choice of the connoiss ... More >>

Caffiend: Mocha Bianca's Depth Charger

​"This might make hair grow on your chest," the bald barista at Mocha Bianca tells me, as he prepares a mix of coffee and espresso he calls the "Depth Charger.""Of course," he continues, rubbing his smooth dome, "It hasn't worked on my head yet."Mocha Bianca is just a few miles from where I've liv ... More >>

Caffiend: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Iced Pumpkin Latte

​'Tis the season for coffee shops to start peddling their holiday flavors. Christmas shoppers looking to stay wired while standing in long lines will be running for peppermint, pumpkin, and apple spice-flavored caffeine concoctions.  The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is one of many java outlets ... More >>

5 Ways to Know Your Coffee Shop Doesn't Suck

Cartel Coffee Lab does not suck. ​Consider this a shout-out to all the caffeine-fueled, hard-working Americans out there who can't get the day started without a cup of joe. We feel your adrenal-shot addiction and offer up this advice: Life is much too short to drink bad coffee. How does one ... More >>

Caffiend: Inside the Bungalow's Instant Karma

​Looking at the quaint, historic home that houses Inside the Bungalow off Robson and Main Streets in Mesa, one would never suspect the danger that lurks inside, in the form of a coffee drink known as "Instant Karma." This drink is a "red eye" (coffee mixed with two shots of espresso), and it's one ... More >>

Caffiend: Bookmans Cafe's House Blend

​We know what you're thinking: Wait, isn't Bookmans a used book store? That it is, but as we've previously reported, the Bookmans location in Mesa recently opened a cafe. We've long been fans of the store's book, music, and video game selection, but we were skeptical about the coffee. On a recent ... More >>

How Do I Make a Great Cup of Coffee?

How do I make a really good cup of coffee? Coffee Beans Our favorite coffee house slogan: "Drink Coffee, patriotic beverage since 1773." That's because the Continental Congress declared coffee our official national beverage when the original tea party, a revolt against the British tea tax, be ... More >>

Caffiend: Conspire's Molotov Mocho

E. Groves​Indie coffee shop/hipster gathering place Conspire (also known as The Coffee Conspiracy) is one of those places you go when you're not in a big hurry to get your coffee. Conspire tends to be frequented by regulars and people from the neighborhood, and its not unusual for the baristas her ... More >>

Caffiend: Echo Coffee's Iced Latte

​Echo Coffee isn't that different from most other coffee shops. The interior décor is like a mom-and-pop Starbucks, decorated with plush chairs and spacious tables, over which hang red ceiling lamps. Hipster jazz usually plays softly through the speakers, and the scent of coffee grounds fills th ... More >>

Latte Art with Jen Macias at Cartel Coffee Lab

From a "glorified latte slinger" at a Starbucks drive-thru to barista to manager to the director of education and training at Cartel Coffee Lab, Jen Macias knows her way around a cup of joe. Today she shows us step-by-step how to make your latte not only look pretty sweet but also taste really damn ... More >>

Grinders Coffee Co's Viennese Mocha

E. Groves​We're in love. Just when we thought we'd tried every caffeinated beverage imaginable and gotten sick of coffee, we stumbled upon Grinders Coffee Co in Sunnyslope, and their amazing Viennese Mocha.Grinders proprietor Dennis Miller is a coffee connoisseur, and the Viennese Mocha is a java ... More >>

Todd and Tami Hudalla of What's Your Grind

Kelly Green​The business: What's Your Grind Gourmet Coffee Roasters What they're packin': Fresh roasted coffee beans and brewed coffee Where you can find them: Pick up a pound or two on Saturdays at Roadrunner Park Farmer's Market from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. or on Sundays at the Ahwatukee Farmer's M ... More >>

Giant Coffee's Honey Vanilla Latte

We make regular trips to Giant Coffee for their delicious scones, but this past weekend, we had a different kind of sweet tooth. We were craving a sugary, flavorful iced coffee -- and boy, did we get it, with Giant Coffee's Honey Vanilla Latte.

Cave Creek Coffee Company's Bacon Infused Mocha Coffee

E. Groves​We love any excuse to visit Cave Creek, but one of the best reasons to visit this sleepy arts community is Cave Creek Coffee Company's new Bacon Infused Mocha Coffee.That's right -- "bacon infused." Seems like bacon-flavored drinks are all the rage these days, and we'll admit the idea di ... More >>

Latte Throwdown Coming to Lola Coffee

​Sometimes the simplest things can make a big difference in your day, like the care your barista puts into swirling espresso and foamy milk into an intricate design that brings a smile to your face. It's art that's more ephemeral than a Buddhist mandala, around for a matter of seconds un ... More >>

Sola Coffee Bar's Agave Latte

Sola Coffee Bar's agave latte​Sola is a hip little coffee bar in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, and it offers a nice reprieve from daytime window shopping. Outside, retirees ogle eagle and horse sculptures while BMWs jockey for parking spaces with Mustangs. But inside Sola, people inhale the sc ... More >>

The Fixx's Americano

​There's a certain art to pouring an espresso shot, and many baristas won't serve a shot of espresso if it's not perfect. Robbie Pfeffer, manager of The Fixx coffee shop and arts venue in Tempe, says some people take "the art of espresso shots" too seriously, but even he throws out his first shot ... More >>

Copper Star Coffee's Café Au Lait

E. GrovesCopper Star Coffee's Cafe au lait​Copper Star Coffee is one of those Phoenix coffee shops where people to gather to hang out, work on their laptops, and peruse local art (paintings by Pablo Luna currently hang on the walls). It's an old gas station remodeled into a cafe, and the old ... More >>

Tonight: Open Source Project Coffee Shop's Grand Opening

​Great minds think alike. With Cartel Coffee Lab one of the only non-chain coffee shops left in Tempe, the past year has seen an explosion of new, artsy coffeehouses in the ASU area. The most recent is Ryan Gentry and Michael Witham's Open Source Project, scheduled for a grand opening at 8 p.m. th ... More >>

Seven Dibs-Worthy Seats in Phoenix Coffee Shops

Claire LawtonLola Coffee on Roosevelt Street​A regular coffee shop spot is a sacred (and often secret) thing. All-too-often the lighting is bad, the music is loud, and the a/c vent seems to be at just the right angle to totally freeze the table -- and you. We've spent our fair share of time in ... More >>

Chelsea Brown's Perfect Food Day

Chelsea Brown​Chelsea Brown blogs about fashion on her popular local  blog Tea Talk. This ASU grad school student is all about great coffee and exploring Phoenix with her boyfriend Scott (who also apprears in the fashion posts). We wanted to know more about where her perfect day of food ... More >>

Hot Latte! Bikini-Clad Baristas May Soon Hit the Valley

Baristas.tv The exterior of Baristas' San Antonio location. "Costume Coffee" to go?​ Baristas.tv Baristas' fantasy-based costumes?​Baristas Coffee Company, a Seattle-based franchise, could be branching out across the Valley. Local news outlets are reporting that up to five new java ... More >>