Survey: 10 Best U.S. Cities for Coffee Lovers… and Gilbert, AZ

Gilbert, Arizona is not on this list. I’m not even sure it should be… it’s not a city, it’s fairly anonymous in comparison to the winning locations, it’s not particularly a tourist destination (though it would appear they’re working on that) but Ooooohhhhh do we have coffee! No need to venture outside town limits to get my daily coffee fix.

Dotted throughout the town of Gilbert, are myriad little coffee shops, some chains but mostly independent. There’s Grove Coffee in South Gilbert and Elite Coffee Bistro- technically Chandler but right on the Gilbert border, Black Rock to the East, Sweetz Cold Brew (love me a good cold brew ) and Mama Bears- now doesn’t that sound interesting? Gilbert’s branch of Coffee Rush has been a staple of mine since they first opened in the next town over. The Coffee Shop is an arm of Joe’s Farm Grill, long established and arguably the best smelling coffee shop in town. I’ve not yet been to Mythical Coffee but don’t you agree that it’s worth a try for just the name alone? One of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever had anywhere, was not even at a coffee shop but in a Mexican restaurant, Serrano’s, now closed in Gilbert but still going strong in neighboring towns of Chandler and Mesa. Starbucks is of course everywhere but it’s simply not my cup of… well, coffee. And then theirs Bergies. Mmmmmm Bergies! Can you tell it’s my front-runner? Bergies is a family owned shop in a tiny historic cottage set back from the road, with a few indoor stools at a narrow wooden countertop. But it’s the outside that invites you in. It’s located right in the center of downtown but the impression you get is ‘secluded’. A shaded patio is tucked behind a picket fence, with scattered tables and comfortable chairs, surrounded by flowers, trees, and chirping birds… it’s like nowhere else in town. And their coffee, roasted on site, rivals any I’ve ever tasted!

I am not a coffee snob, I can’t really even be considered a connoisseur. I am just a deeply devoted fan. I love coffee in it’s purest form, unadulterated with syrups, spritzes and sprinkles. I like coffee flavored coffee. Though as far as I could be from a coffee expert, I am willing to go out of my way for ‘the real thing’.

So If I find myself in any of Apartment Guide’s 10 Best Cities for Coffee Lovers, I will most certainly be checking out their cream-of-the-crop coffee stops. But if you’re one of those shops, be forewarned, you WILL be in competition with Bergies.

Survey: 10 Best U.S. Cities for Coffee Lovers

By Jameson Doris

In these polarizing times, there’s one thing that we can all agree on: Americans love their coffee! Coast to coast, there are more than 100,000 coffee-related businesses and establishments. Some cities, such as Portland and Seattle, have become synonymous with great coffee, but are they actually the best cities in the country to have a cup of joe?

Apartment Guide set out to answer this question. In a recent survey, the rental resource website found just under 9,500 U.S. cities with at least one coffee shop and then eliminated all cities with less than 100,000 inhabitants. This left Apartment Guide with 308 U.S. cities and nearly 18,000 individual coffee-related establishments to analyze.

In order to come up with their ranking, the site calculated the ratio of coffee-related establishments per 100,000 residents in each city, as well as the ratio of coffee-related establishments per square land miles (city limits only).

Here are the places Apartment Guide deemed the top 10 best cities for coffee lovers in the U.S.:

Credit: Apartment Guide

Perhaps the most surprising takeaway from this top 10 list is the fact that three cities—Berkeley and San Francisco, Calif., as well as Pittsburgh, Pa.—beat out Seattle and Portland, which are among the most famous coffee cities in the nation.