Best Coffee in Pennsylvania
From award-winning fresh roasts in Lancaster to traditional Vietnamese brews in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania takes its coffee scene very seriously.
If you’re looking for a good caffeine fix in
Pennsylvania
—you’re in luck! With nationally-acclaimed fresh roasts in Lancaster
, traditional Vietnamese cà phê đá in Pittsburgh
, and award-winning espresso in Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania takes its coffee very seriously. While it’s easier than ever these days to fill your thermos with the closest Starbucks or Dunkins’, opting for a little more finery in your brew is always a welcome treat. Fortunately, Pennsylvania is home to many excellent coffee shops to do the trick. In fact, Pittsburgh was recently named one of the top 10 best coffee cities in America!
Here to help you decide which of Pennsylvania’s hundreds of cozy cafes may be worth the special drive is the car insurance
super app
and travel resource Jerry
. Whether you’re after the perfect early morning brew or that seasonal latte you’ll remember to come back for next year, you’ll definitely want to keep these Pennsylvania coffee shops in mind. RECOMMENDED
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Passenger
Cafe address:7 W King St, Lancaster, PA 17603
Roastery & coffee bar: 131 N Plum St, Lancaster, PA 17602
Phone: 717-455-3633
Opening hours: Daily, 7am to 2pm
Price: $$
Named Food & Wine’s Best Coffee Shop in PA for three years,
Passenger
is nationally known for its unique frozen storage methods—allowing them to serve brews from a seasonally-changing harvest with the utmost freshness. From dry to wet process, Colombian to Ethiopian blends, all of Passenger’s locally roasted beans are ethically sourced and wildly diverse. Though they advocate for a simplified coffee roasting and brewing process, they are also well-known for masterfully extracting the complex notes and flavors in their 30+ single roaster coffees.
Passenger has such expert knowledge of coffee brewing that they offer
brew guides
to help fellow coffee enthusiasts recreate in-cafe magic when brewing Passenger coffee at home. If you aren’t in the Lancaster area, you can also find Passenger coffee in partner cafes in D.C.
, Philadelphia, Easton
, Oceanside
, and even Qatar. Espresso A Mano
Address: 3623 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Phone: 412-918-1864
Opening hours: Monday-Friday 7am to 4pm; Saturday 8am to 4pm; Sunday 8am to 2pm
Price: $
Founded in 2009,
Espresso A Mano
serves sustainably-sourced Coava
, Commonplace
(roasted in Pittsburgh), and Counter Culture
coffee, among other ethical blends. They also feature two different espressos at all times, with one single-origin roast to let the individual flavor shine through. Known not just for their coffee, but their cozy atmosphere and great prices, Espresso A Mano keeps things exciting for regulars by offering fun, seasonal latte specials—like the honey cardamom latte in fall (using local Beeboy honey!).
If you’d like something to dip into your mug, you can choose from a mouth-watering rotation of local bakery items: including Nutella-stuffed donuts, gluten-free cinnamon rolls, and pistachio bomboloni. For the lactose-intolerant coffee lovers out there, Espresso A Mano additionally offers oat and almond milk substitutions for a small extra charge.
Situated on lower Lawrenceville’s vibrant Butler Street, Espresso A Mano is the perfect joint for a quick caffeine fix or a relaxing few hours (usually with chai tea, lavender latte, or dulce affogato warming your hands).
Pro Tip Pittsburgh naturally has a coffee passport that you can purchase for just $30. That gets you 10 drinks at 15 local cafes—including Espresso A Mano and other popular coffee shop favorites like de Fer Coffee + Tea and Carnegie Coffee Co.
Elixr Coffee Roasters
Address: 207 S Syndemham St, Philadelphia, 19102
Phone: 239-404-1730
Opening hours: Daily, 7am to 7pm
Price: $
On the other side of the state, Philadelphia’s
Elixr Coffee Roasters
have been flexing their own brews—winning a multitude of impressive awards like the Krupps Best Brew Award and a place in Business Insider’s 50 Best US Cafes. Operating three cafes across the city and providing wholesale coffee supplies to partner cafes throughout the Northeast, Elixr specializes in perfecting unique lighter roasts to craft exquisite drinks for its guests. Their mission? To source, roast, brew, and serve “the planet’s most unique coffees.”
Elixr is a true brewing pioneer and makes ongoing efforts to innovate the brewing process to enhance flavors and caffeine potency during extraction. They currently feature a Kyoto slow drip—a brew that involves bulbs, tubes, and up to 12 hours of barista patience. But don’t worry about the wait yourself: you can snag a completed Kyoto slow drip-brew immediately as long as you arrive before they sell out!
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Elementary Coffee Co.
Address: 256 North St, Harrisburg, PA 17101
Phone: 585-369-4141
Opening hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30am to 3pm; Saturday-Sunday, 8am to 3pm
Price: $$
Located in the historic Broad Street Market of
Harrisburg
, Elementary Coffee Co.
isn’t just a coffee roaster, brewer, and cafe—they’re also a coffee educator!With equipment, consultants, and trainers on hand, Elementary offers coffee tutorials, demos, and guest speaking to help anyone realize their coffee-brewing dreams. They even have a draft coffee tricycle (yes, you heard that right) available for fellow coffee-lovers to use at special events.
Of course, Elementary’s coffee speaks for itself, too. Seasonal lattes like “The Hopscotch” (brown sugar and nutmeg) and “The Dreamer” (lavender and rosemary), mochas made with local vegan chocolate, and favorites like “The Sweet One” (a maple-infused nitro cold brew) all add to Elementary’s unique flavor and charm. As a perk, many of their lattes and grounds donate a portion of their funds to different charities and organizations—so your caffeine addiction may actually help better the world.
Pro Tip If you’re running tight on money but really need the caffeine pick-me-up, Elementary has a magnet board where kind strangers can buy a coffee for someone who needs it. Grab a magnet if you don’t have the funds to cover it, or buy a magnet to make someone else’s day!
Ineffable Cà Phê
Address: 3920 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Phone: 412-224-2579
Opening hours: 8am to 3pm daily
Price: $$
Brewing out of a former Pittsburgh motorcycle shop,
Ineffable Cà Phê
partners with Philadelphia’s famous La Colombe
for its espresso blends and Philly’s Càphê Roasters
for its traditional Vietnamese cà phê sữa. From its made-to-order bubble tea to its Banh Mi and Pho food options, there’s cultural enlightenment in Ineffable Cà Phê that you don’t often find in American coffee shops. Striving to bring the Vietnam cafe experience to Pittsburgh family and friends, Ineffable Cà Phê uses metal drip filters to serve strong, condensed milk-sweetened Vietnamese coffee classics.
Simultaneously, they’ve also managed to perfect Italian brewing techniques. From smooth pour-overs, drip coffees, and rich macchiatos, you can truly find the best of multiple coffee worlds here. They even offer a wide array of creative Vietnamese/Italian fusion lattes—the “Five Spice” latte and the “Powder” latte (made with freeze-dried Vietnamese coffee crystals) are fan favorites.
Northern Light Espresso Bar and Cafe
Address: 536 Spruce St, Courthouse Square, Scranton, PA 18503
Phone: 570-342-3200
Opening hours: Monday-Friday, 8am to 6pm; Saturday 9am to 6pm
Price: $
Scranton
’s oldest independent coffee shop, Northern Light Espresso Bar and Cafe
, features locally roasted coffee from Damiani Coffee Roasters
and its own house blend—aptly named “Aurora.” Both a coffee and tea shop, Northern Light serves espresso-based beverages in addition to its local coffees—ranging from a basic americano to a mocha bianca. They also put their own spin on traditional chai lattes by offering gingerbread and chocolate flavor infusions and have a full tea menu stocked with greens, blacks, oolongs, whites, herbals, and tisanes.
Perhaps the most enticing quality of this Scranton favorite is its cozy atmosphere and homey warmth. Local and vintage artwork adorn its walls, lattes are signed with beautiful foam designs, and guests are given discounts for bringing their own mugs. With plenty of seating downstairs and in the upstairs loft and “Northern lights” adorning its windows each night, this is definitely the cafe you’ll want to snuggle up in on a cloudy day.
Franny Lou’s Porch
Address: 2400 Coral St, Philadelphia, PA 19125
Phone: 267-596-6274
Opening hours: Daily, 8am to 4pm
Price: $
Like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia’s coffee scene has many, many stand-out cafes—and
Franny Lou’s Porch
is one of its up-and-coming stars. Named after civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer and abolitionist Frances E.W. Harper, Franny Lou’s Porch aims to brew important conversation alongside its rich, locally-sourced coffee. In addition to supporting fellow local businesses with a monthly “Rad Love” market, Franny’s opens its doors to community organizations twice a month to provide a safe space for growth and discussion.
Franny Lou’s menu cultivates and honors diversity just as much as its educational and locally-supportive community events do, too. Not only can you order a Vietnamese coffee here, but you can also get a traditional Zanzibar spiced coffee or bottled café con leche, and chow down on a “Pro-Community” vegan sub.
Even better,Franny Lou’s Porch practices a waste-free and compost culture in their cafe processes to help support and protect the earth!
Protect yourself on the road between coffee breaks
There is certainly a lot of ground to cover when hitting up the best cafes in Pennsylvania—and this list couldn’t possibly name them all! But it’s important to make sure you’re covered while road tripping that coffee trail—and car insurance super app
Jerry
can help. The app is free to use and instantly compares quotes from over 55 top insurers to track down the lowest rates available to you. See a plan you like? Just select it through the app and Jerry’s expert brokers will help handle all the transition calls and paperwork—they can even help cancel your old policy for you.
The average user ends up saving more than $800 a year on car insurance, so it’s definitely worth a look to keep a little extra cash on hand for that extra shot or second cup!
“Jerryis an awesome tool to find rates personalized to your specific needs! I’m literally still sitting at the dealership and already finalized my new insurance so I can drive my new car off the lot.” —Charity R.
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