Omega Coffee

Subject: Omega Coffee
Location visited: Chambersburg, PA
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Passing by a coffee shop around 9 or 10 AM is my favorite time to hit a shop. Long after the rush hour hordes have come in, mid-morning usually offers a chance to catch the barista at the best level of quality. It's not a guarantee, but it seems to be the time I have the best fortune.

Alchemy Coffee

Subject: Alchemy Coffee
Location visited: 21st St, Philadelphia, PA
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Some days I get to be the valet for a family member. Whether it's to usher someone to a sporting event or to drop a gaggle of relatives at the ballet, I get picked because "I like Philly." Sadly, they are right. I will often take the burden of driving and parking if it means I get some time to wander around and visit coffee shops.

Crossroads Cafe

Subject: Crossroads Cafe
Location: Quarryville, PA
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I love driving around the area surrounding Lancaster. The city itself has its charm, but the countryside that is home to corn mazes, Bible story theater and chicken-filled smorgasbords holds a fabled loveliness that few regions can rival.

Jiva Java Cafe

Subject: Jiva Java Cafe

Location: Bartonsville, PA
Rating: 5+ [see key]

The Poconos region has mixed memories for me. On the one hand, its natural beauty often suffers due to poor infrastructure design and inexplicable hoards of tourists. On the other hand, the area has lots of local gems that, if sought out, can be found on roadsides and random back roads aplenty. 

Ace Outpost

Subject: Ace Outpost

Location: Philadelphia, PA
Rating: 6+ [see key]

The city of Philadelphia boasts magnificent architecture, history and lovely parks. But when you're walking through the streets of the city, there's a particular look for the storefronts below that screams Philadelphia which is increasingly had to find as landlords trade out that 80s grit for fancy facades. One trip south of South Street brought me to a rare, gorgeous example of this fading Philly look at a coffee shop/vintage clothing store called Ace Outpost.

De Fer Coffee & Tea

Subject: De Fer Coffee & Tea
Location visited: Strip District, Pittsburgh, PA
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Pittsburgh in summer remains a favorite destination, especially if I have business/destinations to visit in the city that give the necessary motivation to seek out good coffee. 

Culture Coffee

Subject: Culture Coffee
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Lewisburg was an unknown place to my young mind when I was looking for university jobs twenty years ago. I applied to work at Bucknell, got rejected and then Lewisburg faded from my thoughts for over a decade. When the city next resurfaced, I was passing through on a local trip and I had need of a good cup of coffee.

Pennie's Bake Shop and Espresso Bar

Subject: Pennie's Bake Shop and Espresso Bar
Location: Butler, PA
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Western Pennsylvania has a variety of hidden gems strewn about its small towns. While I don't often get the chance, when I'm in the area, I treasure the opportunity to mine them out.

Farmer and Co

Subject: Farm and Co
Location: Unionville, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 5+ [see key]

I have driven to Longwood Gardens frequently in my many years living near the giant horticultural display but in all that time, I managed to overlook Unionville nearby. A small bucolic town, it hit my radar with the discovery of a coffee shop located in an old farm house called Farm and Co.

Ebru Coffee

Subject: Ebru Coffee
Location: Audubon, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Driving through the lands west of Philly bring you through a variety of towns. It's fascinating how the landscape shifts between rich suburbs, farms and old towns, but the tapestry always unearths news gems.

Mayday Coffee

Subject: Mayday Coffee

Location visited: West Chester, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Driving through the Philadelphia suburbs looking for good coffee is a bit like working a spent diamond mine; there's not much in terms of good coffee but when you find a gem, it's worth it. 

Collage Coffee

Subject: Collage Coffee
Location visited: Mercer, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

It is not often I get to western Pennsylvania, but when I do I manage to always pass a sign advertising Grove City. Maybe it's that my wife points it out because she visited the town when she was looking at colleges with her father and sister back in the day, but regardless the reason, it wasn't until recently that I was finally able to make a visit.

Vibrant Coffee Roasters

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Vibrant Coffee Roasters
Location: Philadelphia, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Sometimes it's nice not being invited. My aunt recently treated my daughters to a show in Philadelphia and (mostly for price purposes) did not extend the offer to take me, her grown nephew (the audacity). While some folks would have taken issue with this snub, I was actually delighted to have reason to finally make a proper visit to Vibrant Coffee Roasters. 

Grounding

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Grounding
Location: Red Lion, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

Every now and then in my travels, I come across a gorgeous coffee shop. But every once in a great while, I meet a cafe that has iconic aesthetics. One of my most recent finds was a shop nestled in an old factory furnace in Red Lion, PA with much of its old construction still intact, a place called Grounding.

Buzzsaw Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Buzzsaw Coffee
Location: Williamsport, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

If you look at life in America one hundred years ago, one thing that really stands out is the industrial landscape. Factories and mills used to populate the landscape, much like our current strip malls. But now, it seems that only the ruins and bones of these past edifices remain. 

Camellia Coffee House

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Camellia Coffee House 
Location: Lansdowne, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

These days there seems to be more and more coffee shops opening, but not a lot of good ones. A lot of shops are quick to open heavy on aesthetics yet low on the quality of their coffee. Fortunately, there's still great shops to find, as I some time ago found the delightful oasis of Camellia. 

Pressed Coffee & Books

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Pressed Coffee & Books
Location: Pottsville, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

People say a lot of things are the perfect ying to the yang of coffee, but for many of the world that grew up before Amazon destroyed bookstores, books have a special place in the evolution of coffee culture. There's something about flipping through a fresh brook while sipping on a hot cup of coffee that just makes one pine for simpler times. 

Persimmon Coffee

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Persimmon Coffee
Location: Philadelphia, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I traverse Northern Liberties much less than I used to, but it's always good to see quality coffee shops when I do get over there. One seasonal day, I had some time to squander so I made over to a shop I had heard much good of, a cafe called Persimmon Coffee.

Lit / Monocacy

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Monocacy Coffee Co / Lit Coffee
Location: Bethlehem, PA
WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I have fabulous memories of Bethlehem, PA. I recall visiting a distant cousin and going to a Christmas market as a child, stopping by for numerous respites while passing through and recently, a long-overdue tour of the silent steel mill. Sadly not many of these visits had a great coffee stop but that fortunately changed on my most recent visit.

Fog & Flame

Part of the Fill in the Coffee Map Series

Subject: Fog & Flame Craft Coffee
Location: Bloomsberg, PA

WiFi?: yes
Rating: 6+ [see key]

I find that Pennsylvania still has gems unearthed even after criss-crossing the eastern half for the last twenty-something years. One particular new-to-me place was a town called Bloomsburg. Having seen it frequently in pamphlets as the backdrop to the local university, I was finally able to become acquainted with the town and a local coffee shop.