The coffee culture on the west coast exists, therefore, it is far superior to that of the east coast. Having lived all over and having spent a number of years in the coffee business, I will attest to the absence of coffee awareness on the part of easterners. I spent a great deal of time, money and effort trying to recreate on the east coast the sort of experience I found to be welcome and needed by Californians, Oregonians etc. While there may be an anecdotal exception, I turst them to be far and few between.

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Chicago - Intelligencia and Metropolis are the best

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I still do not understand this obscene obsession with coffee... I'd had a million varieties of it and it basically always tastes horrible... At it's best, it's only palpable - a far cry from enjoyable. Of course everyone says that it's "an acquired taste," but I simply do not understand the concept of drinking copius amounts of the burnt-fecal tasting brew in the hopes of eventually liking it. I prefer my food without Stockholm Syndrome thank you.

Of course, this refers only to my own tastes and opinions and isn't particularly meant to enrage or excite anyone else... It just seems that if the caffeine kick is the goal of coffee drinking, there are plenty of other ways to get that caffeine boost. Again, just my opinion though - maybe it really is the sublime ambrosia to the rest of the word that it's implied to be.

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*to the rest of the WORLD*

...pardon my typo.

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Seattle. This blog just got a little more silly for even asking.

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Portland for sure!

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Milwaukee has the best coffee culture, hands down. Alterra is amazing, but Stone Creek knocks everyone out of the water.

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Yes, Numb, coffee is an acquired taste, just like anything else, really. But even when I first tried it, I never thought it tasted like "burnt fecal matter". I'm guessing you've tried the worst coffee imaginable. In any case, yes, I do think it tastes delicious, and think that coffee-flavored foods are also delicious. It has a rich, warm, bittersweet flavor.

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The word "best" can mean so much. But I would say without hesitation that Seattle - the Northwest - has the MOST coffee culture. It is deep and wide. When you have two or more coffeehouses on one intersection, nay, many intersections, that spells widespread culture.

Why, there's even a book JUST about drive-through coffee stands in the Northwest. Ok, I wrote it, but the point is that I am able to sell it because so many people here are so into coffee as a culture. In many other cities where a lot of great coffeehouses exist, a lot of people don't even realize there is such a thing as a coffee culture.

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Vancouver BC is a great coffee city with numerous topnotch roasters and independent cafes.

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I voted Portland, and I'm a longtime SF resident. Seattle is a good second in the list, but it has too many lame coffee shops at the median level to be ranked first -- despite its many top-notch and industry leading cafes.

But all the NY votes make me wonder if some folks never leave the boroughs.

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