Any coffee lover knows the difference between a great coffee shop and a subpar one. Luckily, there are many excellent options for people looking for a great time and a delicious cup of coffee in Colorado.
Well, I have good news! We’ve picked out seventeen of the best coffee shops in Colorado Springs and given you a quick rundown of the highlights of each in the guide below.
Read on to learn about these fantastic coffee shops and how you can take advantage of everything they offer.
What Makes a Great Coffee Shop?
When determining the best coffee shops in all of Colorado, we had to ask ourselves, “What makes a great coffee shop?” We broke it into four categories: environment, versatility, menu options, and coffee quality.
Environment
From cozy, homey coffee shops where you can feel comfy in gorgeous interior design and exciting decoration, the environment of a coffee shop can vary greatly.
All different kinds of design can result in a good coffee environment, but the best coffee shop environments make you feel like you can spend hours and hours in the store.
Everyone has their favorite get-together spot.
Versatility
Gone are the days when coffee shops were limited to just coffee. Coffee shops nowadays can serve as bookstores, pastry shops, or even cocktail bars.
The versatility of a coffee shop is essential because the more you can do in one spot, the more you can enjoy.
Coffee shops are also notoriously popular as study spots (or read a good book) or work hangouts, so we’ve considered these activities’ capacity in our ranks.
Menu Options
While coffee is the most crucial menu option at a coffee shop, a decent variety of drinks and food can bring a coffee shop from good to great. Nothing like a delicious sweet pastry or a savory slice of quiche that pairs perfectly with a good cup of joe and excellent service.
Coffee Quality
The most important factor of any coffee shop is the quality of the coffee served. The quality of the beans, the care in roasting them, and the preparation of the coffee all contribute to the coffee’s quality.
Here are our top 17 picks for the best coffee shops in Colorado Springs.
1. The Principal’s Office
At the top of our list is one of the unique coffee shops we’ve encountered. True to its name, this coffee shop is located in a real (former) principal’s office. The Principal’s Office is in a former elementary school transformed into a community and shopping space.
The Principal’s Office coffee menu highlights the classics, offering espresso, cappuccino, cortado, and Americano drinks. Notably, they have a bottomless coffee option where you’ll receive refills of their house blend, the perfect choice for anyone sitting down to work or study for hours.
At night, the cocktails come out, and you can enjoy artisanal drinks themed after school subjects.
2. The Wild Goose Meeting House
The Wild Goose Meeting House is a favorite local thanks to its frequent community events and uses as a hosting space. The shop offers some of the tastiest lattes (with optional flavoring) and delicious brunch and breakfast options.
In their breakfast menu, The Wild Goose Meeting House offers breakfast burritos and the best sandwiches, along with seasonal pastries from Snowberry Bakehouse, a local Colorado bakery.
Unlike many other cafes, this shop is open all day with different menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Similar to The Principal’s Office, at night, The Wild Goose Meeting House becomes a bustling bar that often hosts live music and events.
3. Loyal Coffee
Loyal coffee has two locations, both in Colorado Springs. One is in the Downtown area on Nevada Ave., and the other is in Northgate on Ridgeline Dr.
The menus are roughly the same, so you can choose your location without worrying about missing out on any menu options. The Northgate location has a meeting room you can reserve, so anyone hoping to study or work in a group could benefit from that perk.
The coffee menu contains all the classics and some house-made cold brew options. The food items shine at Loyal Coffee, with some of the best avocado toast featuring a spiced honey glaze.
4. Cafe 13
Located in Golden, Colorado, Cafe 13 is a haven for people with dietary restrictions (especially gluten intolerance or Celiac Disease), featuring vegan options, gluten-free options, and gluten-free pastries. This cafe is notoriously busy, so make sure to plan ahead of time.
The coffee is delicious, so you can’t go wrong ordering there. The food options are delightful, with a breakfast menu served until 3 PM and a lunch menu that you can access starting at 11 AM.
The Aussie Scramble (which you can make gluten-free if wanted) is a fan favorite, containing crispy hashbrowns, avocado, eggs, bacon, tomato, and blue cheese served on toast.
5. The Perk Downtown
The Perk Downtown is a coffee and tea house with the honor of being one of the oldest coffee shops in Colorado Springs. The atmosphere at the shop reflects this, with a homey (but not stuffy) historical feel.
Although the coffee shop is historical, the menu is anything but, with inventive and exciting coffee drinks that feature CBD. Along with delicious coffee, you can grab a flatbread, breakfast food, soup, or a sandwich while you’re there.
6. Bonfire Coffee
Bonfire Coffee is a local Colorado roasting company that has a cafe location in Carbondale. The coffee bean goes straight from the company’s roasting facility into your cup of coffee, either through their take-home blends for sale or by stopping by the Carbondale coffee shop.
Notably, this company offers a coffee subscription service. There are three options for the subscription: single-origin, medium roast, or dark roasts, which you can select based on your preference.
7. Caffeinated Cow
Caffeinated Cow is one of the more unique options on our list. This store is a combination of a coffee and ice cream shop. The coffee is locally roasted, and the ice cream is churned in-house, so this cafe offers a true treat for your taste buds.
Caffeinated Cow is a Colorado Springs shop that offers fantastic signature coffee drinks, a savory food menu, and creative ice cream flavors.
You can even order a latte with a scoop of ice cream, aptly named the Caffeinated Cow. Ice cream flavors change daily, so you’ll always have a reason to return.
8. Wayfinder Coffee
Wayfinder Coffee brings the international world of coffee right to Colorado Springs.
The shop’s owners focus on bringing the unique customs and flavors of international coffee (such as European and South American traditions) into one coffee shop.
The coffee shop’s atmosphere is warm and inviting, so you’ll want to stick around as long as possible. Coffee options include a Cubano, a Romano, a Cortado, and other international coffee classics.
9. Urban Steam American Bistro
Urban Steam American Bistro seamlessly merges the vintage feel of a lounge with the creative coffee drinks and cocktails of the modern day. The atmosphere is always buzzing with a relaxed and trendy vibe that begs you to stay.
The coffee selection is vast, with classics you can spice up a bit, such as a latte with lavender flavoring or a mocha with raspberry. The signature drinks are even more interesting, including a Cubano hidalgo featuring cayenne and honey.
Make sure to try out their brunch with favorites like Colorado Poutine and Crab Cakes Eggs Benedict.
10. Enchanted Grounds
For fans of tabletop games, board games, and comic books, Enchanted Grounds is a playground. Located in Denver, this coffee shop is a paradise for people who love games and delicious coffee, the best breakfast treats, snacks and sandwiches.
The store has a wide selection of games, from classic board games like Catan to active role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons; Enchanted Grounds offers the most popular games for patrons to purchase.
The coffee shop’s menu is vast, with classic coffee, sweet pastries, savory burritos, and delightful sandwiches.
11. Switchback Coffee Roasters
As the name might suggest, Switchback Coffee Roasters specializes in roasting coffee beans. The Switchback is a great place and local roaster that focuses on using sustainable beans only from single farms or co-ops.
The result is a delicious coffee that can be traced to the source.
Switchback has all their signature blends for sale to have fantastic coffee at home, but you’ll get the best experience at their two coffee shop locations.
Their first location is in downtown Colorado Springs, called the Shooks Run Cafe, and the second is near Memorial Park, called the Hillside Cafe.
12. Peak Place
Peak Place, located in Colorado Springs, is famous and perfect for its fresh-roasted and superior-quality coffee.
The coffee shop has its roastery, called Hold Fast Coffee Company, that provides roasted beans to the coffee shop and wholesale beans for anyone to make at home.
Peak Place offers a tasty breakfast menu until 2 PM, featuring treats like Croque Monsieur or breakfast tacos. After 2 PM, the shop provides shareable plates like a meat and cheese platter, baked brie, and many beers and wine options.
13. Kangaroo Coffee
With five locations spread across Colorado Springs, Kangaroo Coffee is pretty versatile. The cafe has three drive-thru locations perfect for picking up quality coffee on the way to work or school.
In addition, Kangaroo Coffee has two sit-down locations if you want to relax: Phil Long Ford Cafe and Hillside Coffee House.
The star of Kangaroo Coffee is coffee made from beans roasted locally at Spanish Peaks. Organic Bliss provides small-batch, local baked goods to the Kangaroo Coffee locations so you can also grab a bite to eat.
14. Jives Coffee Lounge
Jives Coffee Lounge is the place to be if you love the combination of coffee and live music. The coffee shop hosts live music events, often with fun themes you can enjoy with a couple of friends.
This Colorado Springs hotspot has a weekly open mic night, so if you’re looking for an excellent spot and a stage to perform, this is the coffee shop for you.
The cafe has a ton of specialty drinks, including their famous White Tiger, which features their signature white espresso.
15. STIR Coffee & Cocktails
STIR Coffee & Cocktails perfectly blends a hometown coffee shop’s cozy and warm atmosphere with the sleek and trendy look of a retro-modern bar.
The atmosphere is similar because you’re surrounded by beautiful decor without feeling like it’s too fancy or stuffy.
Although STIR offers all of the coffee classics, you’ll regret not trying out one of their signature drinks, such as the Appalachian (brown sugar and cinnamon espresso) or the Inthanon (a cardamom Thai iced coffee).
The shop’s cocktails are just as inventive, and by supporting STIR, you’ll also be supporting causes to combat food deserts, homelessness, and poverty within the community.
16. Kairos Coffee House
Located in Colorado Springs, Kairos Coffee House is the solution for your cozy and quiet cafe needs.
The local coffee shop features a few different spots you can settle down and work or study, whether you prefer a breezy patio, a corner chair, or a high-top table for your laptop.
Kairos Coffee House has pastries galore and delicious breakfast croissant sandwiches and paninis.
The coffee is locally sourced and delicious, but there are many non-coffee drink options, including smoothies, tea, Italian soda, and hot chocolate.
17. Story Coffee Company
Founded by husband and wife duo Carissa and Don, Story Coffee Company is a Tiny House Coffee Shop and the epitome of cozy.
The cafe’s flagship store is in downtown Colorado Springs, but they have a second location in Old Colorado City.
The Story Coffee Company’s menu has all of the standards, such as espressos, cold brews, and vanilla lattes, as well as an elevated menu that features a honey vanilla latte, a turmeric latte, and an espresso shake.
In addition, a portion of each sale goes toward The Marian House, a nonprofit providing meals to people experiencing homelessness.
Final Thoughts
Whether you prefer a steaming cup of joe or a crisp and cool iced coffee, there’s nothing like sitting down to enjoy your drink in a cozy, inviting, and exciting coffee shop.
You can’t go wrong if you choose any options on our list!
Did your favorite coffee shop make our list, or do you need to add a new place to your must-see shops in Colorado? Hit the road and check out the best coffee in Colorado Springs.
Let me know which you think is the best place.