The 9 best coffee shops in the US, and what's on their bar
These nine are the only US names in The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026. We're cataloging exactly what each one runs behind the bar, from the espresso machine down to the mugs. Filter to every shop on a given machine, or head back to browse by city.
The nine, decoded
Read across all 9 bars and the same short kit keeps coming back. Each meter is how many of the 9 run that piece.
Mahlkonig
Grinder on the bar
Mahlkonig EK43
Filter / single-dose
La Marzocco or Modbar
Espresso machine
V60 · Kalita · Chemex
Hand pourover bar
The details rhyme too: Acaia is the scale of choice, and a Fellow Stagg the kettle on the pourover bars. And intuitively, it is the high volume bars that run a Puqpress to keep tamping consistent.
The nine · tap to jump
Browse by city
Browse by espresso machine
Only shops with a documented machine appear under a brand.
9 shops
Onyx Coffee Lab
Multi-time US Barista and Brewers Cup champions running an eye-level, under-counter Modbar bar built for hospitality.
A wholesale roaster and cafe group known for radical price transparency and a wall of US Coffee Championship titles, headquartered in a restored building in Downtown Rogers.
Locations
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- Modbar · 3 group
- Espresso grinders
- 4x Victoria Arduino Mythos One
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig EK43
- Pour-over
- Yes, Origami drippers
- Scales
- Acaia
- Batch brew
- Curtis
- Cold brew
- On tap
- Other notes
- Full retail and merch program; beans sold whole bean and via Cometeer.
Arcane Estate Coffee
A single-estate Panamanian program served from a slow, tasting-room-style bar.
A West Village micro-roaster built around one family's estate in Chiriqui, Panama, pouring rare single-origin micro-lots you will not find anywhere else.
Location
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- La Marzocco Linea PB · 2 group
- Espresso grinders
- Mahlkonig, reportedly an E80 and E65 (operator estimate)
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig EK43
- Pour-over
- Yes, Origami drippers, Fellow Stag EKG kettles
- Scales
- Acaia
- Other notes
- Puqpress automatic tamper on the espresso bar.
BlendIn Coffee Club
A championship brew bar from a reigning US Brewers Cup winner.
A Houston-area roaster-cafe founded by 2024 US Brewers Cup champion Weihong Zhang, where competition-grade brewing meets an East-meets-West menu.
Locations
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- Sanremo Racer · 3 group (top of line)
- Espresso grinders
- Mahlkonig, plus a second espresso grinder
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig EK43
- Pour-over
- Yes, Chemex
- Wares
- Custom notNeutral mugs
- Other notes
- Weber Workshops EG-1 grinder; Marco hot water dispenser.
Domestique
Direct sourcing and a design-led hospitality bar.
A Birmingham coffee, hospitality, and lifestyle company and responsible importer, pairing a design-forward cafe with direct-trade sourcing.
Locations
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- La Marzocco Linea PB · 2 group
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig (budget model, name TBC)
- Pour-over
- Yes, Hario V60
- Batch brew
- Dual Fetco
Allen St
Allen St, Birmingham, AL
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- La Marzocco Linea Classic · 2 group
- Espresso grinders
- Mahlkonig (smaller burr size)
- Other notes
- Puqpress automatic tamper.
Prevail Coffee
Craft roasting and micro-importing across the Deep South.
A Deep South craft roaster and micro-importer serving multiple Alabama cafes with an approachable, quality-first program.
Locations
Montgomery, AL · Prevail Union (Kress Building)
39 Dexter Ave, Suite 102, Montgomery, AL 36104
Birmingham, AL · Prevail Union (Shipt Tower)
420 20th St N, Suite 125, Birmingham, AL 35203
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- La Marzocco Linea PB · 2 group
- Espresso grinders
- Mazzer (Super Jolly or Kony, operator unsure)
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig EK43
- Pour-over
- Yes, Kalita Wave, Chemex
- Scales
- Acaia
- Batch brew
- Curtis auto brewer (shower-head)
- Other notes
- Previously ran a Mazzer Robur and Mahlkonig grinders.
Push x Pull
A stripped-back bar built on experimental natural-process coffee.
A minimalist SE Portland roaster-cafe with a laboratory feel, celebrated for naturals, honeys, and experimental anaerobic and thermal-shock coffees.
Locations
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- Mavam (custom teal, 2-group under-counter)
- Espresso grinders
- Mahlkonig Peak; recently upgraded to three newer smaller-burr Mahlkonig espresso grinders
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig EK43
- Pour-over
- Yes, Kalita, Fellow Stagg kettle
- Batch brew
- Fetco (dual batch brewer)
- Wares
- Loveramics
- Other notes
- Bunn 5-gallon hot-water tower. Roasts in-house on a Loring; rotating experimental single origins (naturals, honeys, anaerobics).
Savaya Coffee Market
Direct-relationship sourcing and an in-house roastery bar.
A Tucson roaster and coffee market built on direct relationships with growers, running a retail bar alongside its roastery.
Locations
On the bar
- Espresso grinders
- Victoria Arduino Mythos One
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig EK43
Story and Soil Coffee
A community-focused, multi-roaster neighborhood bar.
A community-first Hartford cafe pouring rotating guest and house roasts with a neighborhood-hangout ethos.
Location
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- La Marzocco Strada (2-group)
- Espresso grinders
- Mahlkonig E65S
Metric Coffee
A vertically integrated roaster with sourcing, QC, and education in-house.
A Chicago roaster that keeps sourcing, sample and production roasting, QC, and education under one roof on the Near West Side.
Locations
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- La Marzocco Linea PB
- Pour-over
- Yes, Chemex
- Scales
- Acaia
- Batch brew
- Double batch brewer
On the bar
- Espresso machine
- Modbar
- Bulk grinder
- Mahlkonig EK43
What the pros run
The gear these bars keep reaching for
Read across all 9 bars and the same names surface again and again. Here is what is effectively standard at the top of the US specialty scene.
6/9
pour on La Marzocco or its Modbar under-counter line
9/9
run at least one Mahlkönig grinder on the bar
7/9
use the Mahlkönig EK43 as the filter / single-dose grinder
7/9
keep a hand pour-over bar alongside batch brew
Espresso platform
La Marzocco is the house band. 6 of the 9 pour on a La Marzocco (most often the Linea PB, plus the Strada and Linea Classic) or on Modbar, La Marzocco’s under-counter system built for low, eye-level bars. The exceptions prove the point: BlendIn runs a top-spec Sanremo Racer, and Push x Pull a custom under-counter Mavam.
Grinding
Every shop on the list runs at least one Mahlkönig grinder, and 7 of 9 use the Mahlkönig EK43 as the filter and single-dose workhorse. On espresso the split is between Mahlkönig’s E-series and Peak and the Victoria Arduino Mythos One, with a Mazzer and a Weber EG-1 as outliers. Busy bars run several: Onyx alone keeps four Mythos One on espresso.
Filter & batch
Hand pour-over is nearly universal, though the dripper is a matter of taste: V60, Origami, Kalita Wave, and Chemex all show up. Behind it sits a batch brewer (most often a Curtis or a Fetco) for volume without giving up consistency.
Precision & workflow
The small stuff repeats: Acaia scales for shot and pour weight, Puqpress automatic tampers for dosing consistency, and Fellow Stagg EKG kettles on the pour-over bar. Cold brew on tap and full retail, merch, and Cometeer round out the roaster-forward programs.
How this list is sourced
Rankings come from The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops 2026; we list the nine ranked US shops. Equipment is only shown when it is publicly documented or confirmed by the shop, so a blank setup means we have not verified it yet rather than that the bar is bare. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.