My Favorite Coffee Brands
Here’s a selection of craft coffee shops that excel in a good cup of joe AND branding. I’m always looking for something beyond what tastes good or what looks good. A true hipster (Do millennials still use that word?) appreciates both. In no particular order (I think!) except that these are all places I’ve personally visited.
Verve Coffee Roasters (California)
One of my favorite illustrators, Kevin Tudball, used to be Head of Design over at Verve. He’s since gone on to illustrate at a few other coffee and outdoor brands, but some remnants of his style still exist throughout the brand.
Their coffee can be a bit on the fruitier side but is still strong and bold. I stop whenever I’m up in the bay area.
Brooklyn Roasting Company (New York)
I’m sure New York has many great coffee shops, but Brooklyn Coffee Roasters has always had a special place in my heart because every can of coffee has a customized logo and customized label. They created a color system to let you know about how the coffee was roasted and what it would taste like. You can learn about it here.
They’ve also had some really cool designs for their Japan series and their exclusive NYC series that you can only find in store.
MadCap Coffee (Michigan)
This design is very simple but very striking—especially since this place has consistently been voted one of the best coffee shops in the United States. The design is simple but edgy and calls back to the grittiness of hailing from Michigan. I like it because it understands its consumers and its local.
The Boy and The Bear (California)
This is the most recent new coffee shop that I’ve tried (I have a 9-month-old baby so we haven’t traveled anywhere new really). I stumbled on them one day I was out alone in Pasadena and I was really taken back by the intricacy and thought they put into their store design and illustrations. Then found out they won an award for it so that makes sense.
Ozo Coffee (Colorado)
Admittedly its been years since I’ve had Ozo Coffee so I can’t remember the taste…but they created a very indepth hieroglyphics system to communicate the region, roasting and flavor of their coffee. Its very intense and constantly sticks out in my mind as something I’d like to try to create someday.
Also, let’s talk about the brands that I love, but wish they’d update their branding and design (hello, hire me):
• Philz Coffee: Perhaps what I frequent most outside of Starbucks (don’t @me, I work in Glendale/Burbank). Organic graphic elements I get—it’s all about that personalized cup of coffee, which was more personalized pre-pandemic, so it’s about getting back to the roots of coffee and the coffee experience. But someone please update that lettering in the logo so it’s a bit more polished.
• Kauai Coffee: This is actually my go-to coffee brand. My husband and I order 5lb bags of the Rooster Alarm and drink it almost all year round, unless we’ve traveled or someone else has (best present to always bring me). But the logo and branding are very basic and very corporate and very not Hawaiian. I wish it had a bit more island flavor to it or artsy-ness. But perhaps it is meant to cater more to tourists… Not a coffee shop but I always felt like Kohola Brewing did a good job of catering to both tourists and hip locals.
I’d love to hear what are some of the coffee brands that inspire you! Let me know in the comments below so I can check it out on my next errand or next trip out. Japan is also — always — on the bucket list.
Also, check out my Star Wars coffee brand series — inspired by a few of these shops too.
