Minneapolis, by the cup
United States · 17 hand-picked cafés
Minneapolis-Saint Paul punches well above its Midwestern weight in specialty coffee. Spyhouse Coffee Roasters, founded in 2000, helped launch the Twin Cities third wave before the term was widely used, and Dogwood Coffee followed in 2010 with a strict sourcing philosophy and multiple roastery-cafes that remain benchmarks for the region. That founding generation created the conditions for everything that followed: a dense, competitive, and surprisingly collaborative scene where house roasters, multi-roaster filter bars, and culturally distinctive newcomers exist side by side.
Neighborhood identities are sharp here. Northeast Minneapolis clusters Spyhouse, Dogwood, Five Watt, and Momo Cafe within cycling distance of each other, making it the highest concentration of quality coffee in the metro. Uptown and the surrounding neighborhoods - Kingfield, Whittier, Lyn-Lake - draw a design-conscious crowd to Five Watt and Thesis Coffee Collective's slow-bar concept. North Loop hosts Spyhouse's roastery flagship and Corner Coffee's community-roasted operation. Across the river, Saint Paul brings its own distinct flavor: the atmospheric Cafe Astoria on Grand Avenue, the Vietnamese phin-brew specialists at Phe Coffee in Lowertown, Claddagh Coffee in the West 7th corridor, and Ginkgo Coffeehouse, a Hamline Midway institution since 1993.
What makes the Twin Cities scene distinctive is its social consciousness. The Get Down Coffee Co. was co-founded by Houston White and Dogwood to bring specialty coffee and economic opportunity to North Minneapolis. Matchbox Coffee in Northeast has been collectively owned since 2003. Five Watt built its following by treating espresso drinks with bartender-level craft. Thesis Coffee Collective arrived in 2025 with a deliberate no-WiFi, slow-bar ethos. These are not gimmicks - they reflect a city that cares as much about who coffee serves as how it tastes.
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17 cafés
Ginkgo Coffeehouse
Ginkgo has anchored the Hamline Midway corner since 1993, making it one of the oldest independent coffeehouses in the…
Thesis Coffee Collective
Thesis Coffee Collective opened in September 2025 as Minneapolis's first dedicated slow bar, a deliberate WiFi-free…
Corner Coffee - North Loop
Pouring Corner Coffee
Corner Coffee is a community-first Minneapolis roaster with five neighborhood locations, and the North Loop cafe on…
Dogwood Coffee - Longfellow
Pouring Dogwood Coffee
Dogwood's East Lake Street location serves the Longfellow neighborhood with the same house-roasted precision that…
Dogwood Coffee - Northeast
Pouring Dogwood Coffee
Dogwood's Northeast roastery-cafe is the heartbeat of one of Minneapolis's most respected specialty roasting…
Dogwood Coffee - Saint Paul
Pouring Dogwood Coffee
Dogwood's University Avenue location brings the company's benchmark sourcing and roasting to Saint Paul's…
Five Watt Coffee - East Hennepin
Pouring Five Watt Coffee
Five Watt's East Hennepin location extends the brand's bartender-inspired espresso approach into the heart of…
Five Watt Coffee - Kingfield
Pouring Five Watt Coffee
Five Watt approaches espresso the way a skilled bartender approaches cocktails - with bitters, homemade syrups, and a…
Matchbox Coffee Shop
Matchbox has been collectively owned and operated since 2003, making it one of the longest-running worker-owned cafes…
Momo Cafe
Opened in February 2025 by Tibetan chef Sonam Nyorie and his family - the team behind Momo Sushi and Ama Sushi - Momo…
Northern Coffeeworks
Pouring Northern Coffeeworks
Northern Coffeeworks occupies a chic Nordic-inflected space in Longfellow where house-roasted Minnesota-themed blends…
Spyhouse Coffee Roasters - Downtown Emery
Located inside the historic Emery Hotel - a restored 1915 Midland National Bank building - this Spyhouse location is…
Spyhouse Coffee Roasters - North Loop
The North Loop location sits in one of Minneapolis's most design-forward warehouse districts, drawing architects,…
Spyhouse Coffee Roasters - Northeast
Spyhouse's Northeast location on Broadway Street is a sprawling industrial-chic space that doubles as a neighborhood…
Spyhouse Coffee Roasters - Uptown
Opened in 2008 inside a 1909 brownstone on Hennepin Avenue, this Spyhouse location wears its history well - exposed…
Spyhouse Coffee Roasters - Whittier
Spyhouse's Nicollet Avenue location serves the Whittier neighborhood - one of Minneapolis's most densely…
The Get Down Coffee Co.
Co-founded in 2021 by Houston White and Dogwood Coffee's Dan Anderson, The Get Down was purpose-built to bring…
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Minneapolis coffee, answered
- Where is the best specialty coffee in Minneapolis?
- Remembrew lists 17 hand-picked specialty cafés in Minneapolis, United States. Standouts include Ginkgo Coffeehouse, Thesis Coffee Collective, Corner Coffee - North Loop, Dogwood Coffee - Longfellow. The densest neighborhoods for coffee are Northeast. Every café is chosen for the quality of its coffee, never for payment, so the list reflects the scene rather than who paid to appear.
- How many specialty cafés does Minneapolis have?
- Remembrew tracks 17 specialty cafés in Minneapolis that clear our bar for coffee quality. The count reflects the real depth of the local scene rather than a fixed quota, and we add cafés as we verify them.
- Which Minneapolis neighborhoods are best for coffee?
- In Minneapolis, the neighborhoods with the most hand-picked specialty cafés are Northeast (5). Each has its own page on Remembrew with the full list and a map.
- Does Remembrew take payment to list a café in Minneapolis?
- No. Remembrew is an independent directory and never accepts payment for a listing or for placement. Cafés appear only because they clear our specialty-coffee bar, and you can read the full criteria on our directory standards page.
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