A Substitute to Saxby's and Starbucks
Written by: Cora Hochstetler
A look into Philadelphia’s best coffee shops
When I was four years old, my mom gave me my first sip of coffee. From that first sip, I inherited the familial passed-out love for coffee and the joy surrounding making a cup and drinking it. During high school and my first year of college, I worked at Starbucks, whipping up outrageous coffee orders and making simple pour-over coffees. During the onboarding process for Starbucks, the manager sits down with you with every coffee Starbucks brews. You try each coffee, first smelling it, noticing the scents, sipping it, and letting the flavors spread over your tongue. Finally, they asked about the specific flavors and how the coffee felt on your tongue.
Learning to taste coffee correctly made my love for the beans even higher. Finding new coffee shops has become one of my favorite hobbies, especially when moving to Philadelphia for college. University City has many small, locally owned coffee shops with unique drinks and beautiful atmospheres. As a college student, especially on Drexel’s campus, it may be tempting to go with the obvious choices of Saxby’s or Starbucks when setting out for a drink. However, if you have a little more time, I urge you to try some fantastic coffee shops right around the corner.
ELIXR Coffee Roasters
3675 Market St, Philadelphia PA
ELIXR Coffee Roasters is a Philadelphia favorite, with their lighter-roasted coffees and unique flavors to add to drinks you may not find at your local Starbucks or Saxby’s. Located on Market St, right around the corner from Dunkin Donuts, is one of ELIXR’s cafes. Their drip coffee is a coffee snob’s dream, and my two personal favorites are their Treehouse blend and El Socorro, Guatemalan. The Treehouse has rich flavors of cocoa and caramel, with sweeter hints of orange, and the Guatemalan is much sweeter, with notes of pineapple, orange, and berries. They also offer specialty drinks such as their Butterscotch Pink Peppercorn Latte and Strawberry Milk Latte, along with other espresso drinks. Their lattes (espresso and milk) are delicious with any combination of kinds of milk and flavors! I tried their Butterscotch Pink Peppercorn latte, and the butterscotch flavor pairs nicely with the rich caramel notes from the espresso.
Arterial Coffee
3100-02 Spring Garden St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
The newer coffee shop, Arterial Coffee, is found on the corner of Spring Garden Street. Arterial Coffee uses La Colombe coffee beans, roasted locally in Philadelphia. Their Nizza Blend is my favorite as it packs in a high complexity of flavors with sweet notes of caramel. It is delectable, but sometimes it is even better with some oat milk. Alongside their delicious cup of regular coffee, their menu includes drinks such as La Colombe cold brew, lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas. I recommend their matcha latte on the rare occasion that I am not in the mood for a coffee. It is very smooth and does not have an overpowering taste, which brings out matcha tea’s sweet, nutty taste.
They also offer a wide arrangement of pastries and other food that pairs delightfully with their drinks.
Madis Coffee Roasters
3527 Lancaster Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Madis Coffee Roasters, which opened in January 2023, is one of my new go-to spots! Their pour-over coffees are not only tasty but mesmerizing to watch. I love their Honduran blend, as it has delicious notes of chocolate and hazelnut. All their espresso drinks are crafted with such care, creating a smooth body in the espresso shots. They have a variety of syrups you can add, such as lavender, pumpkin spice, gingerbread, and strawberry. Madis’s menu also offers signature fun beverages, such as their Biscolatte and Cinnamon Honey Spiced Latte! I have tried both, and they hit the spot if you are craving something sweet. It is also a cute café with spots to work or study and an outside patio.
Green Line Café
3649 Lancaster Ave
Green Line Café was one of the first coffee shops I tried upon moving to Philly and has since been one of my favorites. In 2021 they created Green Line Coffee Roasters, their own fairly traded and organic coffee roasted in micro-batches at a 100% solar-powered roasting facility. I love knowing how much attention goes into each coffee and each batch of coffee roasts. Green Line’s roasts are organic medium-dark roasts with hints of chocolate and caramel, creating a smooth body when sipping. Apart from their standard coffee, they carry a traditional menu of espresso drinks (any combination of espresso mixed with milk, water, ice, or flavors). I love their lattes because the espresso is still so flavorful, even while mixed in with the milk. They have a wide variety of syrups and milks, some great pastries, and breakfast foods.
Alchemy Coffee
119 S 21st St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Whenever I am in Center City, near Rittenhouse, I always stop by Alchemy coffee. They carry Elixr Coffee Roasters beans, which are all roasted to perfection, in my opinion. They connect with amazing coffee bean farmers who pay attention to the small details of their roasts, which is noticeable in the final drinks. I love the Ethiopian blend that Elixr made just for Alchemy Coffee! It is robust in flavor, with notes of honey and chocolate. The blend is delicious on its own or mixed with any milk. I tried a latte with oat milk and vanilla syrup and loved it. They also carry some in-house syrups that pair very nicely with any of their cups of coffee, with flavors such as fresh mint, dark brown sugar, and vanilla bean.