San Juan’s Chicest Coffee Shops

Deep, Deep, sweet, rich and supple. Chocolate undertones or dry, fruity notes. A hint of almond. A touch of caramel. There's a lot to taste in a cup of Puerto Rican coffee.

First brought to the island by Spanish colonists in 1736, the arabica plant has left its mark on the island, cultivating a centuries-old love affair with a cup of the good stuff - and not just in the morning. Today, the island's beans are still known for their quality and flavour, which is why they're exported globally, but - if you're asking us - the best brews are found close to where they're grown.

In the capital, we've ventured from kiosk to coffee bar, through Old San Juan's cobbled streets to the art district of Santurce, to find the city's best place for a mighty good coffee.

City roast: our eight favourite San Juan coffee shops

Behind the counter at Café Regina, left, and Café Comunión's entance. | Photo credit: Joe Howard

Café con Cé

Head to San Juan's quirky Calle Loíza to find this small but perfectly formed coffee spot. Its facade is decorated with street art, but you'll spot the inconspicuous entrance by the fairy lights strung across the door. Pick up an espresso from the sleek silver counter, and browse the cake for a sweet-toothed accompaniment. Our favourite? The sticky cassava slice. Don't miss the mini shop in the entrance selling the kind of souvenirs we will happily splurge our pocket money on: artworks by San Juan creatives and bottles of island hot sauce.

Café Comunión

Looking for San Juan's tote-bag carrying crowd? Join the Carhartt crew crammed on the sun-soaked bench outside this edgy Santurce caffeine spot as they linger over an artfully espresso-d coffees. Headed-up by two-time Puerto Rico Latte Art Champion Abner Roldán (our hero), you can expect masterpiece morning coffees on the counter, where Roldán and his business partner Karla Ly Quiñones García brew up a global selection of roasts. While regulars tend to nab the front-of-house bench early, there's always space in the dappled shade of the leafy terrace out back.

Café Regina

The brainchild of agro-activist Kali Solack - who works to support hurricane-affected coffee farms across Puerto Rico - this Loíza Street café started life as a kiosk. After making a name for itself with adventurous takes on the morning brew, a second branch was opened in Ocean Park. Don't expect to find a 99p filter here. From cashew-milk iced lattes and lavender-syrup-infused cold brews to caffeine-spiked dark n' stormy cocktails and chocolate-milk cortados, this is anything but a run-of-the-mill coffee spot. Our order? The espresso tonic, a refreshing, effervescent morning slurp.

The counter at Café Comunión, top left, and a Filtrado barista | Photo credit: Joe Howard

787 Coffee

Shh New Yorkers - we know, we know. When Brandon Pena and Sam Sepulveda purchased a run-down coffee plantation in Puerto Rico's cloud-tickling Maricao region, they had little idea that they'd end up running a country-wide coffee consortium. Now, the island's three 'farm-to-cup' coffee shops (plus a fair few in New York) are critical in supporting efforts to improve employment opportunities, gender equality and sustainable agriculture in the coffee growing region. Our favourite 787 branch remains the San Juan original in Santurce. Stop in to sample award-winning, single origin coffee in all its rich, bold and zesty brilliance. Try a coquito latte - an eggnog-like drink that blends milk, spices and espresso - or opt for the team's specialty roasts that use Puerto Rican rum-infused beans for a bold-flavoured brew.

Filtrado

Unfussed about the nuts and bolts of barista work? Follow us on a ramble through Old San Juan's pastel-hued streets to sample some of the city's best filter coffee. We never say no to a café con leche out of a Marzocco machine but sometimes, a fix of something smoother, stronger and suitably well-rounded is required. Filtrado provides the goods with remarkably good speciality grade filter coffees to go (don't worry, they serve cortados and cappuccinos, too). Too hot to walk and drink? Order an iced filtrado, pair it with a cornflake cookie and duck under the living curtain of porthos-vines to indulge in both on their shady jungle-like patio.

Lela's Eatery

A hangout for local artists and worn-out musicians seeking morning-after-gig remedies, this Condado-district café pairs restorative breakfast plates (think, paprika-dusted eggs benedict, avo toast and crispy tofu bowls) with welcoming staff and a buzzy terrace. If you're not a leche lover, fear not: they offer oat and almond milk coffee options for all their excellent coffees.

The terrace at Lela's Eatery, and a breakfast set up at the café. | Photo credit: Jacob Elwood

Cuatro Sombras

Wafting heady aromas down Old San Juan's cobbled streets, this micro-roaster and caf offers an olfactory wake-up call to the city's early risers. Founders Pablo Muñoz and Mariana Suárez source beans from a farm in the historic Yauco region of the island that Muñoz's ancestor, Domingo Mariani, first began cultivating in 1846. The company still uses the traditional shade-growing methods of yore, which are considered to improve jungle biodiversity, and also gives the coffee its distinctive rich, chocolatey flavour.