This guide was so fun to create because the coffee in Portland Maine was great! I’ve loved traveling to cities in the US and exploring their coffee scenes. If you like these kinds of coffee guides or want one for a specific city please let me know #WillTravelForCoffee.

Also for context about me as a coffee drinker (which can help you understand this guide better), my favorite ways to drink coffee are espresso, as a pour over, cortados and lattes with non-dairy milk. I was on this trip with my husband Chris who’s also a coffee lover, which is the “we” in “what we ordered.” It was great going with him because it meant trying more coffee without drinking all of it.

I like coffee shops that put love and care into crafting great coffee and also create a friendly, open, beautiful atmosphere. It is not easy to do both those things. Making good coffee is way harder than it seems. I have SO much respect for all the owners, managers and baristas out there.

This list is ranked with my favorites at the top. Again, I loved different things about each shop. The first two places on this list would totally be my regular spots if I were to live in Portland.

How I Find Coffee Shops in a New City

I love using the app Foursquare. I check two main things:

1.) The ratings – an 8 or up is a great sign

2.) The photos – I look for latte art, crema on the espresso, if the overall decor is nice, and if there’s a good espresso machine

I also like to check Instagram using their hashtags and locations.

Portland Maine Coffee Shop Guide

Tandem Roasters

address: 122 Anderson St. & 742 Congress St. Portland, ME 04101

website: https://www.tandemcoffee.com/

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tandemcoffeeroasters/

what we ordered: espresso, iced latte with almond milk, pour over

the coffee:

Chris and I went to both locations. I first heard about Tandem because one of my favorite coffee shops in Allston MA, Kohi Coffee, serves their coffee. Tandem roasts their own beans and does wholesale to other coffee shops. The first drink I had was an almond milk iced latte made with their house-made almond milk (yum). We also went to the location by their roaster twice getting espresso both times. It was excellent. They have a La Marzocco espresso machine which is always a good sign. I love bright, citrusy tasting coffee and their espresso definitely had that.

the atmosphere:

Their bakery location is in an old laundromat. The space is bright modern and beautiful. They also had a large variety of baked goods. Our favorite was the location by their roaster which was also bright, modern but a little smaller and further away from the rest of downtown. Tandem’s coffee shops were my favorites in terms of both coffee and overall vibe, space, and decor.

Speckled Ax

address: 567 Congress St Portland, ME 04101

website: https://speckledax.com/

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speckledaxcoffee/

what we ordered: espresso, pour over, oat milk cortado

the coffee:

Speckled Ax came in a really close second for us. It was right by the hotel we stayed at so we went there each morning. The espresso was great. They roast their own coffee in a wood-fired roaster. {LINK} The wood fire doesn’t affect the flavor of the coffee itself. Instead, it’s a different kind of process that just forces them to be very manual and mindful about roasting. From what I’ve read it sounds like they put a lot of effort into sourcing great coffee in a sustainable way which makes supporting them feel even better. Also for my fellow non-dairy milk drinkers, they do serve oat milk which is always a plus.

the atmosphere:

It was slightly dark and there wasn’t a ton of room to sit and stay. The baristas were kind and welcoming and it felt like there was a strong sense of community in the space. I loved their mugs and espresso cups, which were beautiful speckled pottery. In fact, I loved them so much I ordered one for myself.

Bard Coffee

address: 185 Middle Street Portland, Maine 04101

website: https://www.instagram.com/bardcoffee/

instagram: http://www.bardcoffee.com/

what we ordered: oat milk cortado, pour over

the coffee:

I ordered an oat milk cortado and Chris ordered a pour over. Both were really good but not blow your socks off amazing. I was impressed by their latte art even on an oat milk latte (which is way harder than regular milk.) Bard roasts their own coffee. It’s amazing how many of the coffee shops in Portland do. Freshly roasted coffee really is a game changer.

the atmosphere:

Bard was bright, pretty large and felt very open. Despite how busy the shop was, the baristas were still friendly. There were plenty of tables to sit at. The shop had high ceilings which helped it feel open. It felt like a good place to meet and work. I will say that Chris and I were slightly ruffled because we had been caught in a rainstorm, but we still really enjoyed our coffee and experience at Bard.

Coffee by Design

address: 1 Diamond Street, Portland, ME 04101

website: https://www.instagram.com/cbdportland/

instagram: https://www.coffeebydesign.com/

what I ordered: iced chai latte with oat milk

the coffee:

I’ll admit that I am shortchanging Coffee by Design in this guide because I didn’t order a coffee drink. Instead, I opted for an iced chai with oat milk because I’d already had too much espresso that day. It was delicious. I appreciated the option for “spicy, sweet or both” [I opted for “both”]. If I were to order coffee I probably would have gone for either an iced oat milk latte or cold brew. Again I can’t fully comment on the coffee because I didn’t get a chance to try it, the chai, however, was great.

the atmosphere:

this space was narrow and long with a couple tables. It wasn’t particularly aesthetically pleasing. It felt like a coffee shop from 10 years ago. But what it lacked in modern design and bright lighting it made up for in welcoming, unpretentious vibes.

Arabica

address: 2 Free St. Portland, ME 04101 & 9 Commercial St. Portland, ME 04101

website: https://www.instagram.com/arabicacoffeeme/

instagram: https://www.arabicacoffee.me/

what we ordered: espresso, drip coffee

the coffee:

To be honest, this was my least favorite coffee. It tasted kind of bitter and flat. The coffee might not have been fresh and or the espresso wasn’t properly pulled. It wasn’t horrible but I don’t think I’d get an espresso here again. In the future, if I were going back to Arabica I’d probably stick with iced coffee or tea.

the atmosphere:

We went to the commercial street location which was very large and open. It has high ceilings and exposed brick walls. There were many places to sit, talk and sip. It felt like a good place to go if you had a lot of people in your crew or were having a meeting with a group of people. They also had a variety of snacks and food items. It might have been an off day, but the gal serving us seemed bored and annoyed. All in all we didn’t feel super connected to the place but I could see it being good for mass appeal.