Belltower Coffee on Highland Street near the University of Memphis is a tall converted bell-tower café with a honey-lavender latte and study-friendly loft seats.
Tip: Tuesday to Sunday open until 18:00; the loft seats up top are the best spot to work.
Address: 525 S Highland St, Memphis, TN 38111
French Truck Coffee Highland is the second Memphis branch of the New Orleans roaster on Highland Row near the University of Memphis with espresso, drip and pastry.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: Crowds run on student schedules; mid-mornings and afternoons are emptiest.
Brother Juniper's near the University of Memphis on Walker Avenue has run breakfasts in a tiny house behind a white picket fence for over 30 years. Lines form.
Signature drink: Drip coffee with omelettes
Tip: Tuesday to Sunday breakfast only; closes 13:00 weekdays, 12:30 Saturdays. Get there by 08:30.
Cxffeeblack in Memphis is Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson's coffee roaster and cafe with an Ethiopia-direct supply chain, serving single-origin pour-overs.
Signature drink: Ethiopia single-origin
Tip: The roastery doubles as the retail cafe; weekend hours are limited so check the site.
French Truck Coffee Highland is the second Memphis branch of the New Orleans roaster on Highland Row near the University of Memphis with espresso, drip and pastry.
Signature drink: Espresso
Tip: Crowds run on student schedules; mid-mornings and afternoons are emptiest.
Sunrise Memphis on Jefferson Avenue downtown is a colourful quick-serve diner running Southern breakfast and lunch with a full bar daily 07:00 to 14:00.
Signature drink: Drip coffee with biscuits
Tip: The shotgun building fills fast at 09:00. The breakfast Po' Boy is the dark-horse order.
Brother Juniper's near the University of Memphis on Walker Avenue has run breakfasts in a tiny house behind a white picket fence for over 30 years. Lines form.
Signature drink: Drip coffee with omelettes
Tip: Tuesday to Sunday breakfast only; closes 13:00 weekdays, 12:30 Saturdays. Get there by 08:30.
Art Bar at Crosstown Arts in Memphis runs coffee by day and wine, beer and cocktails into the evening, doubling as a cafe and bar in the Crosstown Arts complex.
Signature drink: Espresso, wine by the glass
Tip: Closed Sundays. The afternoon switch from coffee to wine happens around 16:00.
Cxffeeblack in Memphis is Bartholomew Jones and Renata Henderson's coffee roaster and cafe with an Ethiopia-direct supply chain, serving single-origin pour-overs.
Signature drink: Ethiopia single-origin
Tip: The roastery doubles as the retail cafe; weekend hours are limited so check the site.
Vice and Virtue Coffee on South Main inside the Arrive Hotel in Memphis runs a micro-batch roaster, pour-over coffee and pastry from a sun-flooded lobby cafe.
Signature drink: Pour-over
Tip: Cooler and quieter on weekday afternoons; the long counter doubles as workspace.
