Sump Coffee is a cafe in Tower Grove South, St. Louis.
Sump built a national reputation roasting light, precise single-origin coffee in South City, served in a spare room that treats the cup seriously.
Tip: This is a place to taste, not to camp; seating and outlets are limited by design. Try the filter flight.
Address: 3700 S Jefferson Ave, St. Louis, MO 63118
Blueprint's Delmar cafe is the roaster's original home, a bright design-forward room serving precise filter coffee and espresso. A cornerstone of the Loop.
Signature drink: Filter coffee and seasonal espresso
Tip: The bar seating faces the brewing; ask the barista to talk you through the day's filter. Quieter on weekday mornings.
Comet pairs carefully pulled espresso with a serious in-house micro-bakery, so the pastry case is as much the draw as the cup. A small spot near the Garden.
Signature drink: Espresso and house-baked pastries
Tip: The kouign-amann and seasonal galettes sell out; come early. Limited seating, so plan for a quick stop.
Brothers Patrick and Spencer Clapp roast ethically sourced beans, many from their native Honduras, at this South City micro-roastery near Cherokee Street.
Signature drink: Honduran single-origin espresso
Tip: Ask after the Honduran lots the brothers source directly. The cafe is compact, so it is more a quick stop than a work session.
The Larson family roasts in house and runs a full breakfast and lunch kitchen at this Maplewood cafe, a hub that does coffee and a meal equally well.
Signature drink: House-roasted coffee and breakfast plates
Tip: It works as a full breakfast spot, not just coffee; the biscuits and the breakfast bowls are worth the visit. Plenty of seating for laptops.
A privately owned cafe and roastery on The Hill, Shaw's roasts in house using green coffees from the major growing regions, among the Italian groceries.
Signature drink: House-roasted espresso
Tip: Pair a cortado with a stroll through the Hill's groceries and bakeries. Roasts change; ask what is fresh.
A Cherokee Street fixture, The Mud House pairs a rotating multi-roaster coffee program with hearty brunch plates in a brick room full of antiques.
Signature drink: Multi-roaster espresso and lattes
Tip: Brunch gets a line at weekends; weekday mornings are calmer for laptop work. The biscuits and the breakfast platters are the orders.
