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Independent Coffee Shop Named Massachusetts’s Best Also Serves the Most Amazing Hot Chocolate

Coffee is life blood. I love a good independent coffee shop. It feels homey, it’s buzzing (literally) with activity, and it smells unbelievable. Oh and the Joe is tasty too!…

coffee art
(Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Coffee is life blood. I love a good independent coffee shop. It feels homey, it's buzzing (literally) with activity, and it smells unbelievable. Oh and the Joe is tasty too! 24/7 Wall St takes their coffee shops seriously. They reviewed coffee shop articles and rankings on a range of websites including Food & Wine, Fodors, The Culture Trip, Time Out, Eater, and Yelp, then used editorial discretion to determine the very best independent coffee shop in every state in the country.

If you love coffee like I love coffee this is valuable intel so let me pass their findings on to you. I'll give you the Best Independent Coffee Shop (no chains included) in every New England state. I'll give you a few extra frequent travel-destination states as well - then we'll finish up with the BEST independent coffee shop in Massachusetts, and wait until you hear about their insane hot chocolate!

By the way I looooovvvveee Dunkin' too! How could I not? I'm a Masshole, it's in my blood. CLICK HERE for a bragging right list of Mass towns that have the most Dunkin' locations. We sure have a plenty!

Maine's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Bard Coffee
Portland
Beans are roasted using a top-of-the-line Loring Smart Roast by head roaster Bill Guddeck. I'm not quite sure what that means... but it sounds thorough and impressive.
Tokyo Baristas And Art Of Coffee

Vermont's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Onyx Tonics
Burlington
They feature a weekly rotating menu of coffees from high-end roasters - from local to international.

Connecticut's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Shearwater Coffee Bar
Fairfield & Westport
Go for the great coffee, stay for the rad patio, and take home some of their house-roasted whole beans!

Rhode Island's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Coffee Exchange
Providence
The coffee here is all fair-trade, organic, and responsibly-sourced right at Coffee Exchange, where it’s roasted daily in small batches.
Arla Organic's Coffee Week Latte Art Throwdown

New Hampshire's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Breaking New Grounds
Durham
They buy the coffee beans green and roast them themselves and they only roast as much as needed every day to make sure it's always as fresh as possible.

New York's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Café Ammi Roasting Co.
Pelham
They've been doing it since 1963 just north of NYC so they know what they're doing.

New Jersey's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Roast’d
Hasbrouck Heights, Fort Lee, and Franklin Lakes
Baristas grind the beans for each coffee fresh per order. It takes a little longer but it's worth it.
Arla Organic's Coffee Week Latte Art Throwdown

Illinois's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Two Hearted Queen
Chicago
It's in an old funky house with old funky (comfortable) furniture and fun names for all the coffee drinks like Love Potion #222 which apparently works like Cupid's arrow.

Florida's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Wells Coffee Company
Fort Lauderdale
Awesome husband and wife owners who put their love of coffee into every cup.

Tennessee's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Bongo Java
Nashville
I went here every morning when I was in Nashville. Their two bourbon-barrel-aged coffees are fan favorites... and their vanilla lattes were bangin'.
Eggnog

Texas's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Try Hard Coffee Roasters
Austin
They have signature drinks like the Die Spitz – housemade coffee cola with cherry and coconut cream foam. Woah.

MASSACHUSETTS's Best Independent Coffee Shop

Thinking Cup
Boston
They're right in Boston Common serving up a wide range of coffees in every price range plus their hot chocolate is insanely good. They make it with with 64% Tainori Valhrona Drinking Chocolate. Impressive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ6KEcRBqI0

For the full list of bests...

Jackson Blue has been on Boston airwaves for over 20 years. He is a foodie family person with a passion for having fun forever. Jackson likes to write about food, restaurants, Massachusetts and Boston happenings.