Phoenix Coffee Culture is Growing Up

It's easy to tell when a city has a real coffeehouse culture: When you ask a random local where you can get some good coffee, nobody mentions Starbucks, Denny's or Dunkin' Donuts. That would be a slice of Seattle or Portland.

Phoenix, Arizona isn't quite there yet. But it has made some great strides in the past few years. Now, espresso aficionados can find a true coffeehouse near every city in the metro Phoenix area. If you're staying in one of the following cities, here's a coffeehouse that will satisfy discriminating tastes:

Gilbert - Liberty Market. Liberty Market is really more restaurant than coffeehouse, and it is an exception to my usual coffee rule of thumb that states that the quality of the coffee is inversely proportional to the size of the menu. But the espresso drinks here are expertly made, with the cappuccino being a particular favorite. Even though I stay away from sweeter coffee drinks, I'm really curious to try Liberty's take on Vietnamese iced coffee. Go here if you're in Gilbert, Mesa, Chandler or Apache Junction.

Goodyear - Ground Control. Despite some sandwich sideshows, the coffee is the focus at Ground Control. It's definitely my favorite in the West Valley, with both the brewed and espresso selections coming out solid. It also has a nice, relaxed vibe. A great destination for anyone in Goodyear, Avondale, Glendale, Sun City and other spots out west.

Phoenix (downtown) - Conspire A great place to get a dose of culture with your caffeine. My favorite is the cappuccino, but I'll sometimes choose some espresso shots over ice in the hotter weather. There's a very wide variety of coffee drinks offered, including brewed coffee, iced toddies, lattes and straight espresso. Conspire is one of the best places around to get a straight espresso shot, too. You can also enjoy a great vegan donut with your drink.

Phoenix (north) - Press. This great coffeehouse is stuck in the middle of a love-it-or-hate-it live/work area called CityNorth. It generated some political controversy, but don't let that keep you away from Press. The espresso drinks are expertly made - I was skeptical on my first visit, since the barista barely seemed out of high school. But he proved that you don't need age or a patina of body art to be a stellar barista. His colleagues have been equally skilled.

Scottsdale (south) - Sola. Amid Old Town Scottsdale's touristy turquoise and rubber tomahawk shops is an outstanding coffeehouse. It has the usual cappuccino, mocha and latte suspects, along with pour-over coffee selections. The staff is exceptionally friendly and uniformly skilled. I still default to the cappuccino, though an agave latte is a nice treat for people who like something sweeter and a tad unusual. Warning: It's not open on Sundays.

Tempe - Cartel Coffee Lab. This is probably the Valley's elite coffeehouse - thought some might say it crosses the line into elitist. You may get scoffed at for ordering a latte, or putting sugar in your single-origin pour-over. The staff -all committed to their craft to a near-fanatical degree- will do frou-frou drinks, but they won't like it. Like that vibe or not, I'll challenge you to find a better cappuccino anywhere. And they're espresso shots? Nothing less than awesome. Cartel used to have a Clover machine, but the owner moved it to the downtown location (which is still second-fiddle in that area to Conspire).