There's one dark liquid that's keeping this nation from falling apart, and that's coffee. And if there's one day to get buzzed, it's today: National Coffee Day. Go out there and grab a cup.
To help you find some local gems, we teamed up with location intelligence company Foursquare to compile a list of the top-rated coffee shops in 45 big cities in the United States. Even if you're not around a huge city in America, it's likely you'll still have a handful of good coffee shops in your town. So fear not if you're not near a Blue Bottle or Intelligentsia — plenty of local coffee shops still sling a good latte.
Read on to see if your local shop made it into the list.
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BIRMINGHAM, AL: THE RED CAT
Address: 2901 2nd Avenue S (Ste 120)
Foursquare rating: 9.21
Customers of the Red Cat love the place's specially named lattes and well-made soups and sandwiches. The place gets packed, even on weekends.
FAYETTEVILLE, AR: ONYX COFFEE LAB
Address: 2418 North Gregg
Foursquare rating: 9.23
Onyx has kombucha on tap and pour-overs. The company even sells its own line of beans online.
SCOTTSDALE, AZ: DUTCH BROS. COFFEE
Address: 1422 North Scottsdale Road
Foursquare rating: 9.49
Dutch Bros. Coffee is an old-fashioned drive-through coffee shop that started out in 1992 in southern Oregon with a single espresso pushcart. In addition to coffee, tea, and smoothies, they also sell their own line of energy drinks.
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