One More Cup

South by Southwest is, like, a lot. You’ll need some help keeping up. Some folks load up on energy drinks from street teams, some folks try to navigate it with tea, but we’re traditionalists when it comes to jitters. Luckily, in ATX, coffee is an institution.

Flat Track Coffee

People use all sorts of adjectives to describe this tiny corner of Farewell Books. Diminutive. Itty bitty. Petite. We use a few adjectives of our own, but they usually describe the big flavor of the coffee. We’ll gladly give up our personal space for a perfect espresso. And besides, you never know who you might bump in to.

Figure 8 Coffee Purveyors

This is a little far from the Downtown hotel hub, but you’re probably renting a backyard flat instead of a fancy suite. If so, Figure 8 is most likely a short walk around the corner. The coffee is obsessively considered, the crowd is exceptionally good-looking, and the owners are ridiculously nice. What more could you want? How about Tacodeli breakfast tacos?

Houndstooth Coffee

You know that guy you work with who’s totally nerdy, but has good style and a killer smile? Houndstooth is a little like that. They’re more than glad to give you a lesson on coffee, from roast to terroir. But they haven’t forgotten how to charm their customers. No wonder they keep you up at night.

Seventh Flag Coffee Co.

There’s something a bit tent revival about Seventh Flag’s spare shop, as if some snake-handling preacher is going to jump out from a corner. There’s certainly reverence in the way the baristas talk about the beans, and their slogan “all welcome all ways” has a certain evangelical flair. But we don’t mind all the worship. We’ve had a few religious experiences over their coffee, too.

Patika Wine & Coffee

Patika started off with a minor role – a simple cart in a Downtown parking lot – but we always knew they had star power. Now it’s an essential stop on the Austin Instagram tour, both for their cozy contemporary decor (check out the pillow-covered plywood banquette) and their gallery-worthy latte art. Don’t worry, they haven’t forgotten their roots. You can still visit where it all started.

This article appears in March 20 • 2015.