Chasing the Perfect Pour Over (and Hot Chocolate) Along Route 66

☕ A Road Trip Powered by Coffee

I'll be honest: on a long road trip the coffee stop is my favourite part of the day. I'm on a mission for the perfect pour over, and my other half is on an equally serious hunt for a proper hot chocolate. Between Las Vegas and Amarillo we tried a lot of both.

A pour over coffee being brewed Photo: Kim Sanso, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

🎰 Las Vegas: A Mixed Start

Vesta Coffee Roastery in the Arts District gave us a decent pour over, but the hot chocolate arrived tepid. Iwana Specialty Coffee Roasters was a different story. My pour over was a washed Pink Bourbon from Colombia, all floral, honey and mandarin, and easily one of the best cups of the trip. Madhouse Coffee won the hot chocolate prize in Vegas, made with Ghirardelli powder.

On our day out towards the Mojave we tried a coffee flight at Bad Owl Roastery (with hot chocolate in a proper china cup) and a latte at Desert Wind Coffee Roasters that I'd score a respectable 7 out of 10.

🌲 Arizona: Flagstaff Style

Forêt FLG in Flagstaff did a lovely iced drink and an Arnold Palmer in a stylish little space. Mudd on 66 in Kingman and the RoadRunner in Seligman were more about the Route 66 atmosphere than the beans, and that's fine too.

🌶️ New Mexico: The Winner

Little Bear Coffee in Albuquerque gave me an Ethiopian pour over that I declared the best so far, and the hot chocolate was made with real chocolate. We went back the next morning. In Santa Fe, Iconik Coffee Roasters sent us home with bags of beans, and Kakawa Chocolate House served an elixir flight that was more history lesson than drink.

One thing to note: the best cafés are rarely on the main highway. A five-minute detour into the old downtown almost always pays off.

🤠 Texas: Friendly Faces

In Amarillo, Strata Coffee Bar served a Costa Rica pour over in a real mug and had excellent staff, and Journey Polk Street Coffee did a cosy autumn spice coffee.