White Rock Coffee
10105 E. Northwest Hwy. Dallas Texas
White Rock Coffee is an award winning coffeehouse and coffee roastery located in the heart of Dallas. Only the best, freshly roasted coffee in Dallas can be paired with great breakfast items including a breakfast sandwich, muffins, freshly baked scones and other treats. For lunch they serve sandwiches to go with iced coffee, iced chai or one of their locally bottled pure cane sugar soda. Look for live, local music about five nights a week and they are a perfect date night spot with lucious chocolate cake, brownies, seven layer bars and other wonderful desserts. Take your sweetie there soon!
Cultivar Coffee & Tea
1146 Peavy Road, Dallas
At
Cultivar Coffee & Tea, coffee is not just a drink, it's an art. Jon Meadows and Nathan Shelton, the baristas who own Cultivar, have both competed in barista competitions around Texas. Before devoting his time to starting up a neighborhood coffee shop, Meadows placed fifth in the 2009-2010 South Central Barista Competition, which is part of the United States Barista Competition.
At Cultivar, guests should plan on spending some time enjoying the coffee. This is not a place that makes lattes in 30 seconds -- their drip coffee is all made by French press. Baristas are happy to talk coffee or just shoot the breeze while patrons sip on espresso, which Meadows likely roasted. Meadows or Shelton will gladly suggest a pairing with their coffee, but the most popular one is a taco from Good 2 Go Taco, which Cultivar shares a space with.
The Pearl Cup
1900 N. Henderson Ave. and 750 N. St. Paul Ave., Dallas
In 2009,
D Magazine awarded
The Pearl Cup "Best Latte" in its Best of Big D issue. This latte, known as the Pearl Latte, is a creation of both art and science. The latte begins with locally roasted coffee from Clay Eiland, who developed The Pearl Cup Blend espresso specifically for this latte. This full-bodied espresso is paired with sweetened milk, which has a top-secret ingredient in it. Carlene and Rita, owners of The Pearl Cup, developed this secret milk, which baristas use to craft a fine cup of coffee.
Union Coffee
5622 Dyer St., Dallas
Union Coffee takes a different approach to coffee. Here, coffee is not just an art, but also a way to help people in need. This new coffee shop by SMU donates 10 percent of its proceeds to a charity. At the time of writing, Union was supporting the North Texas Food Bank. Just by purchasing a latte, people gave a hungry neighbor a meal. The charity the coffee shop supports changes each semester.
Crooked Tree Coffeehouse
2414 Routh St., Dallas
Walking into
Crooked Tree Coffeehouse is like walking into a friend's home, perhaps because this coffee shop is in a house. Four years ago, the house was converted into a coffee shop. Aside from the espresso machine and pastries, though, one would hardly notice. There is a large dining table in one room, and comfortable chairs and couches abound. Thankfully, the coffee, roasted by Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters, keeps patrons from falling asleep in the comfy seats.
Avoca Coffee
1311 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth
Avoca Coffee is the vision of two elementary school friends, Jimmy Story and Garold LaRue. This duo brought gourmet coffee to the historic Near Southside of Fort Worth. LaRue oversees all coffee-related operations at Avoca, including roasting. He brings 14 years of experience working with coffee to Fort Worth and continues his family's five-generation legacy of being in the coffee industry. For those in Dallas who want to try Avoca's coffee, The Pearl Cup also serves it.
Guest Blogger Posted on: 2014-01-13 12:00 AM 
