A LOCAL has created two maps showing residents of Edinburgh the best cafes to study or get a specialty coffee.
Spanning the whole of the capital, from The Shore to Saughton Park, the maps are being updated continually as residents offer recommendations of their favourite spots.
After one social media user reached out to locals for their favourite independent coffee shop and received 100 replies, another resident decided to helpfully compile answers into a shared list on Google Maps.
Many base their recommendations on seating available, whether a cafe is good for studying, if there is food available and specific opening hours.
The ingenious local posted on social media yesterday, saying: “Map lists for cafes and specialty coffee in Edinburgh based on a recent post asking about independent coffee shops.
“A few weeks ago [a social media user] asked for cafe recommendations which somehow turned into the best resource I have found for specialty coffee shops despite the original poster really just wanting a list of local spots with a good vibe.
“Based on my experience and the recommendations in the comments I have these (incomplete) Google Maps lists of cafes and specialty coffee in Edinburgh.
“You can follow both of these in your ‘saved places’ in Google Maps and have access to them whenever.
“Both of these are works in progress– if you have suggestions for additions to either, please drop them in the comments.
“Especially if you have details about what to expect from different places.
“Such as: lots of seating/not a lot of seating, good for studying yes/no, good black coffee (without milk)/ good white coffee (with milk), food focus/vibe focus/coffee focus, food/menu available, favourite treats recommended. Local roaster? Single roaster? Multiroaster? Open late/open early.
“If I get enough details I can make a spreadsheet.”
Altogether, both maps show 80 cafes so far, including award-winning Modern Standard Coffee and the much-loved Books N’ Cup which is open every day from 7:30am till 10pm.
One user replied saying: “Wow, you’re doing god’s work here – this is awesome, thanks for sharing.”
Whilst another commented: “This is super handy. I’d love to see ones that are open late and good for working in.”
The person who created the map, who spent nearly a decade working with specialty coffee in New Orleans, says that they made a similar site there after being asked time and time again for their favourite coffee shop.
They said today: “I am a particular person so what I love isn’t necessarily what everyone else would enjoy. But I am good at matching people with the right genre of café.
“To make this easier, I created a map of coffee shops in New Orleans and would Airdrop it to customers looking for recommendations.”
After recently moving to Edinburgh for a master’s degree, they noticed a gap for a similar map of Edinburgh.
“As someone new to the city, I found it surprisingly difficult to find up-to-date information on specialty coffee. Reddit threads were old and many specialty coffee resources (like Sprudge City guides) hadn’t been updated since COVID. I originally asked for reccs (sic) in the Edinburgh sub before moving, but didn’t get much traffic.
“Since moving, I find myself at shops closest to campus—Fortitude and Cult in particular. But, I have been wanting to branch out—many reasons, but this week because I have been desperate for Peruvian coffee.
“Last week, someone in a Reddit coffee thread asked for local café recommendations, and that post took off. People flooded the comments with their favorite spots—both specialty coffeeshops and more general cafes.
“I added all that intel to my map and decided to share it, not just because I believe in resource-sharing, but also because I hoped the enthusiasm for local coffee spots would continue. And it did.
“Now, I’m fine-tuning the list as I gather more recommendations from commenters, friends, and my own experiences.”