Known as the “City of Good Neighbors,” Buffalo is also home to some seriously good coffee. Today, we look at the city’s specialty scene—its past, present, and future.
BY ERIK BURKE
FOR BARISTA MAGAZINE
Featured photo by Eddie Mark Blair
The Great Lakes metropolis affectionately known as the “City of Good Neighbors,” Buffalo, N.Y., has long been defined by its industrial backbone, architectural legacy, and a deep-rooted sense of community pride. For many, the city conjures images of historic grain elevators, roaring winters off Lake Erie, and beloved regional staples like beef on weck, sponge candy, and the iconic Buffalo wing.
But in recent years, another story has been quietly unfolding, one that’s reshaping how both residents and visitors experience the city. Buffalo’s coffee scene, once understated, is now thriving: a growing ecosystem of specialty roasters, thoughtfully designed cafés, and culturally rich coffeehouses that reflect both global influence and local identity.
At its core, Buffalo’s food and beverage culture has always been about connection. Restaurants, bars, and cafés here don’t just serve; they gather. Over the past decade, that communal spirit has fueled major growth across the region’s craft-beverage industries. The craft-beer boom is perhaps the most visible example: Since 2016, more than 16 new breweries have opened in Western New York, bringing the total to over 40, according to the Brewers Association.
Alongside that expansion, coffee has undergone its own evolution. What was once a modest, slowly developing scene has accelerated dramatically in the past five years. New roasteries have emerged. Third-wave cafés have taken root. And a swell of culturally specific coffeehouses, particularly Yemeni and Turkish, has introduced Buffalo to new traditions, rituals, and flavor profiles.
Today, Buffalo’s coffee scene is no longer catching up. It’s defining itself.
A city with deep coffee roots
Buffalo’s relationship with coffee isn’t new; it just hasn’t always been widely recognized. In fact, the city may be responsible for one of coffee’s most enduring workplace rituals: the coffee break. At the turn of the 20th century, the Larkin Company, a pioneering mail-order soap manufacturer, implemented progressive employee practices that included providing free coffee to workers. According to Dr. Howard Stanger, professor of management at Canisius University, the company began offering coffee to its office employees as early as 1900.
Dr. Stanger’s research gained national attention in 2002 when NPR’s Susan Stamberg explored the origins of the coffee break. While other companies, such as the Barcalo Company, were also known to provide coffee around that time, Buffalo’s claim remains strong.
“Until someone shows an earlier date,” Dr. Stanger says, “we can consider Buffalo to be the birthplace of the workplace coffee break.”
Buffalo also holds a place in the history of instant coffee. In 1901, chemist Satori Kato unveiled his instant coffee process at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, which drew more than 8 million visitors. Just two years later, he secured a U.S. patent for his invention, marking one of the earliest formal recognitions of instant coffee production in the United States.
More than a century later, Buffalo continues to play a role in shaping coffee culture, this time through labor movements. In 2019, baristas at SPoT Coffee successfully unionized and later secured a collective bargaining agreement. In 2021, workers at a Starbucks in Buffalo’s Elmwood Village followed suit, forming the first unionized Starbucks store in the country. That effort has since expanded nationwide, with more than 11,000 baristas across over 500 stores joining the movement.
A more expansive coffee landscape
Today’s Buffalo coffee scene reflects both growth and diversification.
Culturally specific cafés have added new dimensions to the city’s coffee identity. Yemeni coffeehouses, for example, offer deeply aromatic brews often infused with spices and served alongside rose- and cardamom-forward pastries. Turkish cafés introduce guests to the ibrik brewing method, in which finely ground coffee is simmered and served unfiltered, and is often paired with sweets like baklava.
These spaces do more than expand menus; they broaden the cultural conversation around coffee, creating opportunities for education, exploration, and connection.
At the same time, specialty cafés continue to refine their approach to sourcing, roasting, and service. Many prioritize direct relationships with producers, transparent supply chains, and collaborations with local artisans. The result is a coffee ecosystem that feels both globally informed and distinctly Buffalo.
Tipico Coffee
Few cafés are as closely associated with Buffalo’s specialty-coffee movement as Tipico Coffee. Founded in 2015 on the Lower West Side, Tipico emerged at a time when the city’s third-wave presence was still in its infancy. The business expanded quickly, opening a wholesale roastery in 2017 before relocating its café to Elmwood Village in 2020. Throughout that growth, Tipico has remained committed to direct trade, traceability, and education.
Co-founder Jesse Crouse brings more than 20 years of industry experience to the table. His journey began in Chicago with Intelligentsia Coffee, where he worked his way from cashier to barista trainer to green coffee buyer, developing a deep understanding of quality at every stage of the supply chain.
Reflecting on Buffalo a decade ago, Jesse recalls a very different environment. “Specialty coffee barely existed in Buffalo, especially outside the city,” he says. “There wasn’t really a reason for people to come into Buffalo for coffee.”
At the time, options were limited. Public Espresso, which opened shortly before Tipico, was one of the few cafés introducing pourover brewing and origin-focused coffee to local consumers.
“There was no place to get a properly pulled espresso,” Jesse says. “No place to buy a single-origin bag of coffee, outside of a couple spots. That’s what we were walking into.”
But demand was beginning to shift. “What people wanted,” Jesse explains, “was specificity. Not just ‘light roast’ or ‘dark roast.’ They wanted to know where it came from, who grew it, how it was processed.”
That curiosity helped lay the groundwork for Buffalo’s specialty scene. At the time, detailed information on coffee packaging, such as farm names, processing methods, and elevation, was far from standard. “No one was really doing that in 2015,” Jesse says. “We and a few others were just starting to put that level of detail on our bags.”
For Jesse, the definition of “specialty coffee” goes beyond scoring systems. “I think of it as the top 5% of the top 5% of coffee production,” he says. “But more importantly, it’s about how you buy. It’s about relationships, sustainability, and thinking long-term.”
That philosophy continues to guide Tipico today. The café regularly hosts public cuppings and emphasizes education, helping customers understand not just how coffee tastes, but why it tastes that way.
Looking ahead, Jesse sees continued opportunity for growth. “There’s still room for more roasters doing direct trade,” he says. “We’ve definitely grown past where we were 10 years ago, but we’re still figuring out what the next version of this scene looks like.”
Caffe Aroma
While newer cafés have helped push Buffalo’s coffee scene forward, long-standing institutions like Caffe Aroma remain essential to its identity.
Located on Elmwood Avenue, Aroma has been serving the community since 1995, making it the city’s longest-running independently owned café. Over nearly three decades, it has become far more than a place to grab coffee; it’s a gathering space, a creative hub, and a cornerstone of neighborhood life.
With its expansive seating, outdoor patio, and steady rotation of events, including open mic nights, poetry readings, and local art markets, Aroma exemplifies the concept of a “third space”: a place outside of home and work where people can connect and belong.
In 2023, longtime employee Michaela Schmidbauer and her husband, Jesse, took over ownership of the café. Michaela had worked at Aroma for more than 20 years, starting as a barista and working her way through nearly every role in the business.
Under their leadership, the café continues to evolve while staying true to its roots. In 2025, the couple opened a second location, Caffe at Amy’s, further extending their commitment to community-centered hospitality.
Cafe Bewilderment
If Aroma represents Buffalo’s past and Tipico its foundation, Cafe Bewilderment offers a glimpse into its future.
Opened in early 2025 inside The Monocle, a boutique department store in North Buffalo, the café blends coffee, cocktails, and culinary experimentation into a single, multifaceted space. Co-owners Avery Passons and Paris Klas envisioned something different from the start. Drawing on their experiences traveling across the country, often working remotely from cafés during the day and socializing in the evenings, they set out to create a space that could seamlessly transition between those modes.
“It was always important to us that it wasn’t just one thing,” Avery says. “We wanted it to feel layered, like you could come in for coffee, stay for food, and end your night with a drink.”
Buffalo, they found, was the right place to bring that vision to life. “There’s a grassroots energy here,” Avery says. “People know each other. There’s a strong sense of community, and that made it feel really welcoming.”
Their approach to sourcing reflects a deep commitment to ethics and sustainability. The café serves coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, a company known for its long-standing relationships with producers.
“They have a payment promise,” Avery explains. “Even if they can’t buy from a producer one year, they still pay them something. That kind of commitment matters to us.”
The same philosophy runs throughout the menu. From B Corp-certified milk alternatives to fair-trade spirits, every product is chosen with intention, balancing quality, sustainability, and accessibility.
Avery, who leads the kitchen, draws inspiration from global flavors and ingredient-driven cooking. “There’s no wrong way to pair things,” she says. “That’s where creativity comes from—just experimenting and seeing what works.”
Everything, from syrups to brunch dishes, is made in-house using whole ingredients. The coffee program, meanwhile, leans European and is focused entirely on espresso-based drinks, with no drip coffee on the menu.
Education plays a key role in the experience. “We encourage people to try something new,” Avery says. “But we also make sure there’s something comfortable if they want that too.”
Looking ahead, she hopes to see Buffalo continue to embrace growth and experimentation.
“We just need more spaces like this,” she says. “More places where people can gather, collaborate, and explore.”
Buffalo’s coffee scene has transformed dramatically over the past decade, but in many ways, it still feels like it’s just getting started. That sense of momentum is part of what makes it exciting. Unlike more saturated markets, Buffalo still has room to grow, adapt, and define its identity on its own terms.
What’s clear, however, is that coffee here is about more than what’s in the cup. It’s about relationships, whether between baristas and customers, cafés and communities, or roasters and producers. It’s about creating spaces where people feel welcome, curious, and connected. And today, perhaps more than ever, Buffalo offers something it once lacked: not just great coffee, but a reason to seek it out.
This article originally appeared in the June + July 2026 issue of Barista Magazine. Read more of the issue online here for free.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eric M. Burke (he/him) is a coffee enthusiast and espresso technician based in Buffalo, N.Y. With experience as both a barista and home roaster, he is passionate about learning, sharing knowledge, and supporting those throughout the coffee supply chain. When he’s not repairing equipment or roasting beans, he enjoys creating art and spending time with friends and family.
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