OMG, i love this thread! possibly even more so than the "hot male riders" thread!

when i travel, i make a point of scoping out the cafes in the area... i worked on vashon island, WA last summer, and by far the BEST coffee i have ever had came from Vashon Coffee Roasters, across the street from the pool where i swam in the morning. they had a front porch where you could sit and sip your coffee and smell the beans roasting and watch the mist disappear as the sun rose. HEAVEN!

that was probably one of my favorite things about the PNW... all the little drive-thru espresso stands, even in seemingly the middle of nowhere!

my mom and i got made fun of relentlessly by the rest of our group when we rode down highway 1 three summers ago... we'd set little goals for ourselves like "20 more miles and then we can stop for (another) coffee!" we discovered that the best bearclaws ever can be had outside of pigeon point, CA.

locally, i go to Espresso Royale for black coffee if i don't brew it at home. see, i always bring my own travel mug (IMBA's "Ride to Live" one ), and it's only $1 for a refil. and they have organic/fair trade coffee every day

my roommate has recently started purchasing Trader Joe's Half-Caf in an effort to get me to cut back a bit (and himself, i guess! but i drink more of it). usually i buy their Bolivian Blend, and grind it at home.

mmm, drinking some of it right now, poured over leftover hot cocoa (almost like a mocha )