Home Away Coffee

There is a version of Denver that runs on places like Home Away Coffee, a coffee bar with specialty leanings that keeps the morning moving. It is the kind of address that rarely makes a best-of list, and that is precisely why the people nearby treat it as their own. It does the unglamorous work of being open and being good, day after day, without asking for credit. It is one stop in the broader coffee culture of the United States, the kind that reveals itself one neighborhood at a time.

If there is a pour-over or filter option, it is usually worth the wait, often built around a rotating single origin. The espresso tends to be dialed in rather than dispensed, and the milk drinks are built to actually taste of coffee. Brew methods beyond the standard latte are part of the point, from timed espresso to slow filter coffee.

Geographically, Home Away Coffee sits in Denver, easy to fold into a day already spent nearby. The surrounding blocks give it the steady foot traffic that keeps a coffee counter honest. Either way, it is an easy one to find and a fair one to seek out. Part of what a place like this offers is simply somewhere to be for a few minutes, cup in hand.