The Best (and Worst) Coffee I tried in Madrid

October 17, 2024

In January 2024, I found myself in Madrid for a month while working remotely. I really love coffee and trying new cafes, especially in a new country, is always fun. Since I tried so many different places, I figured I'd rank them by how much I enjoyed each place. Some caveats:

I didn't order the same thing at every cafe, but everything is espresso-based
I usually order my milk-based drinks with oat milk
My opinions are highly subjective

Btw, here's my ranking if you hate my writing or are too lazy to read the full list:

Alchemy
Geisha
Dosis
Unfltrd
Pan y Peinillos
Naji
Seniestro
Feliz
Umami
Ambu
Cafelito
Cafe Bottega

12. Cafe Bottega

A sad excuse for a cappuccino. Legitimately worse than a Nespresso, without even any frothed milk. Giant bubbles that took up half the damn cup, which completely ruined the texture of the drink. No attempt at microfoam. No attempt at art on the top. The (oat) milk itself was also terrible, and there was hardly any coffee flavor. They also randomly put cocoa powder around the outside? A terrible, bitter choice, and the cherry on top of an awful coffee.

I might get some flack for this, but I have found I really dislike espresso drinks from traditional italian cafes. I spent around 2ish months in Italy, and have tried coffee from pretty much all over the country, and found absolutely no standouts, and plenty of terrible drinks. This may be because I always get an alt-milk, or maybe I just don't like the coffee beans most Italian cafes choose. I'm not sure, but I now avoid Italian cafes whenever possible.

11. Cafelito

Here I ordered a cafe con chai. Let me be absolutely real with you: I can't recommend you ever order a chai or a dirty chai outside of the U.S. (in my experience). At least in Europe, Canada, and CA/SA (you probably won't find it there anyway). Most of the time you will get someone who actually prepares chai and combines it with a latte. But that ain't right, man. You're supposed to use a chai concentrate so it doesn't water down the drink, and you can really get that spicy chai flavor.

Well, suffice it to say Cafelito did not make a good chai. There were lots of particulates, and a really bitter flavor. It tasted like the chai was very over-extracted. I even had to add sugar it was so bitter (I literally never add sugar to my coffees). It was still bad.

10. Ambu

This is a local sort of chain in Madrid. I basically went because it was close to where I was staying in Malasaña. I don't have too many notes on this one. It was just a pretty bad cup of coffee. Not much of a coffee flavor, and the milk wasn't foamed too well.

9. Umami

This was a pretty popular place, so I was very interested to try it. And yeah, it was super busy. Hard to find a seat. Unfortunately, the coffee wasn't very good. I actually found the milk to be decent, with some microfoam. Pretty bland, though.

8. Feliz

This one seemed pretty promising, and the place was pretty cute. Unfortunately, I found the coffee to be fairly mediocre. Not much else to say.

7. Seniestro

Okay, I just wanna say that I loved the vibe of this place. First, it was absolutely tiny. Like, there was no counter, just kind of a wall where one fancily-dressed guy was making the coffee. And the guy was very attentive and friendly, and also clearly took care when making the coffee. They were also playing some nice chill music that just made it very enjoyable to sit there and drink my coffee. The coffee itself, however, was just ok. I found the espresso to just be too mild. Or, there was too much milk and not enough espresso in the latte.

Honestly, I kind of wish I had tried one of their other, more interesting drinks. They also had a hojicha (which I love) latte, and a chai. My theory is the chai must have been good, because the place smelled of chai on entering. They also had homemade lemonade and, let me tell you, I am an absolute sucker for high quality lemonade.

6. Naji

This place was special, because they're known more for their pistachio-based beverages and food, rather than their coffee. Well, I do love some pistachio, but I'll say I like coffee much better. Anyway, I ordered their famed pistachio latte (which was expensive af btw). Honestly, it was more like a dessert than a coffee. Like, it was insanely sweet. This is fine, I guess, but I prefer my coffee to be not sweet at all. The pistachio flavor itself was amazing, though. I definitely enjoyed the drink, but it's not quite the coffee I'm looking for.

5. Pan y Pepinillos

Okay, this place was absolutely adorable. Like I loved the interior decoration. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay inside very long and got the coffee to go. Honestly, getting coffee to go is just not a fair comparison. Hot coffee is just so much better when you drink it out of a proper cup. Paper is just shit. All that being said, I actually quite enjoyed this coffee. I found it nutty, chocolatey even. The milk was just ok, though. I wish they used Oatly (the goatly).

4. Unfltrd

The vibe at this place just ain't it. It's more like a deli than a cafe. But what it lacks in ambience it does (mostly) make up for in coffee. This cup was pretty much just all-around decent. Good coffee flavor, decent milk, and decent foam. I actually found the coffee to be mildly berry-like. Unfortunately, I actually don't particularly like fruity coffee, so this one gets knocked down a bit.

3. Dosis Cafe

I wasn't expecting much from this place. I was expecting the coffee to be just okay, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's interesting. Usually, I prefer a coffee to have a pretty strong coffee flavor. However, this coffee was quite mild and I still found it to be pretty damn good. Even the milk used was good. Also, this place had some pretty good pastries. I think I had some kind of cake and it was 👌.

2. Geisha Specialty Coffee

I actually really, really liked this place. The Geisha here refers not only to the logo of the place (a Japanese Geisha), but also the type of coffee they offer: Ethiopian Gesha coffee. It's apparently a specialty variety from Ethiopia which has a unique, prized flavor. Anyway, I liked it quite a bit. A very interesting flavor that was slightly berry-like, but also somehow a bit nutty. I know I don't like fruity coffee, but this variety had a bit of extra complexity and nutty-ness that made it pretty damn good.

Okay, now we have to talk about tomato toast. In Spain, they often eat "pan con tomate" as breakfast or a snack. This is literally what it says: bread with tomato. Well, actually it also often comes with olive oil, and the bread is always toasted and often garlicked. Anyway, this shit is delicious (if you get a good one). I mean, it sounds to simple, but if you get good bread, it absolutely elevates it. Geisha's pan con tomate is the best I had in Madrid. The bread is phenomenal: thick and chewy, and grilled (panini-style) to perfection. Even if you don't like coffee, literally come here just for the pan con tomate.

1. Alchemy

I seriously love this place. The first time I visited (I went back multiple times) I got some of the best coffee I've ever had anywhere here. So flavorful and well-balanced with the milk flavor, but not too much milk. Even the foam was ideal. Just an all-around excellent cup of coffee. I even went back and got an iced latte, which was also excellent. Often iced lattes can be too milky or watered down, but this one was just perfection. Highly recommend visiting.

Oh, also, the dude making the coffee was a super nice guy. I happen to speak a little bit of spanish, so he was chatting me up a little bit. He was super nice and asked me lots of questions and I tried my best to answer them (look, I'm not 100% fluent). Just an all around great time. Good coffee and good conversations are what I live for.