World’s best airport coffee might be in my own backyard at Los Angeles International Airport.
Urth Caffé & Bar was just named as world’s best airport coffee by the Moodie Davitt Report’s 2019 Airport Food & Beverage Conference & Awards (FAB).
Now it seems like everyone has their award show these days and I’ve never heard of the Moodie Davitt Report. Nevertheless, I have recently enjoyed a cappuccino at Urth Caffé & Bar and can vouch for its great taste.
Urth Caffé & Bar is located in Terminal 1 at LAX, the terminal used by Southwest Airlines. It opened last year and is one of eight locations in Southern California.
Upon presentation of the award, Shallom Berkman, the founder of Urth Caffé, said:
Urth Caffé is honored to be at LAX Terminal 1. We are also pleased to be a leading pioneer of healthy, sustainable travel at the airport by being the first to serve The Traveler’s Blend, a certified organically grown, heirloom coffee blend. We are excited to be recognized as offering the best airport coffee location. We will continue to offer exclusive, highest quality, organic and cutting-edge coffee, teas, breakfast & lunch menu, and fine desserts.
Now I’ve had far better coffee in LA…I prefer a more acidic blend. But this coffee shop is just miles ahead of the Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts that offer what I consider to be an inferior excuse for coffee.
In thinking about my airport coffee experiences around the world, I’ve certainly had better barista-made coffee in airport lounges in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, London, Istanbul, Rome, Sydney, and even Los Angeles.
But in terms of airport coffee shops, I’d say the only one in the same league is the Café Chocolat in Amsterdam Schiphol.
> Read More: The Most Important Thing In An Airport Lounge Is…The Coffee
CONCLUSION
Coffee is a gift to mankind…it took me 25 years to realize that. While I’m happy to see a local coffee shop take the top spot, even there I see room for improvement.
Have you tired Urth Caffé & Bar at LAX? What did you think?
Bad airport coffee is such a problem. Urth might be better that *$ but that’s not saying much. They are far from one of LA’s better cafes (I’d give that title to G&B but you could easily slot in 5-10 better coffees in LA than Urth – sounds like you have several you like as well) and so having them at LAX doesn’t seem to add much except for the fact that I suppose once in a terminal at LAX, you are pretty much stuck there so having Urth is an improvement, if flying T1. I’d encourage people to check out Klatch over in T7 at LAX. It’s arguably far better than Urth any day. Best airport coffee is a short list, but I’d vote for Cartel at PHX. They do quality pour overs and have excellent coffee to begin with.
Yes, +1 for Cartel in PHX.
Have you ever been at any Italian airport? Coffee there is not only excellent, but also cheap (Espresso €1.10).
Agreed.
Please do some spellchecking/proofreading. Airport is misspelled as “airpot” 3 times. And “Have you tired.”
Airpot (airport) is such a common issue. I’m
not sure how the system “learned” that word but I cannot figure out how to unlearn it.
Thanks for the heads-up, Matthew.
What’s your pick for favorite coffeeshop in LA?
And, why do so many hotels fail so miserably at coffee, I wonder?
I love Intelligentsia, but believe it or not my favorite coffee is at a mega church in the Valley — it’s called Steeple House Coffee. Very, very good.