This IL Coffee Shop Is Among 100 Best In U.S., New List Says

If you’re looking for a great coffee drink to belatedly celebrate National Coffee Day, which was Monday, Yelp has a suggestion for Illinois java lovers.

Afro Joe's Coffee and Tea, located at 1818 W. 99th St. in Chicago, ranked 30th on Yelp’s Top 100 Coffee Shops of 2025 list released on Wednesday. It’s known for "Quality service. Quality coffee. On the Southside," serving coffee, tea, sandwiches, as well as bourbon, beer and cigars.

Illinois has about 20 coffee shops per 100,000 residents, according to a 2024 analysis by the mapping software company Maptitude.

Nationwide, there are 20 coffee shops per 100,000, with the highest concentration found in the Virgin Islands (52.93), Alaska (50.49), Washington (44.35), and Washington, D.C. (42.80).

Yelp’s ranking of the top 100 coffee shops highlights everything from family-run roasteries to coffee shops offering trendy new flavors such as banana lattes and einspanners, social media-worthy latte art, and exotic coffee styles from around the world. Shops that offered a comforting sense of community were also a favorite among visitors writing reviews on Yelp.

To rank the coffee shops, Yelp analyzed review volume, star ratings, and health scores.

Yaw Farm Coffee Roaster of Las Vegas, which received 95 percent five-star ratings on Yelp, topped the list. It’s a no-frills place without seating and free Wi-Fi, but visitors describe the experience as “welcoming, friendly and patient.”

National Coffee Day is observed annually on Sept. 29. The exact origins are unclear, but a significant observance was popularized in 2009 by a New Orleans museum, and many businesses continue to offer special promotions to mark the occasion.