Champaign-Urbana's Favorite Spots to Enjoy Coffee

Whether you crave a solo cup of joe or a latte outing with friends, here are our favorite places to go for great coffee in the Champaign-Urbana area

If you forgot to fuel up for the day at home, it’s easier than ever to find a Starbucks or a Dunkin. And sometimes your circumstances absolutely demand a caffeine stop at McDonald’s or Steak ‘n Shake. But what about the places unique to the Champaign-Urbana area? We have quite a few fantastic options!

This list of great places to grab a cup of coffee is pretty wide-ranging, and even includes two local roasters. It has seen several versions over the years as establishments come and go, and we like to revisit it around National Coffee Day — yes, it’s a thing, it’s on Sept. 29.

Whether you prefer old-fashioned coffee or espresso beverages, we’re pretty lucky to have some great slingers of joe in and around Champaign-Urbana.

Great Places for Coffee

BakeLab, Champaign and Urbana: A collaboration with BrewLab, pair great coffee with delicious pastries at locations in both Champaign (Lodgic) and Urbana (University and Lincoln).

BrewLab, Campustown. BrewLab is “serious about its coffee.” Besides creating a space to build coffee culture in Campustown, it collaborates with its sister shop (above) BakeLab (on Lincoln in Urbana and at Lodgic in Champaign) to offer delectable baked goods.

BrewLab coffee shop — The patio at BrewLab is popular with two-legged and four-legged creatures. Chambanamoms.com photo

Caffe Paradiso, Urbana. This Urbana staple happens to be where chambanamoms.com was created. Messy birth stories aside, we love the coffee at CP. It serves Intelligentsia, which is a great bean. And don’t miss the barista art if you get an espresso drink.

The Caffeine Rx, Champaign: A new downtown Champaign coffee shop, we love the decor and vibes at Caffeine Rx. Especially great for some pink selfies or coffee pics!

Columbia St. Cafe, Urbana. New to the scene, Columbia Street Roastery now has a cafe at The Yard in Urbana! Enjoy your coffee while your kids have a safe, enclosed, indoor place to play in Urbana.

Courier Cafe, downtown Urbana. When you need to nurse a deep cup of coffee over conversation with a friend, this is a great place to do it. This classic Urbana joint is known for its flavored coffee, if that’s your thing. And match your coffee with a sundae – perfection. (Where’s my big puffy sweater now?)

Elm City Coffee, Urbana: This newer addition to downtown Urbana serves Elm City Roastery coffee (out of Jacksonville, IL) and we are thrilled to have this downtown Urbana spot for a cup of coffee open for business. You can get bagels, cookies and sometimes other pastries, too.

Flying Machine Avionics, midtown Champaign. It’s not just a cozy place; Avionics knows its stuff. We love the beans roasted by Champaign’s very own Page Roasting Company.

Page Roastery Avionics Storefront Champaign — Avionics is located on First Street in Champaign. We also love that it’s woman-owned. Chambanamoms.com photo

Espresso Royale CU, Champaign and Urbana. The original Espresso Royale House Blend roast dates from the 1980s. In the corporate chain’s heyday, you could enjoy Espresso Royale brews at cafes in college towns such as Champaign-Urbana, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Madison, and Minneapolis. But when the chain fell on hard times, the C-U locations reorganized under local ownership.

In addition to campus locations at East Daniel Street, the Grainger Engineering Library, and the Campus Instructional Facility, the C-U community continues to enjoy the great outdoor seating at Village Green, the parental-sanity-saving drive-thru on South Neil, and the primo atmosphere and people watching on West Oregon — all while drinking the smoothest mocha around.

Farmhouse Coffee Bar, Champaign. Yes, it’s coffee served inside a grocery store (Harvest Market, on South Neil). But not only does it have spacious seating on both the first and second floors, not only does it share space with the Farmhouse Restaurant serving delicious breakfast and lunch daily, not only can you shop in the same building for toilet paper or cheese … it serves Kaldi’s coffee (from St. Louis), Firepot teas, Lotus energy drinks, and more. And holy smokes — select flavors of Capannari ice cream too! Hint: look on the store shelves for locally roasted beans, such as Mad Goat.

Hometown Grounds, Tuscola: Partnered with another favorite of ours, Mad Goat Coffee, Hometown Grounds in Tuscola provides a space for the community to gather or meet up with their kids in tow. We love this space, and we love a space with hot coffee and space for the kids to play even more.

Hopscotch, Champaign: Now located on John St. in Champaign, Hopscotch is a great place to grab coffee or baked goods when you’re running through town. They have an Italian espresso machine working at Hopscotch, so if espresso if your thing, you’re going to find it is delicious here.

Mad Goat Coffee, downtown Champaign. There’s something about coffee shops and windows that, when combined, create an irresistible space. Throw in a convenient downtown location plus a few dedicated parking spots, and it’s no wonder people are flocking to Champaign’s Mad Goat Coffee, which opened in 2024. Of course, this popularity might also be due to the delicious coffee that it roasts itself in Danville, where the first two Mad Goat coffee shops operate.

Moon Bean Coffee, food truck: Follow along on social to find the schedule for the food truck (mostly found in Monticello, especially during market season) and enjoy your cup of joe from this quaint operation.

The Original Pancake House, Champaign. It must be a ritual to leave this place shaking after the bottomless cup of coffee you get here. The amazing staff just keeps pouring away, and the coffee is delicious. Sometimes it’s OK to switch to decaf though, if you’d like to prolong your visit even more.

Pekara Bakery & Bistro, Champaign. We have a soft spot for Pekara in the winter when you can snag a stool at the window to maximize your light exposure. Its menu offers breads, pastries, sandwiches, soups, and salads — plus breakfast any time. Its coffee comes from Columbia Street Roastery just a few blocks away.

Mocha and croughnut from Pekara Bakery and Bistro — Pekara’s mugs warm your entire hands with lattes and mochas. Chambanamoms.com photo

YoYo’s Coffee & Bar, Mahomet. Order your coffee beverage of choice in its drive-thru, or walk up to the counter in its open-air environment. We recommend the mocha drinks! Coffee is served until 4:30 p.m. and then YoYo’s transitions to a bar that reopens at 5 p.m.

Whisk Coffee and Wine Bar, Mahomet. Yes, Whisk serves coffee. And wine. And a great many other things at its Patton Drive location. But let’s cut to the chase: we love the drive through and their thin mint cookie blended coffee drink during Girl Scout cookie season!

Yummy Future, Campustown. The main attraction here is Mozart, the robot barista created by U of I students. Yummy Future provides customers with faster coffee, matcha, hot chocolate, and fruit tea through this autonomous robot. The business is a start-up from EnterpriseWorks at the U of I Research Park that provides robotic solutions for food and beverage businesses. The future is already here at 609 E. Green Street! (More locations in the works.)

Yummy Future coffee shop in Campustown — See your beverage made by Mozart, the robot barista at Yummy Future. Chambanamoms.com photo

Local roasters – for those who want an amazing cup of coffee without leaving home

Columbia Street Roastery. Columbia Street has sold whole bean coffee and loose leaf tea since 1998. We are big fans of the seasonal flavors. Very quick (and free) shipping with a $45 order. Curbside delivery and in-store pickup are available via its Champaign location at 24 E. Columbia Ave., Champaign.

Page Roasting Company. Established in 2017, Page manually roasts its beans — single origin coffees as well as some consistent blends — in small batches. Find it served at Flying Machine Avionics as well as other C-U establishments. Visit its shop at 202 S. First St., Champaign (located inside Flying Machine Avionics), or order its coffee online.

Did we miss your favorite coffee establishment? Email us and let us know where you’ve found great coffee around Champaign-Urbana.

Champaign-Urbana’s Favorite Spots to Enjoy Coffee

Whether you crave a solo cup of joe or a latte outing with friends, here are our favorite places to go for great coffee in the Champaign-Urbana area

Great Places for Coffee

Local roasters – for those who want an amazing cup of coffee without leaving home

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