The best little coffee shop in Guatemala or...

...anywhere else, for that matter.

I know, that's a bold claim.

Caffe Artigiano in Vancouver held the "Best Coffee Shop" title (as bestowed by myself) for a long, long time. In fact, I almost shed a tear of joy when I returned there this summer for the first time since leaving in December of '08. It just tasted so good when it touched my lips...and I proceeded to spend approximately $35 in 33 hours drinking their coffee.

Jonnie Java's in Fredericton is my go-to roaster in town, and pulls the best espresso I've had since leaving the left coast.

Read's is my day-to-day spot for grabbing a quick coffee, or where I suggest to meet people. It's good, quick, inexpensive, and the staff are friendly.

Starbucks is a necessary evil; my beautiful girlfriend likes it. But it's uptown, and, for the uptown crowd who knows I like 'good' coffee, Starbucks is what comes to their mind ("It's more expensive than a Timmy's, so he must think it's good"). To be truthful, I don't mind it...but in Fredericton I'd rather have Jonnie Java's or Read's.

Tim Horton's tastes like it's filtered through dirty socks. And f**k their f**king drive-thrus. There's nothing I love to do more that to sit in traffic on one of several of our main streets behind twats blocking through-traffic while they're waiting to pull into the Tim's drive-thru. That's sarcasm, fyi...

But what of this best little coffee shop in Guatemala or anywhere else, for that matter?

It's called Crossroads Cafe.

It's in Panajachel, Guatemala.

Coffee Mike

It's owned by Coffee Mike and his family.

The coffee is delightful (it's actually award-winning).

Coffee Mike is extremely excitable.

In fact, you might even get concerned that a person as hyperactive as Coffee Mike is surrounded by several hundred pounds of coffee beans (roasted & unroasted).

The only thing better than the coffee is the atmosphere; if you don't have a smile on your face within 45 seconds of entering that place, have someone check your ABCs (not your alphabet...your airway, breathing & circulation, fools!).

Visiting Crossroads Cafe & meeting Coffee Mike was without a doubt one of my highlights of visiting Guatemala. I mean, it doesn't beat:
catching the sailfish on the fyrod...
or the sailfish on conventional tackle...
or the dorado...
or eating the dordao...
or eating pupusas...
or paying $30 USD for three nights at a hotel...
or getting my roommate the fridge magnet pictured on the left....

...but it was a definite highlight of my trip

To get to Crossroads Cafe, just fly to Guatemala, take a chicken bus to Panajachel, then use this map:

Conversely, once you get to Crossroads Cafe, this helpful sign on the outside wall will help you get anywhere else in the world:

Salty somehow brought out the reserved side of Coffee Mike in this photo:

I can't say the same for myself:

I brought a few pounds of beans back with me. It's was worth having Homeland Security break one of the bags open & jam a tag into the beans, then put the beans into a plastic bag that held dirty laundry...honest, it totally made my day when I finally received my bags two days after I got home and saw this in my coffee beans, mixed in with dirty laundry:

Anyway, long story short: it's worth visiting Coffee Mike & his family at Crossroads cafe in Panajachel, Guatemala.

Go for the coffee, stay for the entertainment.

Just don't ask Coffee Mike about fireworks...or go near him if he has any with him...

To see the archive of my Guatemala Chronicles, click here.