What’s the Coffee Shop Scene in Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is known as the “Isla de Encanto” or “Island of Enchantment.”
The coffee shop scene is no different.
Our first morning in Puerto Rico, we needed to drive from the San Juan airport to our Airbnb in Aguadilla. A coffee stop was a requirement. We pulled out our trusty Google Maps and searched for local coffee shops.
We won’t name them here, but our first two stops were total flops. The first stop was randomly closed, for no reason. The second stop had no lids (we had kids with us and lids were critical). Stressing out and wasting time, we rolled the dice on 787 Coffee.
787 Coffee
The kids enjoying the swings at 787 Coffee.
We pulled into the micro-sized parking lot, pulled the kids out and entered this small but cozy shop.
The staff were very happy and polite, answering our questions about the coffee. There were swings hanging from the wall the kids enjoyed, and sipped our coffee to the hustle and bustle of San Juan.
The iced Americanos we got were good. They use their own coffee, grown on their own farm, Hacienda Illuminada. We were invited to check it out. It became one of those things we’d like to do, but would probably not (guess what - we did).
Their merch branding was very interesting. It seemed like cheap Chinese hats and T’s with random words like “orgasm” and “Creative.” I mean the coffee is good, but not THAT good ;)
As the shop became more and more crowded we elected to toss the kids back into the rental and hit the road for the West coast.
Unfortunately, the rest of our time in Aguadilla was not met with good coffee. We couldn’t find a local spot, so we made our own coffee every morning, fresh from Gather Coffee Roasters.
Multiple locations across PR, we visited at
787 Coffee
3014 Av. Isla Verde, Carolina, 00979, Puerto Rico
The family waiting for coffees at Al Horno.
Al Horno Bakery & Coffee Shop
The second week of our visit to PR, we stayed in a beautiful house (Airbnb link) in the mountains outside of Coamo.
Up on the famous ruta panoramica, we stumbled across Al Horno, a beautiful, family-owned coffee shop. The owner was super friendly, and had beautiful pastries. We took a vegan cheat day and devoured a few fresh donuts. The espresso was good.
We watched many customers walk in, starting their rural Puerto Rico mornings here.
before leaving, I grabbed two bags of goodies (surprisingly vegan) - galletas de coco, and cucas de jengibre.
Orocovis, 00720, Puerto Rico
Back to 787 Coffee (Hacienda Illuminada)
As we explored more of the beautiful mountains of central PR, we realized we were close to the coffee farm mentioned by the staff back in San Juan. It was very quiet and tranquil, we parked and strolled around the beautiful farm. While located in the literal middle of nowhere, we were surprised to find a modern, clean, white coffee shop. The yellow neon signage on the outside was lit, and we strolled over. The experience seemed more like an ironic art piece than a profitable coffee shop.
Coffee in the middle of nowhere.
The silence of the area was deafeneing, and not a single car drove past the entire time we were there.
We walked up to the window, the smell of fresh baked cookies wafted. I still felt like this was the result of a drunken bet made between Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson. I mean, we were rural. And yet here we are eating fresh cookies served from a modern coffee shop. Ducks quacked noisily in the background.
I will say however, that this coffee was the best I had during our entire time in Puerto Rico. We each got an iced oat latte. They use Minor Figures oat milk.
The barista let us wander the quiet grounds, allowing us to check out the immaculate animal enclosures that only added to the Wes Anderson vibes of the place. The kids saw peacocks, donkeys, chickens of many varieties, parrots, and others.
As it was not harvest season, the place was vacant and silent.
We jumped into the car, somewhat perplexed by this whole experience, and headed back to Coamo.
Wilder and Arlow on the hunt for animals. Her hat lends to the Wes Andersony-ness of the place.
PR-128 KM 31.2