Qualia Coffee in Petworth takes coffee seriously, roasting its own beans on-site. Owner Joel Finkelstein has since expanded to a second location in Eckington.

Wydown pop-ups bounced around U Street before it settled into its cozy 14th Street space. It serves java from Intelligentsia, Heart Coffee Roasters, and Blueprint Coffee. A second location in the Apollo apartment building on H Street NE thoughtfully offers separate seating areas for residents and visitors.

Colada Shop’s second location gives D.C. residents the chance to try its Cafe Cubano (a shot of coffee, sweetened with whipped sugar) or Cafe Bon Bon (espresso and sweetened condensed milk) without trekking out to the original in Northern Virginia. An expanded rooftop hosts a long happy hour and island tunes. With a friend? Go for its epic Colada, complete with four shots and two glasses.

Two Marine Corps veterans who served together in Afghanistan established the original Compass Coffee outpost in 2014 in Shaw, and now the company is on a tear. It’s added locations in Rosslyn, Chinatown, near U Street, near McPherson Square, near the White House, at 18th and Eye streets NW, and in Shaw near the convention center. A new cafe with an even bigger roastery is slated to open in Ivy City.

Besides gelato, Dolcezza has a serious coffee program, featuring beans from the roasters at Stumptown, the Portland, Oregon, stalwart. The base for Dolcezza’s coffee operations is near Union Market. Its spinoff in the Mosaic District, Mom & Pop, is a good option for Virginia dwellers. The first downtown Dolcezza location debuted in 2015 in a light-filled, marble-accented shop befitting its chic City Center DC digs. And don’t forget the original location in Georgetown; two newer offshoots include a breakfast-friendly site at The Wharf and a super modern station inside the Hirshhorn museum.

Bourbon Coffee is a Rwanda-based chain with locations in D.C., Virginia and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The beans are sourced through direct trade, which improves sustainability, direct partnerships with farmers, and fair trade.

The locally owned shop in Georgetown is situated in a shared space with South Block Juice Co., Sundevich sandwich shop, and Neopol Savory Smokery. It features flavored syrups and specialty drinks such as an espresso shrub.

The coffee bar at the stylish cafe nestled inside Maketto offers a full range of espresso drinks and pour-overs. It’s part of a multi-level complex, including a restaurant and a retail level serving up high-end streetwear, launched by chef Erik Bruner-Yang

A stalwart in D.C.’s independent coffee scene, Peregrine Espresso celebrated a decade in business last year. Find Peregrine’s espresso and flash-brewed iced coffee at locations on 14th Street and at Eastern Market and within Union Market. The coffee shop’s founders went on to open their own specialty roasting company, Small Planes Coffee, near National Arboretum.

In 2016, Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters opened a sleek Pentagon City headquarters with nitro cold brew coffee on tap, a pour-over station, and a glass-enclosed cupping room. The owners also run longtime Arlington fixture the Java Shack, purchasing the shop in 2015.

With a nearly 100-year history in Washington, Swing’s Coffee Roasters boasts two locations downtown and a flagship roastery near Del Ray in a window-filled industrial space. The teleworker-friendly coffee bar in the Alexandria building hosts free cupping labs and offers growler refills of cold brew.