NASHVILLE THIRD WAVE COFFEE GUIDE: WHERE TEXAS MEETS SPECIALTY COFFEE CULTURE

Let me welcome you to Nashville, where third-wave coffee culture has emerged as a perfect harmony
alongside the city’s musical heritage and creative spirit. While tourists might come for the honky-tonks
and hot chicken, those in the know have discovered that Music City has cultivated a remarkable
specialty coffee scene that serves both visitors seeking something beyond chain coffee and the
diverse local population that powers this rapidly growing metropolis.
Picture yourself strolling down a tree-lined street in East Nashville on a perfect Tennessee morning, the
sounds of songwriters practicing their craft drifting through open windows, as you make your way to a
renovated bungalow where baristas in denim and vintage western wear prepare meticulously crafted
pour-overs with beans roasted just across town. In Nashville, coffee culture isn’t just imported from
elsewhere—it’s infused with the city’s distinctive blend of Southern hospitality, musical creativity, and
entrepreneurial energy.

THE PIONEERS WHO BUILT NASHVILLE’S COFFEE CULTURE

When you step into Crema near downtown, you’re experiencing one of the foundational businesses
that helped transform Nashville’s coffee expectations. Founded in 2007 by Rachel and Ben Lehman,
Crema brought serious coffee credentials to a city better known for music industry gatherings over
diner coffee than single-origin espresso. Their commitment to direct trade relationships and precision
brewing helped establish that Nashville could support truly ambitious coffee concepts. I’ll never forget
my first visit, watching baristas carefully explain brewing parameters to curious tourists while Nashville
songwriters huddled over laptops in the corner—specialty coffee and creative work finding perfect
harmony.

Over in East Nashville, Barista Parlor emerged in 2012 to push Nashville’s coffee scene into bold new
territory. Founder Andy Mumma created a distinctive aesthetic that merged third-wave coffee
precision with Nashville’s creative spirit and reverence for craftsmanship. Their original location in a
former auto repair garage established a template for what would become known as “Nashville style”—
reclaimed wood, vintage motorcycles, locally crafted ceramics, and absolutely uncompromising coffee
quality. Their expansion to multiple locations across the city, including the stunning Golden Sound
location with its Slayer espresso machine and in-house chocolate production, demonstrated how
coffee could become part of Nashville’s evolving creative identity.

Then there’s Eighth & Roast, founded in 2009 by Lesa Wood and Dan Hutchison, which helped extend
specialty coffee beyond Nashville’s hipster enclaves through a welcoming approach that made the
third wave accessible to a broader audience. Their growth from a small shop to a significant local
roaster with wholesale accounts throughout the region showed how Nashville’s coffee culture could
support businesses at scale without sacrificing quality or integrity.

THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT MATTER

Nashville’s coffee innovation clusters in distinct neighborhoods, each with their own coffee personality:

East Nashville offers the highest concentration of specialty cafés in converted homes and storefronts,
where coffee shops serve a mix of musicians, creative professionals, and longtime residents in this
historically diverse district.
The Gulch/Germantown brings specialty coffee to rapidly developing urban areas, with sleek modern
cafés in new mixed-use developments that attract both tourists and the city’s growing tech workforce.
12 South/Belmont connects coffee with university communities from Belmont and Vanderbilt, creating
café environments where students, professors, and music industry professionals find common ground.
West Nashville/Sylvan Park features more neighborhood-focused coffee destinations in these
residential areas, where cafés become true community hubs beyond the tourist trail.

WHAT MAKES NASHVILLE’S COFFEE SPECIAL

Nashville’s coffee culture stands apart from other Southern cities in ways that reflect its unique
character:

1. Music industry integration: The city’s defining industry naturally extends to its café culture.
   Humphreys Street Coffee often features acoustic sets from emerging songwriters while
   maintaining excellent coffee quality, creating natural synergies between Nashville’s creative
   communities.
2. Southern hospitality meets coffee education: Nashville cafés excel at making specialty coffee
   accessible through genuinely warm service. Stay Golden demonstrates how technical excellence
   can be presented without pretension, making third-wave principles approachable through
   authentic hospitality.
3. Entrepreneurial collaboration: Nashville’s supportive business community extends to coffee.
   Elegy Coffee showcases beans from multiple local roasters, while their café hosts pop-ups from
   emerging food businesses, creating a collaborative rather than competitive atmosphere.
4. Design-forward spaces: Nashville’s reputation for aesthetics extends naturally to café
   environments. Cafe Coco Hillsboro transforms historic buildings with Instagram-worthy interiors
   while ensuring the coffee quality matches the visual appeal.

MUST-VISIT NASHVILLE COFFEE DESTINATIONS

THE PIONEERS:

Crema – Downtown/SoBro
Their original location near downtown demonstrates their commitment to coffee excellence and
education. Their house-roasted coffees showcase both approachable blends and adventurous
single-origins. Don’t miss their coffee cupping events, where you can develop your palate
alongside Nashville’s coffee professionals. Their signature “coffee chew” (cleansing the palate
with coffee grounds between tastings) exemplifies their focus on sensory experience.
Barista Parlor – Multiple locations
Their original East Nashville location in a former transmission shop defined Nashville coffee
aesthetics. Their meticulous sourcing and preparation establish the highest standards for quality,
while their partnerships with local artisans create a distinctly Nashville experience. Their Bourbon
Vanilla Latte (made with Olive & Sinclair bourbon-barrel-aged vanilla) represents the perfect
intersection of coffee craft and Nashville flavors.
Eighth & Roast – Multiple locations
Their 8th Avenue South flagship combines roastery and café to demonstrate their seed-to-cup
approach. Their consistent quality and approachable service have made them a Nashville
institution, while their wholesale program has helped elevate coffee throughout the region. Their
extensive food menu shows how specialty coffee can complement culinary offerings beyond basic
pastries.

THE INNOVATORS:

Stay Golden – Berry Hill
This combination roastery, restaurant, and bar represents the evolution of Nashville’s coffee scene.
Their comprehensive approach combines exceptional coffee with a full culinary program,
demonstrating how specialty coffee can anchor more ambitious hospitality concepts. Their
innovative sustainability practices and employee profit-sharing model showcase Nashville’s
progressive business values.
Elegy Coffee – The Gulch
This newer addition brings a scientific approach to brewing in one of Nashville’s most dynamic
neighborhoods. Their rotating multi-roaster program introduces Nashville to exceptional coffees
from both local roasters and national standouts. Their minimalist aesthetic puts complete focus on
coffee quality while their inventive signature drinks showcase creative approaches to flavor
development.
Steadfast Coffee – Germantown
Their technique-driven approach and innovation have helped push Nashville’s coffee boundaries.
Their flash-chilled coffee revolutionized the city’s cold brew expectations, while their coffee soda
opened new possibilities for summer refreshment. Their coffee program seamlessly integrates with
their excellent food offerings, creating a complete hospitality experience.

LOCAL FAVORITES:

Frothy Monkey – Multiple locations
One of Nashville’s longest-running specialty coffee businesses continues to evolve while
maintaining community focus. Their 12 South location remains a hub for neighborhood activity and
remote workers, while their house-roasted coffee program delivers consistent quality across
locations. Their all-day approach to food and beverage (coffee through cocktails) creates a
versatile community space.
Dose Coffee – West Nashville
This neighborhood-focused café delivers exceptional coffee with friendly approachability. Their
community-first approach and commitment to creating a genuine third place has earned them a
devoted following, while their careful selection of roasters maintains quality standards without the
need for in-house roasting.
Kettner Coffee Supply – East Nashville
This combination coffee shop and creative retail space captures East Nashville’s eclectic spirit.
Their thoughtfully selected coffee program and stylish environment create a distinctly Nashville
experience, while their support for local artists and makers extends beyond just coffee to a
comprehensive creative ecosystem.

BEYOND THE CUP: COFFEE EXPERIENCES

Roastery Tours – Several Nashville roasters including Crema offer behind-the-scenes looks at
their production facilities, providing insight into how geography and climate influence roasting
approaches in the South.
Coffee Education – Barista Parlor offers various workshops for home brewers, from basic brewing
techniques to advanced sensory analysis, helping develop Nashville’s coffee knowledge beyond
cafés.
Coffee and Music Pairings – Experience Nashville’s famous musical heritage alongside excellent
coffee at Humphreys Street Coffee, where regular performances create the quintessential
Nashville crossover between crafted beverages and live music.

NAVIGATING THE SCENE

Nashville’s sprawling geography makes coffee exploration most practical by car or rideshare, though
the central neighborhoods (East Nashville, Downtown, The Gulch) offer some walkable clusters of
cafés. The city’s growing but still limited public transit system primarily serves central corridors. Bike-
friendly infrastructure continues to improve, making cycling a viable option for connecting nearby
coffee destinations in good weather.
Nashville’s coffee scene thrives year-round, with seasonal considerations impacting the experience.
Summer humidity drives innovative cold drink specials, with many shops creating signature cold brews
and coffee sodas to combat Tennessee’s intense heat. Fall brings perfect coffee weather for café
hopping, while winter creates cozy environments for lingering over carefully prepared hot drinks.
Spring offers ideal outdoor seating conditions as Nashville’s many café patios come alive with
blooming trees creating picture-perfect coffee backdrops.

WHAT MAKES NASHVILLE UNIQUE

What truly distinguishes Nashville’s coffee scene isn’t just the quality – it’s the seamless integration
with the city’s broader creative ecosystem. This is a place where coffee shops don’t just serve
musicians and artists; they actively collaborate with them, where café design reflects the same
attention to craft as the beverages themselves, and where Southern hospitality transforms the third-
wave experience from potentially pretentious to genuinely welcoming.
The Nashville approach to coffee reflects the city’s broader character – creative but unpretentious,
quality-focused but accessible, respectful of tradition while embracing innovation. From Crema’s
pioneering quality standards to Barista Parlor’s distinctive aesthetic vision, Nashville coffee
entrepreneurs have created experiences that honor specialty coffee principles while remaining
distinctly Music City in their execution.
Each cup here tells a story of Nashville’s remarkable evolution – from country music capital to dynamic
creative hub – with coffee businesses helping write new chapters alongside the songwriters,
musicians, artists, and entrepreneurs that give the city its unique energy. The Southern climate that
brings both sweltering summers and mild winters has pushed coffee businesses to excel in both cold
and hot preparations, creating year-round experiences that keep pace with the city’s non-stop creative
output.
When you visit Nashville’s coffee scene, bring both your appreciation for quality and your readiness to
engage with the local culture. Start your day with a meticulous pour-over at Crema near downtown,
spend your afternoon working alongside songwriters at Frothy Monkey in 12 South, and finish with an
evening coffee cocktail at Stay Golden as local musicians provide the soundtrack. You’ll understand
why Nashville has developed one of America’s most distinctive regional coffee cultures – a place
where coffee excellence and creative energy combine in perfect harmony to create experiences as
memorable as the music that made the city famous.