5 speciality cafés
Hackney has quietly become one of London's more interesting neighbourhoods for specialty coffee, with independent shops spread across its markets, backstreets, and unexpected corners. Allpress in Dalston brings a considered approach to its roasts, while Morty and Bob's occupies a tucked-away second floor space in Netil House that rewards those who seek it out. Each place on this list has its own character, and together they offer a good reason to spend a day moving slowly through the borough.
Dominant flavour notes
These are the predominant flavours from the coffee that is served by the coffee shops in Hackney.
These are the best speciality coffee shops in Hackney, based on community ratings, check-ins and available roast menus.
Know your coffee taste? Take the flavour quiz to see which of these cafés are serving roasts that match your profile.
Hackney's five speciality cafés share a palate that leans toward the clean and luminous, with apple, citrus, and bright acidity appearing consistently across menus alongside quieter threads of caramel. It is a neighbourhood that seems to favour coffees with clarity and lift over weight and darkness.
Flavour notes derived from roasts on active café menus and community check-ins.
Based on roasts from roasters stocked across Hackney
What Hackney is drinking
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Join to contributeThe flavour notes you're most likely to encounter across Hackney's speciality coffee shops. Each note links to roasts across London that share the same profile.
Coffee roasts that GCL members have been checking in to most often across Hackney's cafés in the last 30 days.
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When GCL members log what they're drinking here, the most popular roasts appear. Take the taste test to find roasts worth trying, then log them here.
How Hackney's coffee culture is shifting over time.
Other parts of London within easy reach of Hackney.
Take our 60-second flavour quiz and discover which cafés and roasts in Hackney are aligned with your palate.