The UK’s best & worst brews: Leeds named nation’s coffee capital following International Coffee Day

Whether you're a casual drinker looking for a quick pick-me-up or a coffee connoisseur, the UK offers a diverse range of coffee experiences.

So, as the nation's coffee culture continues to grow, new data by Coffee Friend reveals which cities are leading the way for caffeine enthusiasts.

Just in time for the cooler months, when many of us turn to our favorite coffee spots for a warm pick-me-up, Leeds has been crowned the best city for coffee lovers, based on factors such as price of a cappuccino, number of coffee shops per city and number of Google searches.

The best cities for coffee in the UK

Rank

City

Price of

Cappuccino

No. of

Coffee Shops

No. of coffee shops

per 100,000 people

No. of

5* Coffee Shops

No. of searches

for Coffee Shops

No. of

Coffee Roasters

1

Leeds

£3.29

148

33

38

22,939

6

2

Manchester

£3.51

178

45

29

39,442

7

3

Glasgow

£3.36

209

35

36

12,981

10

4

Edinburgh

£3.50

277

60

54

11,613

5

5

Milton Keynes

£3.25

62

27

9

16,700

1

6

Belfast

£3.37

109

40

12

9,608

4

7

Blackpool

£2.40

41

17

14

11,027

8

Liverpool

£3.07

157

18

28

12,082

6

9

Derby

£2.92

59

7

9

19,965

2

10

Cardiff

£3.34

115

26

22

8,585

3

Coming out on top as the best UK city for coffee is Leeds. Here, a cappuccino will cost you £3.29. In terms of coffee shops, the city offers 148 in total, which equals 33 coffee shops per 100,000 people, 38 of which are 5*. In total, coffee shops in Leeds have an average of almost 23,000 searches every year. The variety of coffee is also wide, with six coffee roasters, the third highest of all cities in the index.

Second is Manchester, where although coffee is the most expensive of all cities, setting you back £3.51, the city offers the third most coffee shops of all in the index (178), equivalent to 45 per 100,000 people. In Manchester people are searching for coffee shops the most, with almost 40,000 searches last year. The city also offers seven coffee roasters.

Glasgow secures the third position. The Scottish city charges £3.36 for a coffee as well as having the second most number of coffee shops of all UK cities - 209 in total. This equates to 35 coffee shops per 100,000 people. Of the 209 coffee shops, 36 have a 5* rating. Although people aren’t searching for coffee shops as often as in other cities (almost 13,000), they offer 10 coffee roasters.

You can find the cheapest cappuccino in Blackpool, costing just £2.40. The highest number of coffee shops per 100,000 people can be found in Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh. There are also the highest number of 5* coffee shops here too, with 54 in total.

The worst cities for coffee in the UK

Rank

City

Price of

Cappuccino

No. of

Coffee Shops

No. of coffee shops

per 100,000 people

No. of

5* Coffee Shops

No. of searches

for Coffee Shops

No. of

Coffee Roasters

1

Sunderland

£3.49

31

9

3

7,871

2

Luton

£3.66

14

5

1

14,883

3

Newport

£3.22

30

10

6

4,302

4

Reading

£3.52

41

13

5

8,302

3

5

Stoke-on-Trent

£2.97

28

8

10

7,082

6

Nottingham

£3.36

90

12

20

5,260

6

7

London

£3.72

1,762

23

260

7,940

58

8

Plymouth

£3.33

69

27

9

5,073

9

Preston

£3.23

44

14

5

12,255

10

Birmingham

£3.34

132

13

20

21,944

3

Unfortunately, not every cup of coffee in the UK provides the perfect blend.

According to Coffee Friend research, Sunderland ranks as the worst city in the UK for coffee, with just 31 coffee shops across the city - equating to 9 per 100,000 people - and only three earning a 5-star rating. Coffee shops are searched for nearly 8,000 times a year, the fourth lowest of all cities, and the city offers no coffee roasters.

Following closely behind is Luton, where coffee is the second most expensive of cities in the index (second only to London). Luton has just 14 coffee shops, the fewest of all cities, with only one rated 5-star. However, coffee searches here total almost 15,000 annually - the second highest and double that of Sunderland.

Newport comes third, where a cappuccino costs £3.22, the second cheapest of all cities. Newport has 30 coffee shops, equalling 10 per 100,000 people, with six of them rated 5-star. However, it had the least searches for nearby coffee shops, with just 4,300 searches in total.

Unsurprisingly, London is home to the priciest coffee, with a cappuccino costing £3.72. Despite the high price, the city boasts 1,762 coffee shops—providing the most variety of all cities in the index. Birmingham leads in searches, with residents searching for local coffee spots nearly 22,000 times a year.