Indianapolis, Indiana

The best coffee in Indianapolis

Nine Indianapolis roasters and cafés — one of the deeper coffee scenes in the Midwest.

9 entries · verified August 2026

Indianapolis has seven distinct local roasters and eight active roasting sites, which is more than most cities its size and more than its reputation suggests.

Broad Ripple, Fountain Square, Mass Ave and downtown hold the highest concentrations. What stands out here is the mix: serious roasters like Tinker and Blue Mind, multi-roaster cafés, a nonprofit neighbourhood shop that funds a different local charity every month, and a horror-themed coffee bar that would be a novelty anywhere else but earns its spot here on the strength of the drinks alone.

  1. Tinker Coffee

    The local roaster with the strongest independent presence in the city, founded 2014 out of the historic Herron-Morton Place district, and the first name to try if you only have one stop. Cupping classes run on-site, and reviewers have driven in from out of state specifically for the roastery — one from Dayton called the coffee "phenomenal" after making the trip.

    1125 W 16th St, Indianapolis, IN 46202 · Website

  2. Hubbard & Cravens

    Broad Ripple

    Two café-and-roastery locations, in Broad Ripple and SoBro, roasting their own beans locally. Reviewers describe it as a genuine laptop-and- study spot rather than a quick-stop counter. The most established local roasting operation on this list.

    6229 Carrollton Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46220 · Website

  3. Monon Coffee Company

    Broad Ripple

    Serving Broad Ripple since 1997 with organic, fair-trade coffee, just off the Monon Trail with a boho, local-art-covered room. Long enough to have outlasted several trends. The cortado gets specific praise, and so does the White Zombie, an in-house specialty; street parking only is the one recurring gripe.

    Order: a cortado, or the White Zombie

    920 E Westfield Blvd, Indianapolis, IN 46220 · Website

  4. Calvin Fletcher's Coffee Company

    A neighbourhood shop in historic Fletcher Place that operates on a nonprofit model: all profits, and eleven months a year all tips, go to a rotating local nonprofit through its own charitable foundation. The Masala Latte gets called out often, and the room hosts First Fridays, live music and art shows rather than just serving coffee and closing.

    Order: the Masala Latte

    647 Virginia Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46203 · Website

  5. Helm Coffee

    An LGBTQ+ women-owned roaster in Garfield Park, part of the city's current roasting bench and firmly in the modern camp. The housemade ube latte gets singled out repeatedly, pastries come from Leviathan Bakehouse next door, and reviewers describe it as one of the more genuinely inclusive rooms in the city. Weekend-only hours (Friday through Sunday), worth checking before a special trip.

    Order: the ube latte

    2324 Shelby St, Indianapolis, IN 46203 · Website

  6. Blue Mind Coffee

    One of the seven local roasters, small-batch since 2015 in the Meridian-Kessler neighbourhood, and among the newer names worth tracking. A bright, cozy room that reviewers repeatedly describe as a standout rather than just another stop.

    646 E 38th St, Indianapolis, IN 46205 · Website

  7. Limelight Coffee

    Primarily a wholesale roaster supplying local markets and grocers rather than a café built for sitting down, roasting sustainably-sourced arabica at a premium price to farmers. The Mexico and Costa Rica single origins are the ones reviewers name specifically. Rounds out the local roasting options rather than being a destination on its own.

    5143 E 65th St, Indianapolis, IN 46220 · Website

  8. Julian Coffee

    The smaller end of the Indianapolis roasting bench, technically out in Zionsville rather than the city proper. Its cold brew was voted America's best at the 2019 Coffee Fest, and the Pacific Rampage and Zombie Nutz roasts are the two flavour names that come up again and again in reviews.

    Order: the cold brew

    10830 Bennett Pkwy Ste N, Zionsville, IN 46077 · Website

  9. Black House Cafe

    Fountain Square

    A horror-themed café that opened January 2024, with a life-size Michael Myers greeting visitors and drinks named after horror films — "It's Alive!" is matcha and pistachio, "Ghostface" is white chocolate, raspberry and espresso. A gimmick, included because Fountain Square is worth the walk and this is the most memorable stop on it; a minority of reviews note the coffee itself can run inconsistent, which is worth knowing going in.

    Order: the Ghostface latte

    1122 Shelby St, Indianapolis, IN 46203 · Website