3400 E. Speedway Blvd.
READERS' PICK: If you find yourself craving sweet frozen things when the weather heats up, you might be interested to know about a cool little number called a Coffee X-treme, served up by the kind folks at locally owned Coffee X-Change. It's basically a granita without the calories, a frosty delight with a mere 2 grams of fat.
If you like your java incognito with lots of milk and sugar under a cloud of real whipped cream, stop by midtown Cuppuccinos. You'll find the ubiquitous café mocha in two guises here (white or dark chocolate), plus the now-expected arsenal of Torani syrups to spice up your hot or iced latte. A frozen granita latte, plus all manner of caffeine-free Italian sodas, merely scratch the surface of Cupp's insane selection. (Also see Best Espresso, page 78.)
READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: Starbucks, four locations (see Best Beans, page 77; and Best Espresso, page 78).
MORE MANIA: Velvet Tea Garden, 450 N. Sixth Ave. If you're mad for a café mocha that'll make you do handsprings, look no further than the Velvet Tea Garden on the corner of Sixth Street and Sixth Avenue. Order a mocha there, and you'll receive a monstrous, bowl-sized mug full of the sweetest chocolate-flavored coffee in town. Relax on the fuzzy green couch facing a wall of red-paned windows, and enjoy the surreal feel of being surrounded by a garden of floral oil paintings. Listen to some great local music and kick back. And you night owls, take your time finishing that giant mocha -- Velvet Tea Garden is open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Here's a tip for non-coffee drinkers in search of something a little crazy, too. Check out the insanely large martini glass on the bar -- the one about three sizes too big. That's not just for decoration. The bartender will fill it up for $15, though you'd have to be loony to drink it all on your own.
