How We Find Coffee Places
Beany exists because we wanted one reliable source for specialty coffee. That only works if every pin is verified. Here is how a café makes it onto the map.
Three ways in. We research cities ourselves, block by block. We ask the people who know: every barista and roaster we meet gets the same question about their favorite spots. And the community suggests cafés through the app. We are thankful for every single submission, we vet each one, and submitting is free. Always will be.
Then comes the check. Before a café gets its pin, we check it against clear criteria: are the beans actually specialty, is the roaster transparent about origin and roast, is there real brewing craft behind the bar? Gear alone doesn't decide it. A beautiful espresso machine means little with commodity beans in the hopper, and some of the finest spots on Beany don't own an espresso machine at all. They pour hand filters, brilliantly.
One question, honestly asked. The check asks exactly one thing: does this place serve real specialty coffee? If yes, it's on the map. If not yet, it isn't. What we never do is judge from afar how good a specialty café is. We're not the taste police, and frankly, nobody should trust a rating made from a desk in Berlin. How good a café is gets decided where it should be: at the bar, cup by cup, by the community. (We check in and rate too, as members. One voice among many.)
The map is never finished. Cafés open, close, change owners, change roasters. The community keeps us honest here as well: spot something that's off, tell us in the app or write us. Every hint makes the map better.
Want to know more about the process? Write us: hi@beany.app