Yardstick Coffee Earns a Spot on the 2026 List of World's 100 Best Coffee Shops

(SPOT.ph) Is coffee a main factor in how you form your itinerary when you're traveling? The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops can be your guide to where to get your cup of joe, whether you’re wandering through Japan, Australia, or whichever timezone you're fighting the jetlag in.

And if you're wondering if the Philippines' local coffee scene can compete globally, the short answer is yes. Out of 100 cafés worldwide, one local name earned a coveted spot on the list: Yardstick Coffee makes the list for the second consecutive year, at No. 34 this time around.

The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops is a relatively new recognition platform, launched in 2025 to spotlight standout cafés across the globe. For its second awards list, Yardstick returns to the list on the 34th spot. A shift in ranking from last year's 18th spot, yes, but a solid global placement nevertheless. A win is a win, and we're celebrating it with a cup of coffee.

"Gagi, you've never heard of Yardstick?" Okay, here's the deal.

Founded in 2013 by Andre Chanco, Kevin Tang, and Jessica Lee, Yardstick began as a quiet operation in Legazpi Village, which was one of the pioneers focusing on speciality coffee. More than a decade later, it has grown into 10 branches dotting Metro Manila, with Sea Salt Latte as its bestselling drink.

But just in case you haven't noticed it, each branch has its own exclusive drink offering inspired by its corresponding location. If you're celebrating Yardstick's win at the SM Mall of Asia branch, the branch-exclusive drink there is the Manila Latte; SM Aura has Clockwork Orange (since it's by the mall's cinemas); The Corner House branch has the Dept of Architecture; and their newest branch in Aguirre has a completely new menu of drinks—plus kakigori.

As for the coffee shops that cracked the top 10, the list reads like a bucketlist for any coffee addict. The top spot is Onyx Coffee Lab in the U.S., followed by Norway’s Tim Wendelboe, then El Salvador’s Alquimia Coffee. New to the list is Australia's Only Coffee Project Crowns Nest, which makes it at No. 4, and behind it is Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters, sliding down from last year’s top spot. Rounding out the list from No. 6 to 10 are Singapore's Apartment Coffee, Austria's Gota Coffee Experts, Malaysia's Story of Ono, Colombia's Tropicalia Coffee, and France's Tanat.

The winners were handpicked by a distinguished global panel of over 200 coffee experts and industry pros, who evaluated hundreds of nominees using Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) standards. The coffee shops were judged based on the following: quality of the coffee, barista expertise, customer service, innovation, ambiance and atmosphere, sustainability practices, food and pastry quality, and last but not least, consistency.

See the full list of winners at The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops' website.