Old Town fills with cafes that trade on the Royal Mile proximity and not much else. This one roasts its own coffee and runs a deliberate filter programme; the V60 is the reason to seek it out, not the postcode.

The Royal Mile coffee bar of Santu's New Town roastery, with the specialty programme to prove it. For this part of the city, worth the detour.

Filter arrives bright and fruity, espresso rich and precise; both come from their own roastery in Old Town. Staff share extraction notes before you ask.

The espresso is Obadiah Collective, which counts for something in Edinburgh. The filter list changes and the room doesn't hurry you.

The queue on Cockburn Street is the signal. Exclusive Obadiah espresso, a filter rotation that cycles through Five Elephant, La Cabra, and Bonanza, and retail beans worth taking home.

An arch beside Waverley where the roaster in the grinder rotates through European suppliers rather than settling on a house blend. Filter runs alongside espresso, and both get the same deliberate treatment.

Takes its name from Fitzroy, Melbourne, and runs that reference seriously. Staff ask what you're after before they pour, and mean the question.

Old Town's dependable brunch kitchen: seasonal Scottish produce, honest cooking, and a local roaster in the cup. Come for the food; the coffee does its job.

Mossgiel's organic pasture-fed milk and Huskee cups: two deliberate choices that add up to a flat white worth tracking down on Jeffrey Street.

The specialty-framed independent in Old Town with a clear focus on flat whites and black coffee. Gets both right in an area where most don't bother trying.

Owner-run counter opposite St James Quarter. Brazilian-origin espresso and toasted paninis. Go for one, you'll order both.