Ciutat Vella Valencia

The Barcelona roaster's Valencia counter, pouring single origins from small farms with the taste profile and roast style printed up front. Worth the stop if you want to know what you're drinking before you order it.

The baristas talk origin and green coffee grading as readily as they make the coffee, and the single-origin beans come home with you. Bilingual staff mean visiting coffee people get the full conversation.

A Ciutat Vella brunch spot that takes its coffee as seriously as its eggs, with single origins on both espresso and filter and a rotating coffee of the month.

A natural wine bar in El Carmen that takes its coffee seriously, with hand-brewed V60 on a rotating selection the barista talks you through. Pick up a bag of single origin from the shelf on your way out.

A family-run Valencia counter in the Carmen quarter where specialty is the whole pitch. Order the cortado, which comes through creamy with fresh fruit notes.

Guatemalan coffee is the whole point here, down to the Mayan artwork on the walls. Order a V60 and the person behind the counter will walk you through the origin and the roast.

Specialty is all that's sold here, and the school attached means the staff can explain every bag on the shelf. Pick one up for yourself or as a gift.

Inside Mercado Central, a specialty counter where espresso is the easy order and the manual brews are worth slowing down for. Beans and brewing kit go home with you.

A small counter tucked into Ciutat Vella where the espresso is the reason to come, pulled by a barista whose passion for specialty coffee shows in the cup. Take a seat in the little corner and stay for it.

Ask for a light roast and the person behind the counter will walk you to the right bag, then sit down to a flat white made properly. Ciutat Vella has plenty of cafés; few have staff who talk roast and flavour like this.

A small, owner-run counter on a quiet Old Town side street, where the filter coffee has a visitor calling it the best they've had in Spain. Guest-roaster beans rotate, so ask what's in before you order.

A gallery-café in Ciutat Vella where the coffee is a Colombian Caturra single origin and the rotating sculpture installations are the other half of the draw. Take it to the garden at the back.

A Guatemalan family runs this Ciutat Vella counter, and the flat white is the order. Pair it with the Guatemalan breakfast of beans, eggs, plantains and fresh cheese.

A hidden alley in El Carmen where the flat white is made properly and the welcome comes in several languages. Bagels and tapas sit alongside it, so it works as a morning stop or a long brunch.

Brunch comes first at Federal, with a house coffee behind it: the brand's own Colombian Huila, roasted in Barcelona and sold in bags to take away. The big table and patio make it an easy daytime stop in Ciutat Vella.

A Ciutat Vella takeaway counter where the specialty coffee changes origin every week, poured as batch brew or pulled as a flat white. Matcha and bagels sit alongside, which makes it an easy stop when you're already on C/ de la Pau.

A tiny grab-and-go counter in Valencia's old town where the owner's smooth, unfussy lattes have earned a loyal local following. Order the latte without syrup and take it for a walk.

A small Ciutat Vella counter where the double espresso is the draw, with real crema and aroma. Order an Argentinian dessert or the pecan cookie alongside.

A one-man counter in Valencia's old town where Dani makes each coffee for one customer at a time. The medium-dark cappuccino is the order, and regulars come back for it.

A tiny takeaway counter in the old town where the barista will tell you where the beans come from if you ask. The homemade pastries, especially the za'atar and the cardamom and rose, are reason enough to detour.

A Ciutat Vella brunch counter on C/ de la Sang that pulls its espresso on a La Marzocco, a safe stop when the old town has you walking past mid-morning.

A quiet side street in Ciutat Vella with a flat white worth seeking out, and croissants and brunch plates that turn a coffee stop into a proper sit-down.

A small, owner-run, Italian-leaning café in Valencia's old town where the coffee is the draw and breakfast is easy on the wallet.

A owner-run counter in Ciutat Vella where the two people behind it clearly care about the coffee, with a shaded terrace and a proper toast menu alongside.

A tiny takeaway beside the Old Market with a cortado worth stopping for. Take it to the church steps outside.

A one-person newsstand on Plaza del Doctor Collado where the iced latte comes out right every time and the milk is properly silky. The magazine rack is the other reason to linger.

A breakfast stop in Valencia's old town where the flat white and cappuccino are made properly, which is the point in a city where the coffee runs hit and miss.

A small owner-run bar in Ciutat Vella where the espresso gets praise from working baristas, and the flat whites hold up to an Australian palate.

A tiny restored bakery on a quiet square in El Carmen, where the coffee is ground fresh and brewed to order. The cookies are the other reason locals keep coming back.

A small, owner-run counter in El Carmen where the owner asks how you take your coffee before pouring it, with pastries and local artisan products alongside.