Frontdoors Five: Best Drive-Thru Coffee Spots

Soon the kids will be going back in school and your morning routine will return to a chaotic dash to get everyone to school and work on time and in one piece. To keep you sane, you could probably really use some coffee and we don’t blame you. The issue is that there’s just so much coffee out there you might not know where to start! Your friend has been telling you about the Flavored coffee that you need to try, your partner has been wanting to buy a coffee machine for months now, and your schedule tells you that you’ve only got time for instant coffee! Plus, there are some wonderful coffee shops in the local area so we have put together our list of top drive-thru coffee spots to help you start your morning off right.
1. Dutch Bros
Various
While the employees’ unprecedented peppiness can be a bit off-putting first thing in the morning, the great coffee makes up for it – plus, we like to think some of that enthusiasm for life might rub off on us. Anything’s possible. Plus, there are so many locations now that it’s likely the trip won’t add to much time to your morning commute.
2. Sip Coffee & Beer Lounge
Arcadia
Sip serves washed coffee, which they assure us is more clean, balanced and subtle – we’re not sure if we can tell that much of a difference in anything before 8 a.m., but it is good, and most of their coffee comes from local favorite, Cartel Coffee Lab. While you won’t find as many over-the-top options here (we’re looking at you, Unicorn Frappuccino), we appreciate the simplicity of choosing between a cold brew, flavored latte, Americano or good old-fashioned drip.
3. D’Lite
Arcadia, Old Town Scottsdale
D’Lite (formerly D’Lish) is a great place for high-quality, fair trade, natural and locally roasted coffee – they’ll even give you straight espresso and cold brew espresso if you’re really tired. Plus, they have a ton of healthy breakfast options as well, streamlining your morning even further. For ultimate efficiency, we recommend the Breakfast Buzz (or the vegan option!) which mixes your espresso right into a protein shake.
4. Smooth Brew
Phoenix
Dessert lovers rejoice – this is the place for you with specialty espresso drinks like the red velvet latte, horchata latte and salted caramel truffle latte, to name a few. They also have plenty of food options to accompany your coffee no matter what the time of day and a variety of delicious and fun-flavored pastries like the guava-coconut muffin.
5. Copper Star Coffee
Central Phoenix
This award-winning coffee shop is as fun and creative as it is convenient, and definitely worth a sit-down visit whenever you have the time. Plus, they have it all – from pastries and sandwiches to specialty coffees like the Ghiradelli Mocha and the white chocolate peanut butter mocha – all guaranteed to improve your morning commute.