How we calculate scores

Most coffee shop ratings on the internet are clouded by ambiance, flavored coffees, chai lattes and food. PourIndex tries to score the thing that actually matters to coffee lovers: what's in the cup.

What we look at

We cut through the non-coffee clutter and weigh three things:

1. Execution: how the coffee is actually made: extraction quality, consistency, care in preparation. If this isn't good, nothing else matters.
2. Roasting and sourcing: where the beans come from, who roasts them and how they roast them.
3. Demonstrated expertise: signals that the people behind the counter know their craft. This is supporting evidence and often correlated with consistency, but it's not a substitute for a good cup: great gear doesn't rescue a bad shot.

What can hold a score down

Frequent reports of inconsistent execution, flavored-coffee focus, etc. Conversely, quiet websites, small menus, no signage, etc. don't hurt a score. Missing information just means we know less, not that a shop is worse. We try to be transparent about that.

When we don't have enough information

Some shops don't have much to go on yet. Rather than calling a thin picture a verdict, we label those scores Best Guess and say so plainly. A Best Guess is our honest read on whatever we've been able to find. If we can't find anything, a shop starts around 6.0 until we learn more. It moves as we learn, so let us know if we got it wrong!

Where you come in

Every score starts as our best estimate from what we can find. That's a good start, not the final word. Upvoting and downvoting feed the score directly. We also read every flag and use them to make improvements.