Top Spots For Hot Drinks In Denver

Whether it's the weather that is chilling you to the bone or cold feet holding you back from a big decision, there is nothing better than a hot drink to take the chill and the edge off your day.

Crave Dessert Bar and Lounge
891 14th St.
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 586-4199
www.cravedenver.com

The beauty of Crave is that its menu will satisfy just about any hot-drink craving you may have whether it's coffee, tea, hot chocolate or a cocktail. Crave owns the morning, noon and night hot-drink world in Denver. It opens at 6:30 a.m. for early morning coffee or a hot chocolate with housemade marshmallows. Crave now has an afternoon high tea complete with a pot of freshly brewed tea and traditional treats, and the bar staff is open to just about any hot cocktail creation you can think of.

This Wash Park favorite is a homey place that is creatively fun with its hot drink concoctions. How about a Barackti Chai; Colorado Bhakti chai infused with Kaladi Kenyon coffee? Or perhaps a honey cinnamon latte is on your mind? And yes, Wash Perk has the traditional Americano, cappuccino and a bottomless cup of house coffee. Not many places are generous enough to do this anymore, but Wash Perk is that kind of place.

Dazbog Coffee Co.
1090 Yuma St.
Denver, CO 80204
(303) 892-9999
www.dazbog.com

Leonid and Anatoly Yuffa, co-owners of Colorado's Dazbog Coffee, are serious about their coffee and tea. Dazbog roasts the beans right here in Denver and is extremely careful to get the most from the beans without over roasting. It also sells very high-quality, whole-leaf teas that make a cup even the brothers' Russian grandmother would approve of. If you are the type who likes your coffee brewed just for you, the Yuffa brothers are happy to oblige with the ONESKEE. It's a single-brewing, hand-poured system that lets you pick your beans for your cup of coffee. So for instance, if KGBlend, Svoboda, White Nights, the Hermitage House Blend or the Babushka is you preferred bean, the barista will grind the beans just for you and start the single-cup ONESKEE brewing, very kruto (aka cool in Russian).

The Squeaky Bean has a new location and a new look: it's wood planked and of course, green. But bartender Sean Kenyon is still on tap to serve his take on hot cocktails. Kenyon will use artistic skills for delicious hot toddies and just the right ratio of Irish whiskey, sugar syrup and coffee for an Irish coffee on a cold winter day.

Ku Cha House of Tea
1141 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 443-3612
www.kuchatea.com

Step into a tranquil world of tea at this traditional Asian teahouse. The teas are very high quality and the experience is authentic. Ku Cha is a tea shop and tea house in the back of the space. It features a large selection of black, white and green teas, as well as hard-to-find earthy Pu-erh teas sold in pressed-cake form. There are also smoky oolongs on the menu. Complimentary tea tastings are on Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and classes are offered on the art of tea and traditional tea ceremonies.

Related: Top Spots For Bottomless Mimosas In Denver

There are few places in Colorado that take you to an entirely different world, but such is the fantasy of Dushanbe Teahouse in Boulder. It serves as a personal refuge to escape for a few moments of tranquility (except on Boulder farmer's market days when it's exceptionally crowded). Built as a gift from its sister city in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the restaurant is a handcrafted masterpiece that houses one of the state's most elaborate tea selections. Enjoy the Gopaldhara Wonder Tea, a first flush tea from the high altitudes of Darjeeling, or the Cloud Mist Supreme, green tea from China.

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