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We chat with local influencer Ryan Keane about his most memorable sips around Raleigh.
Find another creator more dedicated to discovering the best of North Carolina’s coffee scene—we’ll wait. Ryan Keane moved to the Southern state from NYC only a year ago—but he’s already cemented himself as a go-to guide for the best java around.
Since January, he’s been posting about his local coffee finds—from fan-faves to hidden gems—to a growing social audience, first catapulted by his review of Caffe Driade in Chapel Hill, which launched his 12.7K following on TikTok. Sans influencer mindset, Keane didn’t take making content too seriously—the video “just took off.”
“It got over 200K views, I think at this point,” reminisces Keane. “And all the comments were like ‘go here, go here, go here.’ … A lot of people wanted to see more, so I just ran with it.”
Now, Keane’s reviewed over 80 coffee shops across the state, including several in the Cap City. Here, we chat with Keane about his most memorable coffee moments from throughout Raleigh and beyond.
Your pick for a well-known spot? I would say one that really blew up before I even started making videos would be Paul & Jack. When they opened in Raleigh, I went and tried it, and I love that place so much. Jubala is also very popular, and I really liked them.
Go-to staple latte? The one that always comes to mind when people ask this, just because of how surprisingly good it was, is Boulted Bread. And they’re primarily a bakery, so you don’t really think of them as a coffee place, but their iced vanilla latte is unbelievable.
What about a more unique drink? The Vietnamese iced coffee from Idle Hour has been one of my favorites. And at La Horchateria, they have a horchata latte that you can make with oat milk, and they have a Spanish latte you can make with condensed milk. Those are so good, and they come out perfect every single time.
Perfect coffee pastry pairing? Boulted Bread and Paul & Jack. If you want a coffee and a pastry, go to both of them. The former is more staples, but the latter has way more fun, out there, crazy-delicious pastries.
Which coffee shop takes the crown so far? Joe Van Gogh, Boulted Bread, and Black & White. They all hit the same way for different reasons—just really high-quality coffee, very unique flavors. Those are the drinks that I was sipping on, and by the time I was done with the review I was like, ‘I’m drinking this whole thing right now.’
Any new spots you’re excited to try? Smooth Joe Coffee and MÂY Bakery and Café.
This Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
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