Best Coffee Shops Near ASU for Studying

Not All Coffee Shops Are Created Equal for Studying

There's a difference between a coffee shop where you can genuinely work for three hours and one that looks nice in photos but kicks you out when it gets busy, has no outlets, or plays music at a volume that makes focus impossible. Here's the real breakdown for ASU students.

Cartel Coffee Lab (Mill Avenue)

This is the consensus answer and it deserves its reputation. Cartel on Mill Avenue is the best all-around study coffee shop near ASU. The coffee is excellent (they source seriously, roast in-house), the WiFi is reliable, there are outlets at most seating spots, and the atmosphere skews toward people who are there to work.

Best times: Weekday mornings, early afternoon. It fills up but not to the point of being unusable. Weekend mornings get busier.

Buy something if you're staying for more than an hour. The pour-overs are worth it if you have 10 minutes to wait. The drip is good if you just need caffeine quickly.

Practical note: Parking nearby is limited and metered. Walk or bike if you can.

Press Coffee

Press has a couple of locations in the greater Tempe/Scottsdale area, and the one accessible to ASU students is worth knowing. It's cleaner and more corporate-feeling than Cartel, but the coffee is consistently good and the layout provides solid table space.

Good for: Solo work sessions. Less ideal for groups because the seating tends toward smaller two-tops.

The espresso drinks are well-made. Avoid the flavored lattes if you want to taste actual coffee; they work if you want something sweet.

Dutch Bros on Apache

Let's be real — Dutch Bros is not a study spot. It's a drive-through. You're not camping out at a Dutch Bros with your laptop. But it belongs on this list because:

The coffee and energy drinks are cheap
It's extremely close to campus
When you need caffeine for a study session happening somewhere else, Dutch Bros is the most cost-effective option

A large cold brew or a Rebel energy drink is significantly cheaper than anything at Cartel or a Starbucks. Get it, bring it to the library.

Starbucks (Multiple Locations)

Starbucks near ASU has several locations, including on-campus ones in the MU and other buildings. For studying:

Reliability: High. You know what you're getting.
Seating: Hit or miss depending on the location and time
Outlets: Usually available somewhere
Vibe: Noisy. The ASU-adjacent Starbucks locations are busy and sound like it.

Good for: Quick study sessions when you need something familiar. Not ideal for long focused work blocks during peak hours.

Lux Central (Phoenix — Worth Knowing)

Slightly further afield — Lux is a Phoenix institution about 10 minutes on the light rail. If you need to completely change your environment and want excellent coffee, Lux is the destination. It's a quirky, large space with good WiFi, interesting people, and a menu beyond coffee (full food, cocktails in the evening).

For days when you need to be somewhere other than Tempe to actually focus, Lux is the move. Check their hours as they vary.

What to Actually Look for in a Study Coffee Shop

Outlets: Non-negotiable if you're working for more than an hour. Check before you settle in.

WiFi reliability: Some spots have fast WiFi that works; some have technically available WiFi that's actually too slow for streaming lectures or accessing large files. If you're going to need strong WiFi, Cartel is your safest bet.

Music volume: Background music you can't hear is fine. Music that requires you to compensate with noise-canceling headphones defeats the purpose. Most good study cafes calibrate this correctly; the chain spots don't always.

Stay tolerance: Some coffee shops actively want you to buy something every hour or leave. Others are fine with you camping out for four hours on one purchase. Cartel tends toward tolerant; chain locations in busier areas less so.

Crowd type: This sounds snobby but it matters. A coffee shop full of people who are also working creates a different energy than one full of people hanging out loudly. Cartel skews toward workers; student-area chain locations are more social.

The Kit You Actually Need

For a successful coffee shop study session:

Your own headphones (noise-canceling if you have them)
Your laptop charger
One physical notebook for off-screen thinking
Water bottle — you'll want water alongside whatever coffee you're drinking

Don't buy too much caffeine at once. The three-espresso afternoon is appealing in theory and catastrophic in practice.