Coffee Trail 2026
Follow the Coffee Trail,
Help a Neighbor
Buy a Coffee Trail guide, visit participating coffee shops across the Capital Region, and help Capital City Rescue Mission shelter and feed people in Albany.
A local tradition. A lasting impact.
What is the Coffee Trail?
The Coffee Trail is Capital City Rescue Mission’s annual coffee shop fundraiser, now in its third year.
For a $25 donation, you get a trail guide packed with codes for free or discounted drinks at coffee shops across the Capital Region, and every guide sold supports the Mission’s work.
It launches around National Coffee Day each September. Guides go on sale online starting Monday, September 14 at 9am, and only 400 are available, so they tend to go fast.
Capital City Rescue Mission has provided shelter, food, clothing, health care, and recovery programs to people facing homelessness in Albany, New York, since 1949.
How does the Coffee Trail work?
Buy a guide, visit the cafes on it, and collect a code at each stop.
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01
Get your guide
Buy your trail guide online for a $25 donation starting September 14. Choose a Northern or Southern trail. Your guide ships to you by mail.
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02
Plan your stops
Visit any participating shop between September 28 and November 16, a seven-week window.
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03
Enjoy your coffee
Show your guide to redeem a free coffee or a discounted specialty drink, worth $1.50 to $6, depending on the shop.
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04
Collect & enter
Collect the code at each stop. Every shop you visit is an extra entry into the prize drawing.
Visit one shop or all of them, whenever you’re in the neighborhood. Once you have your guide, you can start visiting shops on September 28, and you’ll have until November 16 to finish, a seven-week window.
Which trail should you choose?
Pick the trail that covers where you live, work, or run errands. Capital City Rescue Mission offers two regional trails, each with its own set of cafes and its own printed guide.
Northern Trail
22 participating cafes
A little farther north.
Albany (north), Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady Counties
Including Stinky’s Coffee Co, Common Roots Brewing, Motor Oil Coffee, The Daily Grind, Alias Coffee, Iron Coffee Co, and Jacob Alejandro.
Southern Trail
24 participating cafes
Head south. Find a favorite.
Albany (south), Columbia, Greene, and Schoharie Counties
Including Brewtus Roasting, Greater Things Roasters, Cafe Joust, Haymarket, Twisted Sisters Coffee House, and Higher Grounds Coffee Co.
Both trails come with an interactive Google Map so you can plan your stops by neighborhood instead of guessing from a list.
$25
One guide.
Support for your neighbors.
What does a $25 trail guide support?
Every trail guide is a $25 donation to Capital City Rescue Mission, which has sheltered and fed people facing homelessness in Albany since 1949.
The Mission’s shelter, health clinic, and recovery programs, including New Life for Men, New Faith for Women, Transitional Living, and Celebrate Recovery, run on donations like this one.
More than $1,000 in prizes
What can you win?
The more shops you visit, the more chances you get to win. Every code you collect is an entry into a prize drawing worth more than $1,000 total, donated by Coffee Trail’s cafe and business partners.
Grand Prize
$50 gift cards plus specialty coffee beans, branded merchandise, and bakery items from partner cafes.
1st Prize
$25 gift cards and coffee merchandise.
2nd Prize
$15 to $50 gift cards and coffee beans.
Who sponsors the Coffee Trail?
Coffee Trail 2026 is sponsored by Becker Dairying Farm, Cedar Hill Modular Homes, CSX, Grace Roofing, and Halfmoon Roasting Lab.
Their support covers the guides, prizes, and printing costs, so more of every $25 donation reaches Capital City Rescue Mission’s programs.
Becker Dairying Farm
Cedar Hill Modular Homes
CSX
Grace Roofing
Halfmoon Roasting Lab
Meet the Coffee Trail partners
Local coffee. Local community.
Northern Trail partners
Stinky’s Coffee Co
Common Roots Brewing
Boutique & Coffee Made Simple
Steep’d Coffeehouse
Kickstart Coffee Co
Iron Coffee Co
Alias Coffee
Dos Granos Espresso Bar
Jacob Alejandro
Gipfel Coffee Company
Upstate Cookie Shack
518 Coffee Bar
Ambition Coffee House & Eatery
Arthur’s 1795
Graham’s Coffee Parlor
Storied Espresso & Boba
Broad Street Bagel Co
Motor Oil Coffee
Station Six
The Daily Grind
Bella Napoli (Latham Only)
Amped Coffee House
Southern Trail partners
Alias Coffee
Iron Coffee Co
Jacob Alejandro – Albany
Kha & Mels Coffee & Tea Room
Brewtus Roasting
Rooted & Rind
Blue Moon Chocolate & Gifts
Kitty’s Market
Broad Street Bagel Co
Stonykill Coffee & Records
Cafe Omi
Twisted Sisters Coffee House
Greater Things Roasters
Cafe Joust
Citiot
See & Be Kitchen
Haymarket
Higher Grounds Coffee Co
Clutch & Throttle
Middleburgh Coffee Co
Hard Scrabble Coffee Trailer
Carrot Barn
Julie B’s Coffee + Bites
Follow the Coffee Trail.
Help a neighbor.
Buy a Coffee Trail guide, visit participating coffee shops across the Capital Region, and help Capital City Rescue Mission shelter and feed people in Albany.
$25 donation · Choose a Northern or Southern trail · Delivered by mail