Color Palettes for Coffee Shops

These coffee shop color palettes will guide you to choose the colors of your café logo, menu, website, cups or Instagram posts. They are designed for café owners, designers and all small coffee brand starters.

Every palette has 5 colors. To copy the HEX code for any swatch, click on the swatch.

I really liked the warm brown and golden color combination at Nectar Bar. I particularly loved the elegant feel and these colours seemed calm and welcoming to me.

Popular Coffee Shop Color Palettes: Espresso Bar, Latte Art, Mocha Mint, Cinnamon Roll, Matcha Café, Nordic Roastery, Caramel Drizzle, Midnight Brew, Terracotta Corner, Pastel Pastry

10 Coffee Shop Color Palettes

Quick Reference Table

A notched palette numbered from 1 to 45000	HEX codes	Best for:
Espresso Bar	#2B1B17, #4E342E, #8D6E63, #D7CCC8, #FAFAFA	Specialty coffee bars (Continued)
Latte Art	#F3E9DC, #E0C9A6, #C08552, #895737, #5E3023	Neighborhood cafés
Mocha Mint	#3E2723, #6D4C41, #A5D6A7, #E8F5E9, #FAFAF5	Modern cafés
Cinnamon Roll	#7B3F00, #B5651D, #E1A95F, #F4D9B0, #FFF8EE	Bakery-cafés
Matcha Café	#4A5D23, #7A9A3A, #C5D8A4, #F1F0E8, #3B3029	Tea and health cafés
Nordic Roastery	#2F2F2F, #6B6B6B, #BDB8AD, #E9E5DE, #C69C6D	Roasters, takeaway
Caramel Drizzle	#4B2E1E, #A0522D, #D2913C, #F2C57C, #FFCE59	Prices for desserts and beverages
Midnight Brew	#0F1A20, #1F3A4D, #4B6E82, #C9A66B, #F2EDE4	Evening cafés
Terracotta Corner	#5C3A2E, #B5653F, #E0A47C, #EAD8C3, #8B8B8A	Themed coffee shops and restaurants
Pastel Pastry	#F7CAC9, #F3E1DD, #C8B6A6, #8E7F74, #4A3B33	Social-first brands

Which Palette to choose?

What you need	Best pick + why
	Espresso Bar: dark browns say “we know our beans.
A warm and comfortable place where people go to relax for hours	Latte Art: soft creams feel warm and relaxed.
	Cinnamon Roll: golden tones feel like fresh baking, and they’re all available in a café where you can also buy cakes.
Healthy, plant-based menu	Matcha Café: green reads as fresh and light.
	Nordic Roastery: greys keep things simple and sharp.
Young people and plenty of Insta content	Pastel Pastry, soft pinks pop in a busy feed.

Thermal comparison between Brown and Cool Neutrals

Most cafés end up deciding between these two styles. Let’s take a look at how they compare.

Warm Browns

Consider Espresso Bar, Caramel Drizzle, and Cinnamon Roll.

Best for:

• Wooden, soft-lightening cafés of classic design.
• Dessert places and bakery-cafés
• Brands that wish to be friendly and familiar
• Paper bagging, Kraft packaging and chalkboard menus.

Cool Neutrals

It’s like Nordic Roastery, Midnight Brew.

Best for:

• Minimal, modern interiors
• Third wave and specialty roasters
• Takeaway restaurants in busy city areas.
• Get rid of websites that contain a lot of white space.

Warm browns are a safer bet in my opinion for a first café. Customers already associate the color of brown with coffee, and your brand is immediately understandable.

How to use these palettes

Website

• Make the lightest color the background for your page.
• For text and headings use the darkest colour.
• Use one bright color for “Order now” type buttons.

Signage & Packaging

• Use a colour converter to convert HEX codes to CMYK prior to printing.
• Limit signs to a maximum of 2 colors so that they can be read from the street.
• Print one test cup or bag first as sometimes color is darker on paper.

Social Media

• Choose a background color and stick with it for all posts.
• Text and stickers will be the same two to three colors in Stories.
• Look at your grid view. It shouldn’t seem like ten brands, it should seem like one brand.

CSS Snippet

css

:root {
  --coffee-dark:  #4E342E; /* text */
  --coffee-mid:   #8D6E63; /* borders, icons */
  --coffee-cream: #F5EFE6; /* background */
  --coffee-pop:   #C08552; /* buttons */
}

Copy and paste this in your stylesheet and use var(--coffee-pop) wherever you want to use the color.

Pro Tip

Try your palette in real café light. Your printed colors may appear different than they do under your actual lights, warm bulbs make browns look more orange and creams more yellow.

From my experience, colours such as warm brown and golden are great options to make a coffee shop classy and comfortable. I would suggest considering the effect that the colors you select have on the overall tone.

FAQ

So what colors are best for a coffee shop?

The classic choices are browns, creams, and warm golds – these colors are associated with coffee and bring to mind the beverage. If you are looking for something that will make a stand, then green colors and soft pastels are good choices.

What is the number of colors that a café brand should use?

I suggest a maximum of 3-4 main colors, with one dark color, one light color, and one or two accent colors. More than that looks shabby.

Do these palettes available for free?

Yes. Print them onto your logo, menu, website or packaging material. No credit needed.

Which colors are the best colors for my brand?

Think of the emotion you wish your customers to feel. Take a look at our brand color choosing guide for step-by-step instructions.

Looking for more Colorful ideas?

Shop from hundreds of brand color palettes in our Brand Color Library. Free to copy any color, forever!