Coffee Connoisseur
Geolocation based search for coffee shops 🌍
NextJSFoursquareUnsplashAirtable
The Story
Coffee Connoisseur was developed as part of a NextJS course project, focusing on building a practical web application with real-world API integrations. The app helps users discover coffee shops in their area, with Palermo set as the default location for demonstration purposes.
What Makes It Special
The project demonstrates the practical implementation of modern web development concepts. It combines static and dynamic data handling, using pre-loaded coffee shop information for Palermo while also offering location-based search capabilities. The upvoting system showcases basic data persistence and state management through Airtable integration. ☕
The Technical Craft
Core Features
- 📍 Location-Aware: Find coffee spots near you or explore Palermo's finest
- ⭐ Community Ratings: Upvote your favorite spots
- 🔄 Hybrid Data Serving: Static for speed, dynamic for freshness
- 🗃️ Smart Caching: Airtable-powered data persistence
The Secret Sauce
Built this beast using:
- Next.js for lightning-fast page loads and SEO
- Foursquare API for reliable venue data
- Unsplash API for mouth-watering coffee shop images
- Airtable for flexible data storage and caching
Challenges & Solutions
The Data Sync Dance 🔄
- Challenge: Keeping frontend votes in sync with backend storage
- Solution: Implemented a robust state management system with Airtable integration
- Result: Seamless upvoting experience with reliable data persistence
The Performance Puzzle 🧩
- Challenge: Balancing fast initial loads with fresh data
- Solution: Hybrid rendering approach - static for speed, dynamic for updates
- Result: Lightning-fast browsing with real-time location features
Impact & Learning
- 💡 Mastered Next.js core concepts
- 🔨 Built a real-world application with API integration
- 🎯 Implemented hybrid rendering patterns
What's Next?
- [ ] Add user reviews and comments
- [ ] Implement custom user lists
- [ ] Expand default city coverage
Getting Started
Clone the repo and dive in:
Code
Copied!
git clone https://github.com/Okazakee/ZTM-coffee-connoisseur.git
npm install
npm run dev