In the beginning, there was – fittingly – Origin. A café and roastery that puzzled and delighted Capetonians with their monkish dedication to roasting and brewing and sharing the nuances of artisan coffee at a time when chain stores and instant were the norm.
Origin unleashed a caffeinated tidal wave on the Mother City, as Cape Town got swept away by the demand for single-origin artisan-roasted brews. The city is all the better for it, and today there are dozens of superb coffee shops and cafés to choose from across Cape Town .
And now one has been singled out as truly world-class. And no, for a change, it's not Truth.
In the latest guide to the Top 100 Best Coffee Shops in the world, it was Espressolab that came out tops, in the survey that took into account both public votes and the feedback from an expert panel. To make the grade, coffee shops were rated on a variety of factors, from barista skills and quality of coffee (rather important) to the ambience of the space and sustainability practices. Customer service and consistency were also key.
Espressolab focuses on showcasing coffee from fully traceable farms, estates and cooperatives across Africa and South America, with single-origin beans carefully roasted at their flagship roastery and café at The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock. Here and in their De Waterkant store you'll find an impressive selection of espresso-based drinks on the menu, and some seriously clued-up baristas on hand if you want to question them about the origins and nuances of each bean. Little wonder they bagged a spot at #11 on the latest list of the Top 100 Best Coffee Shops.
Wondering who else made the cut for great coffee?
Topping the list as the world's very best coffee shop is Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters , which has its flagship store in Chippendale, Sydney. In second place is Onyx Coffee LAB in the USA, and in third place came Gota Coffee Experts in Austria.
We've compiled the world's 20 best coffee shops below, which includes spots in Peru, Colombia, Belgium, South Africa and Spain!
- Toby's Estate Coffee Roasters, Australia
- Onyx Coffee LAB, USA
- Gota Coffee Experts, Austria
- Proud Mary Coffee, Australia
- Tim Wendelboe, Norway
- Apartment Coffee, Singapore
- Kawa, France
- Coffee Anthology, Australia
- Story of Ono, Malaysia
- Tropicalia Coffee, Colombia
- Espressolab, South Africa
- Hola Coffee Lagasca, Spain
- Casa Canela, Venezuela
- Alquimia Coffee, El Salvador
- Kross Coffee Roasters, Greece
- MOK Coffee, Belgium
- Prevail Coffee, USA
- Yardstick, The Philippines
- Veneziano Coffee Roasters, Australia
- Puku Puku, Peru
Hey bro! Here are the best coffee shops and cafés in Cape Town!