A long wall of graffiti art on the side of a brick building in upscale Provenza reminds passersby that coffee is better than war. But it wasn’t always. A decade ago Medellin, Colombia was fuelled by heroin and cocaine; murder, kidnapping, and endless turf wars. Not coffee. At the height of its production, cocaine was […]
Coffee Travel
Coffee-Hopping in Laureles
Did you know coffee was first found by goats? Legend has it that, around 850 A.D goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats behaving strangely. They were eating red berries from a small shrub and acting hysterical. Wondering if there was some special power to the fruit, the herders decided to cook the berries in […]
Ostrava Coffee Guide
Who knew good coffee could be found in a beer-drinking, once-socialist culture like Czech Republic? In Prague, fair trade baristas and artisan roasters have put Czechs on the craft coffee map in Europe. Now, about 3.5 hours east of the Czech capital, little-known Ostrava is emerging with their own coffee scene. The city actually hosts its own […]
The 3 Best Cafés in Krakow
Bitter, bland, and stale. That’s how coffee used to taste in Poland for nearly 50 years. Communism brought cheap robusta quality and watered down instant coffee after WWII. With the fall of Soviet rule in 1989, second wave coffee like Coffee Heaven and Starbucks chains made coffee more accessible (and taste somewhat better). Today, a third wave […]
Chiang Mai Coffee Guide: The Best Cafés and Coffee Culture in Chiang Mai
I read somewhere there are more cafés in Chiang Mai than 7-Elevens. Which says a lot if you’ve ever been to Thailand. I’m not surprised. Of all the coffee places in the world, this Southeast Asian city happens to brew damn good coffee. Chiang Mai has become the coffee capital of Thailand. From traditional Thai, to […]
Fair Trade Coffee with a Real Barista
One of the first small, local roasters and third wave cafés to open in Prague has given new energy to European coffee. Since 2008, Mamacoffee founded six locations, a coffee NGO, and a coffee festival with the main goal of showcasing to the rest of Europe (and the world) that coffee can be both good and fair. I […]