Café del Canasto

In my last post I mentioned that I learnt how to make coffee, from the plant to the cup, on the farm I was staying at. Here's a sneak peak into the coffee-making process.

The coffee plant

First we picked the beans. The basket (canasto in Spanish), you see below, inspired the name of the coffee produced and packaged on Finca Bella Vista. Café del Canasto has been around for 20 years and is a family business which sells organic coffee. 

The yellow, orange and red beans are ripe

After skinning the beans and soaking them in water, the ones which stay on the bottom are ready for the next step!

The beans need to dry for 10 days.

Alexis explaining the coffee process 

Beans drying

Once they've dried, the beans are de-shelled. The shells are used as compost on our farm, but on other coffee farms they bag it and sell it. It could be used to make paper and bags (see below).

Then you roast the beans for 60min and grind the finished product, if you desire.

Here you can see Alexis manually roasting the beans

Roasted beans

Alexis takes so much pride in making his coffee, from picking the beans to sticking the labels perfectly onto the bags. You can certainly taste the love! 

Coffee with Frida (Kahlo)

Image: Pinterest

I am loving Prague's coffee culture. Each week I try and visit somewhere new.
Here are 6 of my favourite coffee shops in Prague (so far):

Cafe Frida

A hidden gem just outside of Prague city-centre, with delicious Mexican food and cool décor. I wanted to come here on my first night in Prague, but they don't take credit cards or Euros. So, as soon as I had my hands on some Korunas, I was back through those black doors and have become something of a regular. 

                      

                      UN CAFE MAS PORFAVOR
                    "No puedo dejar de beber los cafes"

           

The coffee is good and is served with a small glass of water and a little caramel biscuit.  

Try their:

- Raspberry and lime lemonade (the best raspberry lemonade I've had so far, with real raspberries)

- Chicken Chipotle Tortilla (spicy)
- Chicken Quesadilla
- Their Guac!

- But pretty much everything looks good! I've yet to try the burgers. 

The menu is only available in Czech, but if you know any Spanish, you should get by just fine. The first time I ate at Cafe Frida, they reassured me that their English menu was busy being printed. That was about 5 weeks ago. In the meanwhile, the staff (all young) have been more than happy to translate for me.   

NOTE: They must have known this blog was coming, as this week the waitress very excitedly told me that they had finally received their English menu!

The portions are quite big. 
All main meals come with nachos.

http://www.cafefrida.cz/

Karlínské náměstí 11

180 00 Praha 

cafefrida@email.cz

Tel: +420 728 042 910

Café Dismas - Cafe without Prejudice

I pretty much camped out here in my first two weeks, because the staff are friendly, the couches are comfy and the coffee is good and Fair Trade.  

Dismas (as in St Dismas, the penitent thief) prides itself on being a bias-free zone.They have a great project going on, where they employ socially disadvantaged people and former convicts, in order to reintegrate them into society. The goal is to help them succeed in the open labour market in the future. 

Try:

- Their jugs of lemonade (0,5 l)
- Their range of hot chocolates: you get hot milk and a chunk of chocolate on a stick (which comes        in different flavours) and voila!

http://dismas.cz/

Na Poříčí 37/1061, 110 00 Praha 1

Tel .: +420 727 945 745

Cafe Ebel

The coffee is Direct Trade, which means that the boss communicates directly with the farmer, and that there are no third parties involved.

Try:

- the chocolate cappuccino (below)
- the chocolate brownie topped with caramel and white chocolate shavings - to die for!

 

http://ebelcoffee.cz/en/

Cafe Ebel Kaprová

Kaprová 11, Praha 1

+420 604 265 125

Tricafe

You wouldn't believe that this great little place is right next to Charles Bridge, with its swarms of tourists. Tricafe is perfectly hidden in a quiet square.

You can buy these photographs and
follow the photographers on Instagram.

You get a jug of fresh water when you arrive - which I love! 

(It's not a typical Czech thing to do AT ALL). 

Leave your mark on their chalk board. 

Anyone can tick off where they come from.
There are now 12 South Africans. 

- Try the orange and coconut cake

You can also exchange your old books for new ones. 

http://tricafe.weebly.com/

Anenska 188/3, Prague 110 00

+420 222 210 326

La Bohème Café

Awesome décor and a really cool vibe. Could sit here for ages.

Try the Lavender Latte!

 

Even the bathrooms are fun!

The Indian Spice tea is also really good.
They suggested having it cold, but I loved it hot.

http://www.labohemecafe.eu/

Sázavská 2031/32,
Praha 2-Vinohrady, 120 00
+420 734 207 049

Můj šálek kávy (My Cup of Coffee)

I love that you can arrive here at 3:30pm on a Sunday and still have breakfast off their Weekend Menu. It's always good to know that the extremely late-risers of the world are catered for.

  

The food and coffee are great! However, I did feel that their apricot and lemon balm lemonade could have used a little more apricot and a little less soda water... And that they could have been a bit more generous with the vanilla syrup in the "London Fog". 

http://www.mujsalekkavy.cz/

Křižíkova 386/105, 

186 00 Praha

+420 222 981 874