The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Grabbing a cup of coffee has become more than just getting your daily dose of caffeine. Over the years, people have developed a particular taste towards coffee, and it doesn’t just come down to the flavour. A cup of coffee has a lot more to offer than the taste, intensity, and flavour; it carries an aesthetic that attracts both coffee enthusiasts and non-coffee drinkers. And that aesthetic is known as latte art.

While it doesn’t just refer to lattes, latte art has taken the world by storm. Avid coffee drinkers now have a checklist from which they pick their coffees, and latte art quickly went to the top of the list. 

Latte art is a skill, with some science behind the nailing of a particular design. As the steam enters the cold milk, it separates the fat from the protein and forms air bubbles, creating the microfoam that is the star of the latte art show. If the bubbles are too big or too small, the entire process is ruined. Thus, latte art is considered a sign that the quality of coffee is top-notch. 

While it may or may not have spread through social media, latte art started attracting people to drink more coffee because of the aesthetics and the boom in Instagram-worthy pictures. In other words, it became trendy to have a pretty cup of coffee as a way to romanticise one’s caffeine addiction. 

When it comes to Egypt, especially here in Cairo, latte art is here but in the most basic way possible. Unfortunately, it is rare to find a cup of coffee with picture-perfect latte art, but here are a few places that came close enough. 

Celesta Chocolatier

While they have a huge list of decadent desserts, Celesta offers coffee printing, a more advanced latte art type. This is essentially done with a coffee printer, where coffee is used as ink to print whatever picture you have in mind. So visit them in Heliopolis and try their honey cake and macarons while you’re at it.

Brown Nose Coffee 

Located in O1 and 5A New Cairo, Brown Nose Coffee nails its cups of coffee. Not only do they have delicious coffee with an extensive list of different types and flavours, but they do also know how to perfect their latte art. Give them a try and take a picture while you’re at it! 

CAF 

Recently opened in 5A, CAF has a variety of aesthetically pleasing coffee drinks whether there’s latte art or not. Fortunately, their latte art is alive and well! You won’t resist taking a picture of your drink once you get a hold of it.