trend. And as with everything else in this vibrant city, the Cape coffee culture
has its very own distinct flavour.Cape Town is one of a handful of South African
cities where the CBD is thriving – with more and more people working, living and
playing right in the heart of the inner city.The CBD of the city has close on
100 coffee shops alone (excluding the many restaurants that also offer coffee
in-between meal times). Most of them seem to be thriving as locals and tourists
spill out of open doors onto pavements, European style. More and more of these
establishments are offering Internet access / wi-fi and the trend of taking work
out of the office, catching up on correspondence and generally hanging out
online has readily blended well with the Cape café society.The annual Cape
Gourmet Festival, which takes place each autumn, incorporates the Cape Town
Coffee Route into its itinerary. This initiative is sponsored by the, among
others, the Central Improvement District which aims to keep the city centre
clean, safe and desirable as a location for shops and businesses as well as the
general public and tourists.The Cape Town Coffee Route is an enormously popular
feature of the Cape Gourmet Festival. The majority of coffee shops involved are
on or near Kloof Street. The festival promises ‘coffee and conversation on every
corner'.Among the best coffee shops featured in previous years at the event,
(this year scheduled for May 2007) are the following:Café GainsbourgMugg and
BeanBoston CaféCafé BardeliSeattle Coffee CompanyVida e CaffeEach coffee shop in
Cape Town has its own ambiance – some are themed African, others Parisian. Some
have buskers playing regularly on the pavement in between the tables. There are
modern cafés and retro cafés, cafés with MTV, cafés that rent scooters out and
cafés that double up as bookstores. You may find yourself daintily sipping a
cappuccino from an antique coffee cup or slurping a steaming latte from an
enormous utilitarian mug. Whatever your style, whatever your brew of choice, you
can enjoy excellent local and imported coffees all over Cape Town. A delightful
way to spend the day – and you'll certainly be set for a night out with all that
caffeine coursing through your system!