Riga Café Guide
I have come to a point in my life where it’s pretty ’hard’ to be a coffee geek. That’s due to the reason that on every trip or holiday, I try to find THE place. It has to offer something more than just ok descent coffee. I love to visit places that are cozy and the atmosphere is nice. Service has to be good. I would also prefer the coffee to have a story and memorable taste. On this blog post you will find my best picks from Riga coffee scene. All of these cafes offered something extra and I felt like good old coffee geek again :D
Rocket Bean Roastery
This café is probably the best known in Riga, it’s because in addition to Latvia, they also sell coffee to Estonia, Lithuania, Poland and Saudi Arabia. Rocket Bean Roastery have two cafeterias in Riga. Main cafe, where they roast the coffee is located in an old factory on Miera Street. It’s a bit outside of the city center, but people seem to find this place easily. The main cafeteria is cozy and with a lots of space. In their coffee selection they have lot of different brew methods such as syphon. At the shelves all important coffee making equipment can be found (Hario drippers, Chemex pots, filter papers etc.) as well as coffees from different origins. If you want to try different origins or preparation methods, see how roasting is done or just to enjoy a cup of good coffee, Rocket Bean Roastery is definitely your destination! One of the most interesting coffees on their list is ’Magic Pussy’ and despite the name it’s worth of try. And don’t forget they also serve delicious food. Their second cafeteria is located center of the city on the Dzirnavu street.
Miit Coffee
My next cafeteria destination was also in the city center. This cool and hipster place called Miit Coffee uses different small roaster coffees and keep on changing them on regular basis. So they always have something new for their customers. At the moment they used – Five Elephants from Germany, Morgon Coffee from Sweden and La Cabra from Denmark. All these coffees are from different origins, so you have many options to choose from. Also they offer vast variety of delicious vegan food, the place is especially popular on lunch time. Almost monthly, they organize public cupping for everyone. If you are around and would like to eat tasty vegan food, enjoy good cup of coffee from different roasters or participate on cupping, then this is the right place for you to visit!
Zvaigzne
Zvaigzne cafe is located in a beautiful place next to a park, the Art Academy of Latvia and a bookstore. Atmosphere is calm, cozy and all in all very pleasant with a nice view to the park. Zvaigzne uses Atkinsons Coffee Roasters coffee from Lancaster, UK. The story why they chose Atkinson is also cool: Cafeteria owner, Kristaps Kilbloks, lived in UK and met there with Atkinsons Coffee Roasters owners and after he moved back to Latvia, good relationship remained and he started ordering coffee from them. Both companies are family businesses and also into coffee education. Zvaigzne offers different origins and methods for all Atkinsons coffees. I also liked the way baristas teach regular customers, who visit cafeteria every day, to understand and enjoy filter coffees. In the menu you also find delicious cakes and eclairs. You can also buy a translated book „Coffee Obsession” that is an interesting and useful book for a baristas.
Stars
The newest specialty cafe star in Riga is Stars Café. They opened just about 3 months ago. It’s a small place in the middle of the city center, located on basement away from the street. They roast coffee and at the moment they have two origins – Brazil and Ethiopia. The day I visited Stars Coffee was really hot and I decided to have an Espresso Tonic, a perfect match between Santos and tonic. They are using a small roasting machine of 1 kg dose (Stronghold S7 Pro). Due to this all the coffees are fresh and roasted on site. In the menu you can find hand brewed filter coffees and of course traditional espresso beverages. In the future, they plan to bring in larger variety of origins. Worth to visit indeed!
Strada Coffee and Tea Riga
During my last visit I found Strada cafeteria located in Riga Old Town. Also Strada is atmospheric and cozy. In the coffee menu they have lot of different methods and origins, one of the most interesting is Kopi Luwak, but unfortunately they have run out of it during my visit. Reason to visit next time. They sell small 50 g packages of coffee and origins are very interesting, for example Indian Arabica and Ugandan Robusta. So if you are visiting Riga Old Town and hope to try something new - Strada is just the right place to enjoy it!
Riga cafe guide
