“Right to the practice,” said Egor Kolpakov, a second-year Business Administration AAU student, and opened his own coffee-house, recently recognized as the best coffee shop in Prague. The twenty-year-old’s project Barry Higgel’s Coffeehouse is a small café located in Holešovice (Tusarova 25), a perfect place for true coffee lovers.
This cozy café lures both locals and expats with the extraordinary smells of freshly brewed coffee – eight types of the drink are regularly served at the Coffeehouse. And by saying “types” we are not talking about espresso, cappuccino, and latte, but the coffee breeds and varieties. Kolpakov personally prefers SL24 and Gesha. The visitors can also please themselves with cookies and other baked goods that are made right on the spot by the cafe’s talented cooks.
Last month, the Coffeehouse started serving healthy brunches all week long, and the items from the brunch-menu taste just as good as they look. Whatever you choose – granola with seasonal fruit, pancakes with ricotta and jam, or bread with avocado, tomatoes and cottage cheese – you won’t be disappointed. Carb-lovers, too, will find something to their taste: toasts topped with goat cheese and marmalade, turkey, ham, and cheddar, and the exceptionally toasted banana-bread with peanut butter and fruits.
At the Festival Kavárny Naživo, Barry Higgel’s Coffeehouse wasn’t just named the best coffee-shop, but also won the Best Personnel nomination. The always-smiling baristas, who speak both Czech and English, deserve the prize. They are always willing to help you choose from the variety of types and ways of making coffee.
I was honored to try Kenyan coffee with a slight tomato-ish smell that was made using an unusual V60 brewing method. It is prepared by slowly pouring boiled water over ground coffee beans. Then, coffee goes through a filter and comes out as an exceptionally extracted drink.
The cafe’s interior was designed by Kolpakov’s girlfriend. The place is not big but has a simple stylish glow. There is a long bar-stand with high chairs, and some round tables. While working on the laptop or reading a book from the bookshelf near the entrance (the collection is pretty good), you see dozens of people coming in and out: students and adults, parents with kids, and elders. You can always spot the regulars, who don’t need to make an order anymore, they simply greet the barista with a smile and receive their favorite type of coffee within two minutes. All of the visitors are different, they speak different languages and like different types of coffee, but they have one thing in common – no matter in what mood they come in, they all leave with a wide smile on their faces.
Photo courtesy of Anastasia Mezenina
