Micro Coffee Revolution

Yesterday I found out an interesting fact. Did you know that the coffee beans consumed in Spain are roasted with sugar and that when you compare them to a well-roasted, quality coffee bean the Spanish variant is black in colour, with a much stronger coffee kick, compared with its select, golden brown cousin? I kind of guessed as much when, with my morning tostada, I gulp down a coffee thick as treacle, as harsh as a sharp-tongued fish wife and with the potential to launch a rocket. In my heart of hearts, I’ve always known it’s not terribly good for me. But when I’m paying 1 Euro for the pleasure, I kind of accept what I’m given.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Since before the summer there’s been a quiet, coffee revolution bubbling away like a 1980s coffee percolator, in the form of a burgeoning group of micro coffee toasters. First to spring up was Virgin Coffee Sevilla, the petite and bijoux coffee house that toasts its own varieties of Arabica coffee to be drank at pretty little tables at the foot of the Setas near Plaza Encarnación or bought to be consumed at home.

With no inside space it´s perfect for a pit stop on a clement day, but if it´s a cosy cup of coffee you want then best head to Torch Coffee, a newish coffee house that is part of the world wide Torch Coffee cooperative that seeks to promote seasonal, ethically sourced coffee, empowering people in the process.

My quick lesson in coffee came thanks to the two sisters who have set up the Seville operation, coming from an American/ Guatemalan background, they’ve studied the art of coffee with the greats and pride themselves that you’ll never find a coffee on sale in their shop that’s been roasted for more than a month, after which it begins to lose its flavour.

The choice of coffee includes the usual suspects of capuchino, latte, macchiato, expresso etc, but the coffee changes regularly (yesterday it was Guatemalan). One of the sisters is also trained as a baker and there were a whole host of delicious cakes and desserts on display and I can personally vouch for the chocolate cheesecake which was divine.

The interior is smart and minimalist and with Wifi available it’s the perfect place to hang out or work if needs be. Oh and I should mention the coffee’s pretty good too.

Virgin Coffee, Calle Regina 1, local 6 https://www.virgincoffeesevilla.com/

Torch Coffee, Paseo de las Delicias 3 https://torchcoffee.es/