kopi kade sri lanka

Stratford Avenue marks the end of Colombo. It separates Sri Lankaโ€™s capital city from itโ€™s suburbs to the southeastโ€”up and down, the short stretch of road is dotted with small shops and hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and hums with faint chantings of a nearby Buddhist temple. Here is whereย Kopi Kade calls home.

Opened in 2016, the cafe stood out at the gate. A product of Nimeshan Namasivayam, Kopi Kade directly translates to “coffee shop” in both Sinhala and Tamil. Itโ€™s also the name of a long running and extremely famous soap opera. The show centered around the idea of a kopi kade as a community hub.

kopi kade sri lanka

The unassuming facade of Namasivayamโ€™s Kopi Kade gives way to a clean, former warehouseโ€”designed by local architect Manju Wijeratne, the space is decorated with clean-cut teak tables and chairs, bronze light fixtures, and the work of artistย Shaanea Mendis.

Before founding Kopi Kade, Namasivayam worked as a barista, coffee roaster, and a coffee taster for more 15 years in Australia, where he lived for most of his life.

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โ€œItโ€™s more about ensuring consistency,โ€ says Namasivayam of running a successful cafe. โ€œWe use very good water filtration systems and always fresh milk.โ€ Heโ€™s also using Kopi Kade to build Colomboโ€™s barista community, offering workshops to local restaurant staff and home baristas alike.

kopi kade sri lanka

The menu here sees a constant change, with rotating single-origin coffees from Costa Rica to Ethiopia to Indonesia. โ€œWe change the coffee every three to four weeks, not just from different countries, but from different roasters,โ€ Namasivayam says.

Kopi Kade also has its own 1kg Giesenย abutting the back wall, on which Namasivayam trial roasts small lots of Sri Lankan coffee.

โ€œWe want to see if we can improve farming and processing techniques, which would result in a better cup of quality coffee,โ€ Namasivayam says of his relationships with a few local smallholder coffee farmers. โ€œThereโ€™s a lot of potential to produce good Sri Lankan coffee, as the terroir is perfect for coffee growing in the hill country.โ€

kopi kade sri lanka

For espresso beverages, the cafe uses a two-groupย Victoria Arduino VA388 Black Eagleย along with twoย Mythos Oneย grinders. Brewed coffee is offered either onย AeroPressย orย Hario V60 and ground with aย Comandante hand grinder. Thereโ€™s also a โ€œSri Lankan Styleโ€ cold brew made sweet to match Colomboโ€™s palateโ€”itโ€™s a darker-roasted African coffee mixed with 40-percent milk.

kopi kade sri lanka

Kopi Kadeโ€™s food menu is filled with modern takes on traditional Sri Lankan dishes, like spiced lamb and prawn sliders and the Coconut French Toastโ€”fluffy, eggy, pani polย bread covered in caramelized coconut flakes and coffee-infused coconut sugar syrup, gently spiced with cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon.

At Kopi Kade, Namasivayam has built a community of regulars with whom he shares not just new coffees, but sizable doses of information about production, taste, brewing, and coffee culture. In doing so, he hopes his coffee shop can be more than just that. โ€œItโ€™s an experiential learning experience,โ€ Nimeshan says, and one with the name recognition that just may draw the masses.

Kopi Kade is located atย 15/3 Stratford Ave, Colombo 00006. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Zinara Rathnayake is a freelance journalist based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This isย Zinara Rathnayake’s first feature forย  Sprudge.

Photos by Nathan Mahendra

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