One cannot visit Belo Horizonte, the capital of Brazil’sย Minas Gerais state, and miss the Savassi neighborhood. It hosts most of the bars, cafes, restaurants, and commerce areas in the metropolitan area, and it exudesย a cosmopolitan feel that’s rare in other parts of the city. The areaย orbitsย the Praรงa da Savassi squareโcalled the “Praรงa Diogo de Vasconcelos” until the 1930s when both the square and theย neighborhoodย became associated with a popular local Italian bakery. Just a block away isย OOP Coffee, a crucialย hangout for workers, tourists, and all the others who need a break from bustling Savassi.
Tiago Damasceno and Adriene Cobra, OOP’s founders, met at their formal job, in a bank. Damasceno, originally from Belรฉm in the north of Brazil, always had aย coffee habit, but got deeper intoย specialty coffee after moving to Belo Horizonte. Cobraโs family had a coffee farm in the south of Minas Gerais, and she knew the country routine well. After watching a TV show aboutย how the owners of Beluga, in Sรฃo Paulo, left their regular jobs to open a coffee shop, Damasceno invited Cobraโโthe perfect partner,โ as he saidโto join him in a similar pursuit. Savassi is similar to Beluga’s partย of Sรฃo Paulo, close to many design, architecture, and marketing firms. They knew it had to be there.
To test the waters, the duo stagedย pop-up events to gauge public acceptance ofย specialty coffees and were surprised by the numberย of people who approved of both the cafe idea and their coffee. So encouraged, early in 2016 the pairย found a pretty, high-ceilinged location a block removedย from the Savassi madness, on a quiet street.
The welcoming vibeย at OOP begins when you are greeted by a barista at the counter upon enteringโnot an accident, as Damasceno and Cobraย want a placeย not just for specialty coffee lovers but also the less-knowledgeable general public. โWe donโt want to be a niche destination, but rather to make our contribution to enlarge the specialty coffee public in Belo Horizonte,โ Damasceno explains.
Work on the clean, streamlined cafe was completed with designersย Paulo Augusto Campos and Marina Garcia. So whenย Cobra and Damasceno wanted to have a neon sign, the architectural duo had the idea forย an area in the back with a couch, which now rests under a neonย โSlow Downโ sign. Damasceno jokes that this is now BHโs Tour Eiffelโone of the town’s most photographed icons. โIt turns out that slowing down is exactly what we want customers to do,โ Damasceno adds. โTo take time to enjoy their moment, their cup of coffee.โ
Along OOP’sย walls, you’ll always find artwork fromย local artists. The ceramic cups were specially made for the shop by local supplier Ateliรช de Cerรขmica. The benches were made by Leonardo Bueno, another Minas Gerais artist, with wood reclaimedย from Mineirรฃo, Belo Horizonteโs largest stadium,ย during itsย pre-World Cup renovations.
OOP’s espresso beans rotate weekly, and barista Victoria Magรณ will happily introduce you to anyย new coffee being used. (V60 and AeroPress options are also available.) Damasceno recently started roasting, while Cobra is focused on sourcing the best green coffee she can find. Upon my visitย I tried a sweet, beautifully roasted pour-over from Serra da Canastra.
The food menu at OOP is short and uncomplicated. I recommend the Canastra cheese (really well-made raw-milk cheese from the sameย mountainous area in Minas Gerais that my pour-over came from) served with homemade jam. The jam I tried the day I visited was the acerola one, made by Cobraโs aunt in the countryside. Combine it with a pour-over and it will make your day, I promise.
The word oopย means “open” in Afrikaans, whichย is exactly the missionย of this cafe: to be open to the local community of artisans, open to Savassi passersby, open to new sensorial experiences with specialty coffee, open to takingย a break from the crowd. Long live the coffee shops that aim to beย truly open in those senses.
Juliana Ganan is a Brazilian coffee professional and journalist. Read more Juliana Ganan on Sprudge.
