If Athens is the place to witness the tug of old Kafeneia culture morphing into a cutting-edge filter coffee scene, then Corfu is an entirely different beast. The landscape here is deeply rooted in its own proud traditions—sipping coffees under resplendent colonnades, borrowing far more from its historical Venetian, French, and British rulers than the Ottoman influences found on the mainland.
Read: The Sprudge Guide to Coffee in Athens, Greece
The old world still lingers in the ash-white streets of Corfu Town. As an island that withstood the Ottoman Empire, its cultural foundations developed along different paths. The iconic Liston arcade, built during the French administration to mimic Paris’s Rue de Rivoli, once played host to the aristocracy who sipped strong coffee under the arches during the hot summer months. When the British assumed control, the arches were reserved for ginger beer drinking crowds watching the cricket. From this cosmopolitan beginning, coffee culture flooded the island. Corfu leaned more towards elegant European cafe traditions, and veered away from the unfiltered Greek coffee (Ellinikos), so prevalent on the mainland.
Straddling Italy to the west, Albania to the north, and mainland Greece on its dominant shoulder, a constant flux of cross-cultural influences has brushed the island with bold strokes. Today, that distinct cultural melting pot is birthing a vibrant specialty coffee movement that honors the island’s unique historic architecture. With their feet planted in the past, the island is taking steps forward into an exciting new coffee landscape.
Cafetierra
“Coffee sourced from carefully selected origins, roasted with a gentle touch.”
Founded back in 2007, this micro-roastery is the foundation of Corfiot specialty coffee. Not only do both locations of Cafetierra retain a loyal local following, but almost all the new coffee shops in town can trace their origins back to having worked here first. To change an entire island’s attitude to coffee sounds a lofty accolade, but one that is more than fitting here. Owner Alex Nerantzis set out with a plan to move the goalposts closer to his love of Nordic style, light roast coffee. It worked. Once a crowd of dark-roast coffee drinkers were now popping in to ask when the newest batch of light-roast Kenya coffees would be ready for V60s.
The OG location has sweeping views of the bay, with a large seating area shaded by trees. Inside, the Probat roaster sits in the back, along with the production room. The second location, in the Plakada t’ Agioú Spiridona Square is a narrow, sparse cafe with most of its tables out front making use of the old square as a perfect backdrop. Both shops sell a hefty amount of freddo cappuccinos and espressos, along with a growing number of V60 pour-overs. Beans are roasted in-house, sourced primarily from Nordic Approach, and run from Ethiopian, Kenyan, to Honduran and Brazillian.
This was the first specialty shop in Corfu, and should be the start of your coffee wanderings.
Hot Tip: If you visited the Plakado shop and fancy a taste of true Corfu traditions, make a visit to this dairy shop and order the sheeps yogurt with honey on top at Dairy Shop of Alexis.
Coconela
Cradling a beautiful corner beside the square, Coconela sparkles with exposed brick, clean furnishings, and a tight coffee menu. Of all the coffee shops in this guide, Coconela is the largest, but the majority of floorspace is a beautiful outdoor seating area shaded by trees and a teal green awning. The counter serves as both an ordering spot for the numerous take-away coffees, and a place where locals can stock up on beans.
All coffee at Coconela is supplied by The Underdog roaster in Athens (which we covered in our Athens guide) so you can expect well roasted, medium-light coffee. They also sell compostable pods and bags for home brewers. Famous for baked goods, their cakes and pastries are the perfect accompaniment to a floral Ethiopian cup.
Hot Tip: If you want to experience a true old style Greek restaurant frequented by people yearning for home-cooked stews and soups, then walk over to Zaxoy and ask what they recommend.
Hidden Gem
As the crow flies, Hidden Gem Microroastery lies directly inland from the ferry port. A small, specialty shop tucked at the end of a retail block, with a small outdoor area for those who don’t mind sipping their coffees beside a busy road. Owners Spyros Tsiavos and Evelina Arvanitaki wanted a local shop where people who preferred their coffees with medium-light roasts could congregate. Spiros roasts the coffee in the back on an electric Bellwether machine (under the NO BAD VIBES graffiti), so the cafe is filled with the aroma of not only brewing coffee on roast days. Standart magazines grace the far wall, a silver La Marzocco machine purrs, Fellow Stagg kettles on standby for the V60s, and a brown paper roll-down menu (reminiscent of Oslo’s Tim Wendelboe) showing espresso based drinks, tea, and hot chocolate. Cold drinks for the scorching summers.
The main footfall orders espresso-based coffees, including the Freddo and flat whites. However Hidden Gem also has a dedicated V60 menu. I ordered a Kenyan Natural Process Kiambu (Microlot) with tasting notes of cherry, tropical fruit and Vanilla. The coffee’s origin shone through. Hidden Gem is a good place for people to stop and grab a takeaway coffee if you’re staying near the port and don’t want to head into town. For decaf lovers, they are one of the few shops that have you covered.
Kumquat
Corfu offers the perfect microclimate for the Chinese citrus fruit kumquat. The story of how it arrived in Corfu is an odd one and can be traced back to a resident British aristocrat and botanist named Sidney Merlin. In fact, the Greeks still call them “Merlin oranges” to this day. Kumquat in downtown Corfu serves as a bar, restaurant, and specialty coffee hub with a strategic corner on a pedestrian street next to the old Municipal theater. The coffee is sourced and roasted by Area 51, a coffee roaster based in Athens. I ordered an espresso from Costa Rica, honey processed, which tasted of caramel and dried fruits.
The interiors are a mix between retro nostalgia, green olive tones, and ’90s computer games, all blended together to create something uniquely Corfiot. During the summer months, this is a very popular place to enjoy an iced coffee on the large seating area out front. Should your coffee drinking evolve into alcoholic refreshments, the bar is very well stocked.
Hot Tip: If you want to go where all the locals go, then line up around the corner at Artopolis. They make the phyllo dough from scratch for their spanakopita (spinach pie) and tiropita (cheese pie).
Coffee Shop Roasters
Coffee Shop Roasters functions as both a dedicated coffee training academy and a roastery-cafe, situated just outside the downtown limits. Inside, black and white speckled marble floors are paired with pink furniture, potted plants, and white brick walls to create a cool Mediterranean atmosphere. Large, wrought-iron windows offer a complete see-through view all the way to the back of the space.
The undisputed stars of the show here are the Freddo cappuccinos and espressos, which the team prepares on a San Remo machine. Their distinct pink takeaway cups can be spotted all over the island as locals and travelers head into town or catch the bus sipping the last drops. Alongside the coffee program, they offer an extensive food menu featuring bagels, cookies, pastries, sandwiches, and toast served on bright blue terracotta plates, as well as freshly blended juices and matcha drinks.
Outside, a small seating area tucked under an awning with palm trees carries the brunt of the Corfu sun. Coffee is roasted in-house on a Silon ZR7 machine in the back room, leaning toward a more developed, medium profile. For those looking to buy coffee, an extensive retail shelf covers the entire gamut of East Africa, Central, and South American beans.
Should your journeys take you to the south of the island, then we highly recommend paying a visit to this legendary coffee roaster: Clepsydra Microroastery.
Benjamin Sand is a freelance journalist and the creator of The Mouth. Read more Benjamin Sand for Sprudge.
