There are a lot of cafés in Granada, but don’t be fooled... Just because it says ‘café’ above the door, it doesn’t mean they know anything about coffee. In fact, the vast majority of time, they’ll serve you some murky caffeinated liquid that I would certainly not call proper coffee. I’m sorry, there is no other way to put this – most of the time you’ll get shit coffee!
But don’t despair! The specialty coffee craze has arrived here too, and good coffee shops are starting to pop up around the city. All of you spoiled hipsters (ooops, I guess myself included) can get your proper dose of caffeine in these places. Coming from Budapest, I’m pretty spoiled when it comes to coffee. The city is full of nice specialty coffeeshops, like Fekete, Espresso Embassy (which serves as my second office sometimes) and Madal, just to mention a few. When I arrived to Granada I was eager to find some similarly good places and with the help of some local friends and just lots of wandering around town, I did discover the coffee scene of the city.
I must say that I don’t drink coffee on a daily basis anymore – I generally go with yerba mate – but when I do go for coffee, I want a properly good one. This list is quite subjective: I have no clue about coffee tasting jargon and I honestly don’t care much either – but I do know how to tell if a coffee is good or not. So, without further ado, here are my favorite places for coffee in Granada! The places are in the order I visited them – my “ranking” will be at the end of the post.
Minuit
Ah, the place where it all started! Minuit was where I had my first ‘proper’ coffee in Granada after much disappointment in the regular cafés and it was like a breath of fresh air. They have a lovely place in a little side street just off Plaza Nueva, where there is plenty of space to sit, chat or work. I love to go there to write my bullet journal, but I also wrote the draft of this very post there.
The coffee has plenty of character and the taste really reminds me of Espresso Embassy’s coffee in Budapest. Aisling (my girlfriend) finds it too bitter as a cortado, but I really love it! The latte is great too if you want something less strong-tasting. I rarely drink coffee without at least a little sugar, but I’d definitely skip sugar with the latte here, it’s that good! They also have good fresh pastries, like croissants, cakes and bread. The coffee comes from Ineffable Coffee Roasters in Sevilla. This place is probably my favorite and it gets plus points for good music!
They also have a second location up in Albaicín, but that is pretty much standing room only or takeaway.
La Finca
La Finca is awesome, because they roast their own coffee. Its taste is much smoother and less bitter than the one in Minuit, but it also has less character – I think it is nice, but less special. The place itself is very modern and it is the most central – they have two locations, one near the Cathedral and one just off Plaza Bib-Rambla. Aisling and I have been to the latter and we definitely enjoyed it! The only complaint was that the music was a bit too loud for comfortable writing and talking.
Noat Coffee
Noat Coffee is a small place in the Realejo neighborhood with awesome coffee and good snacks! You can sit either outside, in the doorway or there are some bar stools inside, but this is more of the quickly drink your coffee and go type of place, it’s not really for sitting and working. I tried a V60 here as well as a latte, but for comparison’s sake I’ll go with the latte – it is very smooth, almost fruity flavored. If you prefer lighter-tasting coffee, this one is a good choice. I’m sure I’m butchering whatever coffee-tasting jargon is out there, but that’s how I’d describe it. Aisling loved the banana bread, so they get plus points for that!
I Need_
I first noticed their coffee and tea shop on Calle Recogidas, then I later found out they actually have a café in Realejo. I Need_ is very well-designed, with plenty of place to sit and work and they sell a lot of types of coffee, tea, pastries and beverages if you want to take something home with you. The coffee is from La Finca, so it tastes nice and the staff are very friendly.
Dulcimena
Dulcimena has annoying opening times: they are closed for the weekends and for siesta time, which coincidentally happen to be the times when I usually want my coffee. But once I managed to actually get there when they were open, I could instantly forgive them for that. The place is small and cozy, with a great design and nice music from a real record player. I’d usually have my coffee with a little sugar, but the barrista was very funny here. He was like “Do you want sugar?” and without waiting for me to answer “I think you should taste it without sugar first!”. He was completely right, the flat white tasted fantastic without sugar. I don’t usually do that unless it’s great coffee!
They use the coffee from the same roasters (Ineffable Coffee Roasters) as Minuit, but my coffee here was from a different variety. It’s hard to say which one I like more, both are just great! The place itself is very cozy and small, in the Realejo neighborhood, and I’d happily sit there for quite a while chatting, sipping my coffee and just enjoying the vibe of the place.
Conclusion
After my initial disappointment with coffee in Granada, now I know the right places to get it. Specialty coffee is a relatively new thing here and prices are refreshingly low: usually you can have a latte or cortado for 1.50€ in these places, which is rather impressive. Minuit and I Need_ are great if you also want to sit and work, while Noat, Dulcimena and La Finca are less comfortable for that. Minuit and Dulcimena’s coffee has more character and a stronger taste, while La Finca, Noat and I Need_ are very smooth. All of these places are awesome, and I would highly recommend them, but I’d definitely rate Minuit, Dulcimena and Noat a bit higher than La Finca and I Need_. My favorite is Minuit, followed closely by Dulcimena. Which one you like the most is probably just a matter of taste.
So, there you have it, these are my favorite specialty coffee places in Granada!
PS: shoutout to @nadia_bouro and @westraywalk for recommendations!