![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/04\/Photo-Dec-05-5-03-58-PM-150x150.jpg\")
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Kensington. Beverly Hills. The Upper East Side. Every city has a neighborhood that denotes wealth, privilege, and luxury. Although Istanbul’s upper crust has left the city center in droves in recent decades, the historic\u00a0Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131 neighborhood, with its fashion houses and Art Deco apartment blocks, still occupies a certain place of distinction in the Istanbul landscape. But there\u2019s more to Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131 than Range Rovers driven by private chauffeurs idling outside the Louis Vuitton store (though you will see Range Rovers driven by private chauffeurs idling outside the Louis Vuitton store). The neighborhood is also home to perhaps the highest concentration of specialty coffee shops in the city. <\/span><\/p>\n Specialty coffee, after all, is a luxury good, a fact felt more acutely in a country like Turkey, where the going rate for a pour-over or espresso is almost identical to Western Europe or America, but the median income is considerably lower.\u00a0But these cafes are not simply the haunts of the bored bourgeois. Much like any specialty coffee shop hub, Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131\u2019s booming specialty coffee scene provides a place the city\u2019s growing creative class can find a place to work, or take a cheeky break with a cortado and a slice of cake. <\/span><\/p>\n Petra Coffee <\/strong><\/p>\n From hair salons to coworking spaces, Petra Coffee<\/a> is everywhere in Istanbul, and for good reason. The roaster\/retailer was one of the early champions of quality, and has slowly created one of the strongest brands in Turkish specialty coffee. But visit their Topa\u011fac\u0131 location and you don\u2019t need to know any of that\u2014you\u2019ll just find a great neighborhood cafe. <\/span><\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s the wooden newspaper holders or the century-old antique bar, the interior of Petra feels timeless, perhaps more Parisian than Turkish. Marble and cast iron tables line a bench that runs the length of the shotgun-shaped space. Baristas wear Petra\u2019s trademark striped shirts and white lab coats, and ring a bell every time an order is up, short-order-diner-style. <\/span><\/p>\n House-baked pastries are shuttled over daily from Petra’s Gayrettepe headquarters, along with, of course, an extensive selection of single-origin coffees, including famed estates like Finca Tamana in Colombia. Espresso, always a single origin, is prepared on a La Marzocco Strada EP<\/a> and Mazzer Robur<\/a> grinder. Petra is also one of the few places you\u2019ll find doing a full size batch brew on a FETCO<\/a> brewer, a luxury in an espresso-centric specialty coffee scene. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Borderline Coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n The Istanbul specialty coffee scene is dominated by microroasters, with almost as many roasters as cafes. This makes Borderline Coffee<\/a>\u2019s international multi-roaster concept a breath of fresh air in the local community. Coffee comes from as far afield as Massachusetts\u2019s George Howell<\/a> and Oslo\u2019s Tim Wendelboe<\/a>, in addition to local roasters like Boxx<\/a>, Kimma<\/a>, and Probador Collectiva<\/a>. Cofounder Bur\u00e7in Erg\u00fcnt has a background in digital marketing and design, so it\u2019s little wonder the interior at Borderline is on the leading edge of cafe design, complete with a foliage wall emblazoned with a neon sign of Borderline\u2019s bomb-like logo, and rearrangeable peg board that displays a selection of Moccamaster brewers and Stanley thermoses. <\/span><\/p>\n A Mahlk\u00f6nig Peak<\/a> is filled with Borderline\u2019s house espresso: a single-origin Burundi custom roasted by Boxx, but any of the single-origin options are available as an EK shot, including Tim Wendelboe\u2019s appropriately named \u201cEspresso for Milk.\u201d Six single-origin options are offered by-the-cup, prepared on two Marco SP-9<\/a>s. <\/span><\/p>\n Although the vibes at Borderline are decidedly coffee shop, the food menu here is just as serious as the coffee selection. In Turkey, coffee is rarely consumed without something sweet on the side, and Borderline offers a wide array of cookies, cakes, and pastries, many of which are gluten-free or vegan and all of which are baked on the premises. For more substantial food options, quinoa bowls, salads, and fresh sandwiches makes Borderline coffee a popular lunch destination in its own right. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With Turkey\u2019s lax rules regarding pets in restaurants, don\u2019t be surprised if a customer or even barista has brought their dog or cat into the cafe. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gravit\u00e9 Coffee Bar <\/strong><\/p>\n Rising taxes, marketing bans, and other restrictions from the ruling political party have put a serious damper on alcohol consumption in Turkey, but that hasn\u2019t stopped the global mixology craze from reaching Istanbul. With the burgeoning cocktail and specialty coffee scenes, perhaps it was inevitable that someone in Istanbul took a stab at combining the two, and the result is Gravit\u00e9 Coffee Bar<\/a> on Poyrac\u0131k Sokak. The coffee and cocktail concept looks good on paper, but in reality it\u2019s challenging to create a space where people enjoy both waking up with a hot cup of coffee and unwinding with something a little stronger. With a refined but inviting interior, Gravit\u00e9 Coffee Bar manages to thread the needle and create an intimate atmosphere where one feels comfortable bellying up to the bar with either an espresso or Old Fashioned in hand. <\/span><\/p>\n The coffee is supplied by a rotating cast of roasters, most recently Coffee Department<\/a>, a local roaster located in Istanbul\u2019s Balat neighborhood. Two espresso options are prepared with a Mahlk\u00f6nig K30 twin and a teal La Marzocco FB80, while single-origin options are offered as a pour-over or AeroPress<\/a>. The adjacent American Hospital makes this cafe a hotspot for doctors, nurses, and the neighborhood\u2019s sizable expat community. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ministry of Coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n An Australian flag hangs in the window at Ministry of Coffee<\/a>, which boasts the tagline \u201cAustralian Coffee Roasters.\u201d An antipodean influence can be seen in coffee shops across Europe, and Istanbul is no exception. Ministry of Coffee, more often referred to as \u201cMOC\u201d in the local coffee community, was one of the first specialty coffee shops to open up in Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131, and has grown to three locations in the neighborhood (not to mention a roastery in nearby Bomonti.) <\/span><\/p>\n In contrast to the Nordic-influenced ultra-light roast you\u2019ll get at many of the coffee shops in Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131, MOC features many of the fixtures once synonymous with the Aussie coffee scene: espresso is on the ristretto side, servers provide table service, and of course the much-maligned flat white joins the menu alongside more standard fare. <\/span><\/p>\n With two floors and sidewalk seating, MOC\u2019s original location on \u015eakay\u0131k Sokak is one of the largest cafes in the area, and certainly among its most popular. Owner Deniz Y\u0131ld\u0131z D\u00fczg\u00fcn offers both home barista workshop and accredited SCA classes.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Spada Coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n The La Marzocco Strada EP, and Mahlk\u00f6nig grinders, and tile are all matte white at Spada Coffee<\/a>, accented by soft wood tones and the occasional splash of blue-gray. But the thoughtful interior doesn\u2019t keep the sidewalk seating from filling up first before anyone ventures inside. \u201cSpada\u201d means \u201csword\u201d in Italian\u2014a play on owner Cumhur K\u0131l\u0131\u00e7\u2019s last name\u2014but you might be able to figure that out from their logo. A spiral staircase leads up to a surprisingly open upstairs, where guests can perch at a laptop bar, or settle into some soft seating. <\/span><\/p>\n Spada recently began roasting its own coffee, but also features a guest roaster, often from local companies like Old Java<\/a> and Probador Collectiva, and sometimes international brands like Berlin\u2019s The Barn<\/a>. For cafe crawlers that might be hitting the upper limits of their caffeine tolerance, Spada features a selection of kombuchas\u2014still a rarity in Istanbul. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Magado Coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n When one walks into Magado Coffee<\/a>, they are immediately confronted with a very curious cafe design. The split-level shop features a full espresso bar upstairs, almost hovering over a downstairs seating area, with the front door opening onto a landing between the spaces. A quick trip up the half flight of stairs reveals a selection of four single-origin coffees from Boxx Coffee Roasters, in addition to a blend of Brazil and Colombia in the espresso hopper.<\/span><\/p>\n The cafe takes its name from a village in Kenya, but during my most recent visit the coffees were from Colombia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Burundi. Per the barista\u2019s recommendation, I settled on a V60<\/a> pour-over of the Burundi, Ruhinga, a sweet, fruit-forward coffee perhaps enhanced by a rare sunny spring day.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grandma<\/strong><\/p>\n The centuries-old Te\u015fvikiye Mosque, with its fading yellow Neo-Baroque exterior, is one of the most iconic landmarks of Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131, but a bright red and white cafe called Grandma<\/a> might be more emblematic of the neighborhood today. A table can be hard to come by during peak hours at this popular brunch destination, but if you\u2019re lucky enough to score a spot, you\u2019ll soon understand why the bakery and cafe attracts a wider clientele than most specialty coffee shops in the area. <\/span><\/p>\n The menu here is equal parts French and Turkish breakfast classics, complemented by a decadent array of pastries, cakes, and sourdough breads. Visitors to Turkey shouldn\u2019t pass on trying Grandma\u2019s take on <\/span>menemen<\/span><\/i>, a dish of saut\u00e9ed tomatoes, pepper, and egg served with a generous dollop of <\/span>labne <\/span><\/i>(something like cream cheese) and Grandma\u2019s signature sourdough bread. <\/span><\/p>\n Grandma might be more bakery than coffee shop, but the coffee is treated with the same level of care that has earned them such a stellar reputation for food. The cappuccino here ranks among the best we\u2019ve had in the city, with rich, chocolatey espresso and perfectly textured milk. Although the whole bean coffee is sold in private label bags, rumor has it the coffee here is also roasted by Boxx.<\/span><\/p>\n Michael Butterworth is the publisher of Pilgrimaged, based in Louisville, Kentucky. This is Michael Butterworth’s first feature for Sprudge.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Where To Drink Coffee In Istanbul’s Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131 Neighborhood<\/a> appeared first on Sprudge<\/a>.<\/p>\n Source: Coffee News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kensington. Beverly Hills. The Upper East Side. Every city has a neighborhood that denotes wealth, privilege, and luxury. Although Istanbul’s upper crust has left the city center in droves in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39,41],"tags":[63,45,65,47,61,49,59,67,55,57],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/03\/Nisantasi-Instanbul-guide-Petra-coffee-filter-2-Michael-Butterworth-1170x780.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nPetra Coffee is located at\u00a0Te\u015fvikiye, Prf. Dr. Orhan Ersek Sk. No:18, 34365 \u015ei\u015fli\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Visit their official website<\/a> and follow them on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n![\"Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/03\/Nisantasi-Instanbul-guide-Borderline-coffee-take-away-Michael-Butterworth-1170x780.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nBorderline Coffee is located at Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131 Ihlamur Yolu 17-1 \u015ei\u015fli Istanbul, 34365 Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Visit their official website<\/a> and follow them on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n![\"Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/03\/Nisantasi-Instanbul-guide-Gravite-coffee-bar-espresso-machine-Michael-Butterworth-1170x780.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nGravit\u00e9 Coffee Bar is located at Te\u015fvikiye, Poyracik Sk No:45, 34365 \u015ei\u015fli\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Visit their official website<\/a> and follow them on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n![\"Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/03\/Nisantasi-Instanbul-guide-ministry-of-coffee-Michael-Butterworth-1170x780.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nMinistry of Coffee is located at Te\u015fvikiye, \u015eakay\u0131k Soka\u011f\u0131 4\/A, 34365 \u015ei\u015fli\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Visit their official website<\/a> and follow them on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n![\"Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/03\/Nisantasi-Instanbul-guide-Spada-interior-2-Michael-Butterworth-1170x780.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nSpada Coffee is located at Av. S\u00fcreyya A\u011fao\u011flu Sk. No:8\/E, Te\u015fvikiye, 34365 \u015ei\u015fli\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Follow them on Facebook<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n![\"Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/03\/Nisantasi-Instanbul-guide-Magado-filter-coffee-2-Michael-Butterworth-1170x780.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nMagado Coffee is located at Te\u015fvikiye, Prf. Dr. Orhan Ersek Sk. 11\/A, 34365 \u015ei\u015fli\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Follow them on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n![\"Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131](\"http:\/\/sprudge.com\/file\/2018\/03\/Nisantasi-Instanbul-guide-Grandma-interior-Michael-Butterworth-1170x780.jpg\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nGrandma is located at Te\u015fvikiye, Ahmet Fetgari Sk. No:38, 34365 \u015ei\u015fli\/\u0130stanbul<\/a>. Visit their official website<\/a> and follow them on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/div>\n