Karaköy’s headquarter for coffeeholics Istanbul is full of people claiming they would go “as far as Timbuktu” for a good coffee. You can find these self-confessed coffee freaks on every quarter of the city. Coffee Sapiens, in Karaköy, is bound to draw such crowds. They serve coffee from beans picked and ground up everywhere from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Kenya. You can sit at tables amongst the bustle of the street or on the steps outside the place.
Any amateur coffee expert will find something to soothe his coffee craze in the strains found on the last page of the menu, and the staff are absolutely ready to guide you as to how their drinks are brewed and using which techniques and equipment. The café’s most simple brew is the Hario Drip, the aroma it gives of invokes a nargile, and this is a favorite of namesake manager Hario Siphon. Sapiens is also one of the few places in the city you can try the prestigious Jamaica Blue Mountain. The sweets, sandwiches and cakes are also delicious – among these, the home-made lemon cheese cake is definitely the best.
Apart from this, the take away service, open until 23.00 is the most alluring aspect of the place, allowing you to swan home in Karaköy or around a local exhibition, coffee-in-hand. Nihan Bora