Cape Town coffee shop makes ‘World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops’ list
Raise a coffee toast to Cape Town's Espressolab, which snagged a spot on a list ranking the best coffee shops in the world.
A Cape Town-based coffee shop is officially one of the best coffee shops in the world.
Most recently, a list naming the top 100 coffee shops for 2026 was released by The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops, which recognises and celebrates the cream of the international coffee shop crop.
As a result, Espressolab clinched a spot on the list.
HOME-BREWED EXCELLENCE
The Espressolab branch based in De Waterkant is equal parts café and equal parts bakery. It managed to score an impressive 40th-place ranking on the list.
Founded in 2009, Espressolab is popular among Capetonian coffee enthusiasts for its specialty blends.
“They work closely with producers from around the world, always doing their utmost to represent their work, and together striving to develop good working practices in sustainability and environment,” according to the list site.
There’s also a prominent branch located in Woodstock, which serves as a roastery and café. Additionally, there are over 400 retail stores located around the globe.
WHICH OTHER COFFEE SHOPS TOPPED THE LIST?
Espressolab faced stiff competition from other cafés and roasteries to garner a spot on this list.
These are the top ten (from first to tenth):
- Onyx Coffee Lab – United States of America
- Tim Wendelboe – Norway
- Alquimia Coffee – El Salvador
- Only Coffee Project Crows Nest – Australia
- Toby’s Estate Coffee Roasters – Australia
- Apartment Coffee – Singapore
- Gota Coffee Experts – Austria
- Story of Ono – Malaysia
- Tropicalia Coffee – Colombia
- Tanat – France
Onyx Coffee Lab, in particular, is an impressive location: “Some of Onyx’s unique concepts are a bakery, a taqueria and a mezcal bar, a twenty-seat tasting restaurant and a high-end cocktail bar. As an open concept, visitors can enjoy coffee, conversation and the sounds of a full-fledged manufacturing facility.”
Perhaps Espressolab will take Onyx’s place next year? Or perhaps another South African coffee joint will step up their grind for a place on this list? Guess we’ll have to see in 2027!
In other news, two pizzerias in Cape Town and Johannesburg were named among the best pizzerias in the world.
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