cafe • shopping

Kahve Dunyasi

I’ve had my fair share of English/Melbourne Cafes, but this Turkish cafe was definitely a unique experience. Having never tried a Middle Eastern type dessert place, I was very excited to try this out and could not have been happier to have done so! In a brightly lit, cosy place on Piccadilly, right in the middle of the grand, classy area of Mayfair, Kahve Dunyasi is definitely a cafe that I wouldn’t hesitate returning to. They have a lovely display of Middle Eastern desserts, with an area out the front full of colourfully wrapped chocolates, Turkish coffee and hot chocolate powder for customers to purchase. We were greeted by their lovely manager, who provided us with extremely warm and friendly service, offering us a sample of their specialties. We left with a newfound appreciation for Turkish coffee, and a cosy warmness despite the chilly London winter winds. The good fat: I’ve actually never been so impressed with cafe drinks before – only the caramel macchiato (which is one of their best sellers) was pretty standard ordinary but the other 3 drinks all had their own unique highlights that surprised me! Starting with the Turkish coffee, it was fascinating to learn how that instead of using roasted coffee beans, Turkish coffee is made by bringing it to the boil on a stove, leaving it with a powdery texture that some people aren’t a fan of. We were warned before hand to stop drinking once you hit the bitter, powder residue at the bottom so don’t forget otherwise it might just completely ruin your experience. The texture was a little grainy, but I mostly enjoyed the slight bitterness followed by a sweet aftertaste – a very delicate blend of coffee flavours that I haven’t experienced before. The Salep is their famous Christmas drink, with a delicious, warm mixture of orchid plants, Middle Eastern-esque spices, and a surprisingly thick, smooth texture. I’ve never been a huge fan of spice-based drinks e.g. chai, but the creamy and milky blend of this drink with soft hints of spice made a beautiful balance of flavours and absolutely perfect for a snowy Winter’s day in Europe Christmas time 🙂 Hot chocolate is one of the best drinks to use as a standard comparison across many cafes, and this is definitely up at the top of my list now! It had this amazing quality of being dark and rich without being too sweet. We were told that the hot chocolate was made from melted chocolate to give it that rich, roasty flavour that just left me wanting more! The bad fat: After 3 such amazing drinks, the caramel macchiato wasn’t anything special and I felt that the caramel syrup wasn’t mixed in very well so there were very sweet chunks here and there. Fat-o-meter: 4.5/5