Beirut has several beautiful coffee shops, maybe some of the most beautiful worldwide according to this CNN article. In fact, Beirut-based Kalei Coffee Co. was featured in “Designing Coffee: New Coffee Places and Branding”, a book by coffee expert Lani Kingston who also happens to teach a course titled “The Anthropology of Coffee” at Portland State University.
Kalei Coffee Co. has two shops in Beirut, its flagship shop in Mar Mikhael and another in Ras Beirut. The Ras Beirut roastery is housed in a late-1800s Lebanese heritage home while the Mar Mikhael shop was once the Coconi House, abandoned in 1984 during the Lebanese civil war. It prides itself in serving sustainably sourced highly quality coffee.
It’s nice to see this local gem featured among the world’s most beautiful coffee shops.