Creativity and inspiration: Cafes and other creative haunts in Cape Town

We all know about the famous Café de Flore in Paris, that has played host to literary greats such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus. Yet being here in sunny South Africa means that we cannot sit on the corner of the Boulevard Saint-Germain and muse about life and her meanings, no we have to make do with the likes of the lovely Honest Chocolate Shop and the Yours Truly Cafe. Sigh, our life is so difficult... This is a collection of as many cafe's, coffee shops and convents in Cape Town that I could find to inspire you.

The first entry on our list is, as I have said, the Honest Chocolate shop in Wale Street. Why is this shop inspiring?  Why does it deserve to be on this prestigious list? Well because, come on who does not love dark, raw chocolate, that is handmade with precision, brooding and intense. You actually have to read the way these guys describe their chocolate on the site, it is almost too much to comprehend. Go now, bookmark their site here - http://goo.gl/5DMWF and buy more much chocolate as you can carry. You will not regret it!

Following hot on the heels of our previous entry is the YoursTruly cafe. Well this is actually more than a cafe, they call themselves a deli, it is a shrine dedicated to coffee, gourmet sandwiches and art. The likes of One Horse Town and Arcade has exhibited here, their totally retro space in Long Street is clean and cool and their understated blog has some inspirational images (that are sometimes odd) for all you foodies who is deep into design. You can check out their website here - http://goo.gl/d9anN or you can visit their blog here http://goo.gl/u3uTw



Next on the list is Truth Coffee. I love the way the invite you to visit them, they want you "to experience the simple elegance of micro-lots of artisinal roasted relationship coffees prepared by geek baristas" I am not even sure what that means exactly, but damn what they lack in linguistic simplicity, they make up in great coffee. They believe, and I am now a believer to, that "not all coffees are created equal"; the genius in that statement in never ending and far reaching. In their manifesto they want to provide a service that "stops the travesty of coffee justice ends right here with this institution". I can so get used to a company that provides a level of coffee like this. To join the revolution against bad watery coffee, visit their roastery in Green Point to get your dose of coffee religion. As a side note, I also keeled over laughing at the names of their blends - check it out here - http://goo.gl/Wa3P5


And our last and final stop is Deluxe Coffee Works. They have a great mantra, "You are only as good as your last cup", (ain't that the truth) and a couple of equally amusing coffee blends; some notable ones are the Dirty Hippie and the One-Trick Pony. You can visit their chic and cozy little cafe on Church Street, for a really great cup of espresso - naked of not. Check out their website here - http://goo.gl/gSlMA

All of this begs the question, where is Cape Town's Café de Flore?

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