Bootlegger Coffee Company

Set just off Regent Road in Cape Town, Bootlegger Coffee Company is a specialty-grade coffee shop built for the way people drink coffee here. The appeal is not complicated: a drink made with some care, somewhere you can stand still for a few minutes. It is a fixture more than a destination, and the regulars tend to prefer it that way. Across South Africa, places like this form the everyday backbone of how people take their coffee.

The espresso tends to be dialed in rather than dispensed, and the milk drinks are built to actually taste of coffee. Menus at places like this lean seasonal, so the lineup shifts with whatever the roaster is excited about. Brew methods beyond the standard latte are part of the point, from timed espresso to slow filter coffee.

Bootlegger Coffee Company is rooted in Cape Town, South Africa, drawing the steady mix of locals and visitors any good coffee stop attracts. Its setting means it catches both the deliberate visit and the happy accident of walking past. It is worth seeking out, and simple enough to fold into wherever the day is already taking you. Part of what a place like this offers is simply somewhere to be for a few minutes, cup in hand.