October 23, 2012

Where To Get A Soya Latte In Cyprus – Arabica Coffee House Paphos

The frappé is easy to find in Cyprus but what about a soya latte or other speciality coffees?

I must be really addicted to soya lattes, because at 9.30 pm on Friday night I was attending the grand opening of the Arabica coffee house Paphos to get what promised to be the best (and as far as I could determine, save Starbucks, the only) soya latte in Cyprus – and a little thing called an 11.00 pm flight back to London wasn’t going to stop me.

As usual I’d been on the hunt for a soya latte since landing in Cyprus. As it was over 30 degrees, I was hoping for an iced version, but truth be told I would have taken whatever I could get. I’d had good espressos, plenty of Cyprus coffee (thick and syrupy coffee served in a small cup with a sediment at the bottom like Greek, Turkish and Arabic coffee). I’d also fallen in love with Cyprus’ ubiquitous iced coffee – the frappé (a specially-blended smooth iced-coffee served with or without milk) but I hadn’t scored a hit of soya latte, iced or not and I was getting the DTs.

Inside the Arabica Coffee House Paphos

So when I happened upon a branch of Starbucks in Limassol I took my chance to get my latte fix, but I was still keen to find another local spot to get good speciality coffee and I found that along with some seriously good carrot cake to boot at the Arabica Coffee House Paphos.

Coffees at Arabica Coffee Cyprus

The USA-founded coffee brand has two franchised branches in Cyprus: this branch situated right across the street from the Paphos Court House and a further branch in Nicosia, and it was opening night of the Paphos branch when I visited. Complimentary carrot cake was delish, with fantastic creamy frosting, brownies and savoury pastries were flowing too and the tables outside were full of people enjoying a coffee on a balmy evening and chatting to the genial Cypriot-by-way-of-Johannesburg café owner.

Arabica from the outside

This place does exactly what it says on the tin: the slogan is A True American Experience. I’d probably call it an international experience – I love tasting local food and drinks and trying out the national dishes and coffees wherever I visit but sometimes you just want something consistent, recognisable and comforting, and this delivered – so I’ll be headed straight back here on my next visit to Cyprus (after I’ve had a souvlaki, some halloumi and village salad!)

Arabica Coffee House Paphos Cyprus