Experience the historical roots of the very first coffee houses with Nespresso’s newly launched Limited Edition coffees. Café Istanbul and Caffè Venezia aim to bring the vibrant and bustling atmosphere of these coffee houses directly to your home.
A melting coffee pot of cultures
Ethiopia may be the birthplace of coffee, but it was in Istanbul that the first coffee house came to be. Back in the 1500s the Turkish city was still known as Constantinople and was a melting pot of colliding cultures, flavours, tastes and ideas – which it still is today. The coffee house became the mouthpiece of the city, where wild and rich theories were challenged, friendships cemented and many a laugh shared, all over a steaming cup of coffee.
Fast forward a couple of centuries later and the trend had caught on in Venice. It is here that you will find the second oldest coffee house in the world, still in operation today. And while Italy is not where coffee originated, it is certainly viewed as the capital of coffee now. Which is in part thanks to the energetic café culture that began in Venice hundreds of years ago.
A cup of history
Café Istanbul is dark and intense with oriental notes and spicy undertones, paying the perfect ode to its Turkish heritage, while Caffè Venezia is elegant, delicate and wonderfully complex, as beautiful and whimsical as its namesake.
Elevating the desirability of these two new flavours, Nespresso commissioned artist Young Rascal to create contemporary and evocative illustrations of yesteryear’s coffee houses featuring today’s modern drinkers on the packaging.
Young Rascal comments, ‘I was really inspired by the idea of taking a typical coffee lover from today, complete with headphones, and placing them into a scene from the past. Being a lover of history this appealed to me immensely. The coffee houses of Venice and Istanbul were the hubs of society and a real melting pot. Placing our modern day coffee drinkers with the citizens of that time, made me think – would they fit in? Of course they would! Their clothing would differ, but the age-old art of conversation and laughter would remain. Something I hope I’ve managed to convey in these pictures.’
Delicious flavours
Café Istanbul – Arabian Mocha coffee from Yemen mixes with East Indies and Indian treasures to create this cup, reminiscent of the mystery of the oriental bazaar. Evocative of historical blends, it has an exotic character carrying intense roasted and spicy black pepper notes.
Intensity: 10
Serving size: 25ml or 40ml
Caffè Venezia – A taste of history as coffee from the ancient Ethiopian city of Harrar mixes with Indian Arabica to create a cup rich with the exotic perfume of the East. Wild and floral notes combine with a roasted character in this potent and complex coffee.
Intensity: 7
Serving size: 40ml or 110ml
Cafe Istanbul and Caffè Venezia will be available for a limited period from Nespresso Boutiques and Booths in South Africa, as well as through orders from the Nespresso Club.
