Uks kohv, palun

"One coffee, please," may well be my most-used phrase in Estonian after "hello" and "thank you."

One aspect of Estonia that I've absolutely fallen in love with is the strong, lively cafe culture here. Not a Starbucks in sight, I have had to try the various cafes one by one in order to find the one to call my own. It's an on-going process- I'll probably still be trying out new cafes as I am packing my bags to leave next summer: but here are a few contenders for "favorite."

Kehr Wieder
One of my cardinal travel rules is to avoid the cafes with terraces on a big tourist location: it will normally be twice as expensive, not as good, and the locals won't go near it. Luckily, when my friends and I discovered this gem- located on the Town Hall Square- on a trip to Tallinn in 2008, we found the side entrance and didn't know we were about to break our own rule. It is one of the more expensive cafes I frequent, but it is just as good, and there are always several locals. To tell you the influence Kehr Wieder has on the local cafe scene: its website is www.kohvik.ee, which would be the equivalent of www.cafe.com in the US.

The cafe is slightly below ground, lit mostly by the candles on the tables, and is full of comfy chairs and sofas. I've found the melted chocolate reminiscent of Madrid's Chocolateria San Gines and Angelina's in Paris. Take a bar of very rich, expensive chocolate, melt it, and dip pastry in it, and you have an idea of how good this is. Heavenly. :) My favorite drink here is "meekohv," a latte made with lots of honey and cinnamon. A coffee or tea is 32 EEK, a meekohv is 55 EEK. (1 USD is about 11.25 EEK.)

Kohvik Kompott
This bright cafe is about 60 seconds away from my apartment, so I find myself here just about every time I don't want to cook. I've written several blog posts, including this one, here. My favorite part of the cafe is its unique decorations: I'm sitting at an old sewing table. The lightbulbs on the wall above me are covered by cheese graters, and the lights which hang from the ceiling are in jars full of colored lightbulbs. My favorite item on the (very inexpensive!) menu is the potato and smoked cheese soup, which they serve with rye bread and garlic butter. Before my student discount, the soup is 39 EEK.


Gourmet Coffee
As the name suggests, this is the coffee-lover's cafe in Tallinn: They must have at least twenty types of coffee beans to pick from. If you're not busy, the very helpful staff will help you pick the right blend. However, what's much more fun is to just get the "thermos coffee." Each day, they have one or two brews out, and you can get a mug for 25 EEK, and fill it as many times as you want. Sitting in this cafe feels rather like sipping coffee in the living room of your (very wealthy) grandmother. No wonder a local film crew showed up to shoot a movie scene here during my last visit.

Chocolaterie la Pierre
I took these two photos on my first visit. I don't think I need to say more. :)