The coffee culture is Israel is one to be taken very seriously…..

In 2003, Starbucks closed it’s 6 branches, as Israeli’s voted with their feet deciding that the coffee was not to their liking and favoured their own chains of coffee shops, namely Aroma, ArCafee and CafeCafe, as well as supporting independent businesses producing quality coffee for the locals.

Coffee names in Israel differ from the UK or America, so when ordering a ‘latte’, you will probably find you are handed a “café hafuch,”, literally meaning “an upside down coffee”, but put simply, it is a rich espresso with creamy hot milk. Try the dark, aromatic Turkish coffee known as “cafe Botz” or “mud coffee”, with a heady cardamom spice or even “nescafe” Israel’s instant coffee, that is enjoyed all over the country and replacing the cafetiere or percolated coffee.

Today is the first International Coffee Day, an excuse to enjoy the drink as well as “support the millions of farmers whose livelihoods depend on the aromatic crop”, so whether your drink is a cappuccino, frappuccino or latte, enjoy whilst supporting fairtrade coffee too….