TAF Coffee

TAF is one of the pioneers of specialty coffee in Athens. Its small café on Emmanouil Benaki Street, between Omonia and Exarchia, opened in 2009 and acts as the tasting room and shop of a Greek coffee roaster and importer. The official city guide calls it one of the finest coffee shops in Athens and a place for coffee connoisseurs, and travel writers have credited it with introducing Athenians to quality coffee when the scene was still young.

The company's co-owner, Yiannis Taloumis, built the business around sourcing beans from coffee farms around the world, and the range includes single origins from Central and South America and Africa as well as house blends. Espresso-based drinks and filter coffee are both on offer, and the baristas have won awards at national and international level. If you are used to milky chain coffee, try a filter or an espresso of a single origin to see what the fuss is about, and ask the staff for a recommendation.

The café is small, spread over two floors, with a few tables outside on the street. It is a working coffee bar rather than a brunch destination, though there have traditionally been light bites on offer. All the company's coffees are sold to take home, either as beans or ground to suit your brewing method, which makes it a good place to pick up a gift for coffee-loving friends.

TAF suits coffee enthusiasts, solo travellers and anyone staying in Exarchia or near Omonia who wants a serious coffee to start the day. It is outside the main tourist zone, so it has a local feel, with students and regulars coming and going. Mornings are the busiest time for takeaway orders. Opening hours are not listed on the official city guide, so check before you go if you are planning a weekend visit.

The café is about five minutes' walk from Omonia and Panepistimio metro stations, and around ten minutes from the National Archaeological Museum, so it is a natural pause before or after the museum. Exarchia's bookshops, bars and tavernas are close by, and Pharaoh, the Bib Gourmand restaurant and natural wine bar, is a few streets away for later in the day.