Coffee Lab

Coffee Lab is one of the places that shaped specialty coffee in São Paulo. Its founder, Isabela Raposeiras, studied psychology before joining a café project in 2000 with no prior experience, and in 2002 she won the first Brazilian Barista Championship. She went on to study roasting and sensory analysis in Scandinavia and opened a training school, then called Academia de Barismo, in 2004. The café followed in 2009, five years after the school, and she is credited with being one of the first in Brazil to print the producer's name on coffee packaging.

The business describes itself as a school and laboratory for roasting, tasting and preparing high-quality coffee, and that is how it feels. The focus is on carefully selected microlots, traceable from the farm to the bag, so this is a place to taste coffee from named producers rather than a generic espresso. Ask the baristas what is being roasted and served that week and which producers it comes from. You can buy whole beans and capsules to take home, as well as grinders, mugs and other equipment, which makes it a good stop for souvenirs.

The school side remains active. Courses range from junior and senior barista training to roasting profiles, café management and a home-brewing class called Café em Casa, and there are private lessons too. If you are serious about coffee, check the course calendar before your trip, as some sessions are held on weekdays and some on Saturdays.

The café has a distinct personality. Some bathrooms are gender-neutral, a tally on the wall counts the days on which staff were not mistreated by customers, and since 2025 the team has worked a four-days-on, three-days-off schedule. It is a clear statement of how the business wants to treat its staff and guests.

The Vila Madalena café on Rua Aspicuelta is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00, and a second branch on Rua Fernão Dias in Pinheiros keeps the same hours. Delivery is also available through iFood. Vila Madalena is home to Beco do Batman, so a coffee here fits easily into a morning of street art. Coffee Lab suits coffee enthusiasts, solo travellers and anyone interested in the story of Brazilian coffee, though its website focuses on coffee rather than food, so those wanting a full breakfast may prefer a bakery.