Kronotrop – Istanbul (TR)

Cigangir is one of Istabul’s most vibrant neighbourhoods, filled with cute restaurants serving authentic Turkish food, hidden squares, pumping cocktail bars and great coffee spots. Indeed, that is where five years ago, Kronotrop first opened its doors. Since then, Kronotrop has gone through lengths to build and establish a serious specialty coffee scene in Turkey’s vibrant metropolis.

These days, founder Çağatay Gülabioğlu is no longer involved in the business, having sold it to celebrated Turkish chef Mehmet Gürs who runs Mikla. Mehmet is famed for his reinterpretation of traditional Anatolian dishes made with local and organic ingredients. Definitely worth a visit!

At Kronotrop, which means ‘a substance which alters one’s heart rate’ you can enjoy a wide array of incredible coffees, prepared with one of the most complete set ups to be found anywhere in the part of the world. Starting with the La Marzocco Strada that greets you by the entrance and finishing with a beautiful Turkish coffee set up, designed by the 2013 Turkish coffee world champion Turgay Yildizli.

Kronotrop’s head roaster Özgün Sarisoy carefully prepared a cup of surprisingly delicious Turkish coffee using a special blend made specifically for this brew method consisting of Indonesia, Tana Toraja and Ethiopia, Adado coffees.

This is, in fact, the only blend that Kronotrop offers these days. According to Özgün blends are simply too inconsistent. “We had a lot of problems profiling blends with the Strada. If there’s even a slight variation in the coffee, you’ll notice it immediately,” he explained.

All of their coffees are roasted on the only Loring S15 Falcon in the entire region, highlighting once again Kronotrop’s commitment to quality.

This is where Istanbul’s movers and shakers meet and no visit to Istanbul would be complete without a quick or long stop at this prolific specialty coffee shop.