Travelling in Algeria is a really magical experience, one that truly surpassed my expectations. Despite its close proximity to Europe, Algeria can easily feel like a world apart, even compared to neighbours like Morocco and Tunisia.

Many people we spoke to appreciate that tourism and Western capitalism has so far failed to make inroads into Algerian everyday life. To some degree, my father and I really enjoyed this aspect during our two week trip in May. At the same time

simple processes were often rendered unnecessarily complex and it often felt like many people were employed in a bullshit economy. Yet, if you look past all that, you’ll find a spectacular country that is bursting with history, culture and nature.

While coffee itself is a way of life in Algeria and firmly engrained in the culture, really good coffee, especially specialty coffee was hard to find.

After reading this guide you will:

✅ Know which places to visit for a great cuppa Joe in Algeria (obviously this doesn’t cover all cities since we didn’t go everywhere)

✅ Learn what makes each recommended place unique

✅ Hopefully feel inspired enough to make Algeria your next destination

ALGERIA (SPECIALTY) COFFEE GUIDE

 

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EL HYL – Nice space with good locally roasted specialty coffee

36 Rue Hadj Ahmed Mohamed, Hydra, Algeria

☕️ Serves locally roasted specialty coffee and is a Coffeevine HUB where you can taste the coffees from our monthly coffee subscription

🛋️ Located on a busy corner in the embassy district of Algiers with plenty of indoor seating for working, drinking coffee and playing board games

💬 The Coffeevine says: It could use a bit more consistency in the preparation of its drinks but El Hyl at the forefront of a burgeoning third wave in Algeria

QAHWA – Funky space with excellent pastries in the heart of Hydra

☕️ There is a nice selection of coffee beverages, including signature drinks as well as matcha

🛋️ No wifi here and the chairs were very uncomfortable but the space is welcoming and fun

💬 The Coffeevine says: This place has all the right elements to become a leading specialty coffee shop in Algeria

CHEMEX – Oran’s finest specialty coffee shop is on par with European and Middle Eastern cafés

☕️ The best flat white in Algeria, excellent cakes and really good brunch dishes

🛋️ Quite a big space with lots of seating so there’s no need to rush. It’s a bit far from the center so be sure to spend some time here!

💬 The Coffeevine says: This café gets everything right. There’s friendly table service and beans from leading roasters in the Middle East. Top!

LA HABANA – Super friendly literary café with great options for coffee

☕️ This café doesn’t have specialty coffee but gets extra points for listing every brew method known to man

🛋️ There is lots of seating both upstairs and downstairs, making this place very popular amongst students and the local literarti

💬 The Coffeevine says: An absolute oasis of a place with the loveliest staff. It is quite out of the way but worth the trip!

Algeria tips you’ll find useful

🛂 Getting a visa for Algeria is a complex process and local payments are largely done in cash

✈️ Distances between places are so huge, you’ll want to fly. Air Algerie is actually quite decent.

🤟🏻 People speak a mix of Arabic, Berber, French and English. You can definitely get by much better than you might expect.

🥘 The food in Algeria is excellent but can be on the heavy side. Make sure you always check how clean a place is before tucking in.

Final thoughts

Algeria is one of those incredible countries that is largely overlooked because of its complex visa process but once you brave this hurdle, a magical land awaits you. The people were some of the kindest and friendliest we have ever met on our many travels. And before people come for this article and say that it ignores traditional cafés etc, we only write about specialty coffee shops. 😉