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LUMA COFFEE
by Fernanda Silva
Good coffee, good company and good vibes… this is the philosophy behind Luma Coffee, a vibrant coffee shop near the lake and the city centre in Eaux-Vives, one of Geneva’s fastest growing and trendiest urban areas!
BEST CUPPA IN TOWN
Geneva’s coffee scene is growing at an exponential rate, but it’s still a long way off the caffeine offerings in big cities such as London or NYC. It was the lack of good quality coffee in the city that prompted coffee addict Alexandre Walpen to start his own speciality coffee shop a few years ago. After a long time of working night shifts in bars, he was looking for a change in lifestyle and turned his attention to his passion for good coffee.
CAFFEINE CREDENTIALS
Alexandre learned the basics of coffee-making at the École Hôtelière de Genève and furthered his skills with the Specialty Coffee Association program in Switzerland. Hundreds of practice cups later, Alexandre was ready to open Luma Coffee.
IT’S ALL IN THE BEANS
Alexandre works with a supplier who chooses green beans and then performs a toasting test before providing him with samples of beans to ensure he has the best selection. But it’s not the choice of beans alone that is vital for making the best coffee he says, the method of extraction is also important. For instance, at Luma Coffee you can try three different methods: V60, Chemex and the AeroPress.
THE TASTING
My host recommends the V60 method for my coffee tasting: He measures and puts 330 milliliters of heated water in a triangular glass tumbler adding 20 grams of coffee that has been extracted for exactly 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
THE VERDICT
The coffee is really tasty, aromatic and not too acidic, so you get a hint of a citrus taste and it tastes as smooth as a tea.
GOOD COMPANY
This type of coffee is served in small cups and is perfect for sharing between two or three people. Over our cups of freshly made coffee, Alexandre continues to share his passion, explaining that an ordinary espresso doesn’t allow you to enjoy the aroma from the coffee beans as well as a cold brew.
It turns out I’m not the only one enjoying Alexandre’s company.
“It’s always a pleasure to chat with the boss who welcomes you behind the bar,” reads one of LUMA Coffee’s Facebook reviews and I couldn’t agree more.
His clientele includes many English speakers with whom Alexandre loves to practice his English.
“Meeting new people every day is one of the perks of my job”.
He describes his clientele as open-minded individuals who want to discover new things and who crave better quality coffee.
SPECIALITY COFFEE
The trend of drinking specialty coffee started in Australia and has been migrating to Europe in recent years, according to Alexandre. If you love your macchiato, flat white or lattes you’ll love Luma.
Add to that homemade brownies, cookies, or my personal favourites the banana and carrot mini loaves and you can’t go wrong.
If you need a place to unwind, you can do worse than opting for an iced latte macchiato and a slice of homemade banana cake at LUMA Coffee.
PRACTICAL INFO:
ADDRESS: 8 rue des Eaux-Vives, 1207 Genève.
OPENING HOURS: Open on Monday from 7:30am-3pm, Tuesday-Friday from 7:30am-6pm and Saturday from 10am-5pm.
FURTHER INFO: https://www.facebook.com/pg/lumacoffee or https://www.instagram.com/lumacoffee/
