Best of the Maldives: Coffee Cafe – LUX North Male Atoll

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LUX North Male Atoll - cafe 2

International Coffee Day. And really who else could we feature but those boss baristas at LUX (this is the 6th “Best of the Maldives” recognition for LUX just in the area of “coffee”?

This time a shout out to their Coffee Cafe. Take-away coffee from 6:00 am through 10:30 am. This is just perfect for me. I often get up early for the quiet morning time to catch up on some email and web surfing. I like to leave the villa because my shuffling around can disturb Lori who likes to savour her opportunity for a lie-in. But I do want a coffee as soon as I get up. I’d rather not go into a restaurant, but just find some quiet corner of the island to stretch out on. LUX North Male Atoll was about the first island I could easily do this with their take-away service. Also, the more insulate, tall thermal cup keep the coffee hotter than a conventional ceramic cup (and the serving is larger too).

And extra bonus, the café offers 4 types of sweetener (see photo below). If this seems like a trivial detail, then you are not a sweet tooth aficionado like me.

LUX North Male Atoll - cafe 1

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Best of the Maldives: Cold Drip Coffee – LUX North Male Atoll

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LUX North Male Atoll - cold brew coffee

LUX* North Male Atoll’s “LUX Café” features a non-electronic way to start your morning detox after a night of a few too many pina coladas – cold drip coffee. Cold drip is a technique where coffee is immersed in cold water and left to ‘brew’ over a number of hours. At LUX, water drips through for 6-8 hours to make one 1 litre (also 14 hours for 3 litre version). The result is a concentrated coffee where more of the flavour is preserved with a richer fuller body. It is especially good for preparing ice coffee – Lori’s favourite.

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Best of the Maldives: Coffee Art – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives coffee art

Possibly the easiest day to wake up to on the calendar…World Coffee Day. In n aromatic nod to the king of coffee innovation in the Maldives, another distinction brought to my attention by Rik Norton and his glowing review of LUX* Maldives. This example of LUX’s striking coffee art depicts a young lioness greeting us in the morning.

Grande!

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Best of the Maldives: Coffee Roasting – LUX* Maldives

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LUX Maldives coffee roasting

Happy International Coffee Day!

The one thing I typically miss when I visit the Maldives is my morning cup of Starbucks latte. I actually buy the whole beans myself from Starbucks, grind them and brew the drink in an Italian stove top espresso maker. Mind you, I am a very fussy latte drinker and struggle to find great lattes in top London restaurant (the most common sin is that they serve them not hot enough).

When we first started coming to the Maldives 15 years ago, resorts didn’t even know what a latte was. Eventually, they brought in espresso machines, but their barista talents were still quite green. Now, I find if I am at a 5-star resort I have a solid 50:50 shot at getting a great cup of coffee (about par with London). One resort which has gone the ultimate extreme to ensure that its coffees are the best is LUX* Maldives. The LUX* actually has links to a South African coffee company so they take this beverage very seriously. So much so that they have installed their very own coffee roaster on the island with its own Chief Roaster Hassan (see above)

“If you love coffee, you’ll be delighted by our Island Blend, an organic mix created for us by Carl and Judd, founders of Cape Town’s acclaimed artisan roaster Deluxe Coffeeworks…We actually roast organise green beans here on the island and we’re schooling our staff in the ways of the barista.”

I did enjoy all the coffee I could when I stayed at LUX, but it’s also a treat just to walk past the roaster in operation to get a whiff of those fragrant aromas.

LUX Maldives coffee roasting 2

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