Title: Wake Up And Smell… The Cape Town Coffee Route! Word Count: 396 Summary: Cape Town has immersed itself thoroughly in the international coffee culture trend. And as with everything else in this vibrant city, the Cape coffee culture has its very own distinct flavour. Cape Town is one of a handful of South African cities where the CBD is thriving – with more and more people working, living and playing right in the heart of the inner city. The CBD of the city has close on 100 coffee shops alone (excluding the many restaurants that also offer cof... Keywords: cape town, tour, car hire cape town, car hire south africa Article Body: Cape Town has immersed itself thoroughly in the international coffee culture trend. And as with everything else in this vibrant city, the Cape coffee culture has its very own distinct flavour. Cape Town is one of a handful of South African cities where the CBD is thriving – with more and more people working, living and playing right in the heart of the inner city. The CBD of the city has close on 100 coffee shops alone (excluding the many restaurants that also offer coffee in-between meal times). Most of them seem to be thriving as locals and tourists spill out of open doors onto pavements, European style. More and more of these establishments are offering Internet access / wi-fi and the trend of taking work out of the office, catching up on correspondence and generally hanging out online has readily blended well with the Cape café society. The annual Cape Gourmet Festival, which takes place each autumn, incorporates the Cape Town Coffee Route into its itinerary. This initiative is sponsored by the, among others, the Central Improvement District which aims to keep the city centre clean, safe and desirable as a location for shops and businesses as well as the general public and tourists. The Cape Town Coffee Route is an enormously popular feature of the Cape Gourmet Festival. The majority of coffee shops involved are on or near Kloof Street. The festival promises ‘coffee and conversation on every corner’. Among the best coffee shops featured in previous years at the event, (this year scheduled for May 2007) are the following: Café Gainsbourg Mugg and Bean Boston Café Café Bardeli Seattle Coffee Company Vida e Caffe Each coffee shop in Cape Town has its own ambiance – some are themed African, others Parisian. Some have buskers playing regularly on the pavement in between the tables. There are modern cafés and retro cafés, cafés with MTV, cafés that rent scooters out and cafés that double up as bookstores. You may find yourself daintily sipping a cappuccino from an antique coffee cup or slurping a steaming latte from an enormous utilitarian mug. Whatever your style, whatever your brew of choice, you can enjoy excellent local and imported coffees all over Cape Town. A delightful way to spend the day – and you’ll certainly be set for a night out with all that caffeine coursing through your system!