This place is a favourite of Lonely Planet and other Uganda guidebooks generally and has won numerous awards worldwide for the quality of its coffee. Conveniently located opposite the Buganda Road craft markets it offers a welcome coffee break from shopping for worn out tourists, and even offers its own selection of (more expensive) crafts, as well as fabric shops and dressmaking services. Its location backing right on to Buganda Road does, however, mean that its not the most peaceful spot.
In terms of coffee it is definitely not overhyped and it does, without a doubt, serve the best coffee in Kampala, as well as the widest selection. For those of you homesick for chain coffee it even serves a slightly mysterious ‘Starbucks blend’ as well as a plethora of international coffees – including one of my favourites, Vietnamese coffee (served with condensed milk).
Their main draw, however, is the range of local coffees from the Mt Elgon and the Rwenzori regions (amongst others). You can have these in a cafetiere or go for lattes or cappuccinos. They also offer some interesting cold coffee combos such as the Café Alberto with ice cream (6,500 UGX).
Coffees here cost between 3,000 and 10,000 UGX depending on their origin (the imported ones such as Rwandan and Tanzanian are more expensive) and they offer takeaway bags of coffee beans and ground coffee for 10,000UGX.
1000 Cups also offers simple food including hot and cold sandwiches (10-12,000 UGX), salads (10,000 UGX) and some main dishes such as grilled goat or chicken (15,000 UGX). Unfortunately their food is no where near as good as their coffees and is generally pretty disappointing – although if you are planning to eat here I’d suggest you go with one of the toasted sandwiches such as the tuna melt. One food group they do do well, however, is their cakes and desserts – the banana loaf at 6,500 UGX, in particular, is great.
Sadly there is also no wifi and the seating area is small with few power outlets (or tables for that matter), so it’s far from an ideal place if you are looking to use a computer. But this may actually be a draw if you are someone just looking to catch up with friends, have an actual face-to-face interaction or just drink some good coffee.
Ultimately it’s a great spot for coffee lovers and for a morning/afternoon coffee break or meet up. It’s not really the place to spend a whole day or to come specifically for the breakfast/lunch, but if you’re in the area and like coffee it is 100% worth checking out!
Hours: 8am – 9pm Monday to Saturday, 10am – 6pm Sunday
Phone: 0772 505 619 / 0775 667 858
Email: coffeestm@hotmail.com
Website: http://eacol.com/1000cupscoffee
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