Tallinn: Old Town in Depth - Part 33

Beverages

Estonians have always loved to drink beer. Many microbreweries have sprung up in recent years to the delight of beer gourmands and they offer exciting products with a wide variety of tastes and styles. Fruit and berry wines are made both at home and industrially; the best ones, such as the sweet apple wine Põltsamaa Kuldne, are perfect with an apple or pumpkin pie.

Old time homemade liqueurs are being rediscovered, among the most exciting ones being rowanberry, sea-buckthorn berry and spruce shoot schnapps. The best-known Estonian alcoholic beverage is Vana Tallinn, a liqueur that goes well with coffee, but is also perfect for flavouring desserts. Today, Estonians tend to give it as a gift to foreigners rather than drink it themselves.

Milk, sour milk and kefir are wildly popular among Estonians. Today, a glass of milk seldom accompanies a meal, although lactose intolerance is not that common here and just a few decades ago, it was the most common beverage to wash down a meal with. Homemade apple and currant juices are highly valued.

Which cafe will be your favourite in Tallin?

The good news for coffee and cake lovers is that there are over 100 cafes in the Tallin area. While I do not mind coffee chains here the vast majority of the shops are all individual with each having its only unique ambience.

I don’t think I had a bad cup of coffee during any of my many stays in the city and I always tried something new every time. I have listed below a few that I particularly liked but saw many other that I would have liked to try had I had more time.
These, as they say, are “in no particular order”.

Maiasmokk

Tallinn’s oldest café still retains its amazing, pre-war interior and offers a variety of tempting cakes and pastries, as well as fresh coffee and other treats. This old charmer lives up to its name which is Estonian for ' sweet tooth' by serving up a variety of baked goods. All are made right on the spot as well as hot drinks and other snacks. Children will appreciate the adjacent Kalev Marzipan Room with its display of artistic marzipan creations. In addition to freshly-baked cakes, Maiasmokk' s historically decorated, upstairs café offers soups, salads and light main courses. In 2017 they tried something new, they began offering free coffee or tea in the upstairs café with a Tallinn Card. I have not been back since so don’t know if this is still a feature.

This list is continued in part 34