Kappy’s Tea & Coffee

Okay so as a disclaimer before this review I have to confess that I am a complete tea nut. Last time I cleaned out my ‘tea box’ I had about 35 different kinda of tea bags, and about 30 different leaf teas. And this is before I even knew of Kappy’s, so I know the number of leaf teas I possess has jumped drastically since then!!!
Kappy’s has been around for about 80 years in 3 different locations in Adelaide. The current owner Simon has owned it for about a year.
I first found this place quite by accident while walking down Compton St towards the Central Markets. On first glance it just looks like a warehouse but as you look more you start to see people chatting and enjoying a cuppa and can hear the gentle strains of classical music drifting out. As soon as you venture in the first thing that hits you is the delicious smell of tea & coffee blends. If you are lucky enough to catch this place during a roast (mid morning on most weekdays), the whole place smells like fresh roasted coffee and you will not be able to deny yourself a cup! You can also watch the original 1930’s roaster being put through it’s paces!
Kappy’s does their tea and coffee a little different than other places. They are very focussed on ethical and organic and try to make sure that the right person is getting the money — not always a sure thing in the tea and coffee industry. Also their teas are of the highest quality and not flooded with cheap and nasty essences or flavourings. For example the cherry rooibos tea is made with cherries from the Adelaide Hills that are dehydrated on site and then chopped to combine with the organic rooibos. And it’s delicious! The tea is also of very high quality and you can use the leaves more than once in most cases — some will be still giving you flavour after 7 steepings!
I am slowly working my way through trying everything on the ‘tea wall’ and I don’t think I have ever left without some new tea and some new information. Simon really knows his stuff when it comes to tea and is really happy to share his knowledge with anyone who asks.
Make sure you have a piece of homemade cake with your cuppa — the earl grey tea cake is a particular favourite of mine. And since I’m spending a lot of my time there these days I’ll probably see you there!