Samba Coffee Roasters

Stefanos Kalafatas founded Samba back in 1979, long before specialty coffee had a name in Greece, and the roastery has stayed in the family since, now run by his son Kostas Kalafatas. Decades of continuous operation give Samba a different kind of authority in Athens than the newer third wave names, closer to an established institution than a recent arrival.

The Solonos shop in Kolonaki runs long hours seven days a week, retail bags and equipment filling out a room built as much for buying beans to take home as for a coffee on the spot. A second Crossroads location has since expanded the brand's reach across the city.