Talking shop with a boss barista
Since arriving on the coffee scene, Shift Espresso Bar has been a hit with patrons in love with the trendy decor, welcoming and comfortable atmosphere and delicious coffee.
IT Is not An Exaggeration To say THAT AFTER WATER, coffee Is THE most popular drink WORLDWIDE. As complex and beautiful as the finest wines in the world, from its aromatic allure to its spellbinding power to turn a casual coffee shop chat into a memorable experience, one thing is for certain; there is an inexplicable power to the coffee bean. A power which
Luigi Vigliotti knows all too well.
A coffee shop entrepreneur with plenty of insight into making it happen, this fetching owner is passionate about coffee and what it represents. ‘Coffee is so much more than just a beverage. It’s a culture, a lifestyle and an experience. Originally coffee was the gel between scientific ideas, a place of nonjudgement. Coffee represents exactly that. It’s all about the people you meet and experience it with.’
Originally a dancer, a lot of his inspiration for his cafés came from travelling as a performer and, of course, his Italian roots. As both his parents are entrepreneurs, he was influenced by that environment and has always desired to start his own businesses. But the move into budding businessman was a leap of faith more than a transition, he says. As to what’s tougher, being a dancer or entrepreneur, – ‘Hands down, being an entrepreneur’. He reveals he did a year’s worth of research prior to opening the first Shift Espresso Bar in Green Point in 2014, and chose Cape
Town since the culture lends itself to a busier café day-to-day. So what has he learned about the Cape Town coffee culture since opening in 2014?
‘That’s is a tough question – Cape Town’s coffee scales from the sublime to the mediocre at best. I think this comes from the idea that opening a café is easy and that chilling, drinking your own coffee is living the real life. Unfortunately, one week in and this dissipates instantly. I would say that the guys doing the best coffee are guys that have dedicated to the craft and not the ideal.’
On the secret to differentiating between a good and a bad coffee he says,
‘Its actually a pretty complex process. I would say bad coffee can be picked up in smell, pull, tiger stripping and obviously flavour profile. The beans are the first step, then the roast, followed by the process of grind, tamp, pull and pour.’
Vigliotti surveyed around fifty different roasters before settling on one that could offer him beans good enough to delight all levels of coffee drinkers.
‘To be frank, my roaster is an actual coffee goals world champion roaster and can look at the grind and pull a world-class coffee. He has trained many of our baristas that have travelled to the world championships. He is excellent and coffee is instinctual for him.’
With a brand motto of
“death before decaf ”, his edgy personality is apparent from the moment you walk in. His not-somainstream café space blends a dark-toned indie aesthetic with industrial touches, that creates a stress-free and laid back vibe. The standout feature of Shift is, of course, the coffee, which also shies away from basic “cuppa
Joe” standards. Though the expected cappuccinos, lattés and Americanos are all present and accounted for, Shift whips up a few specialty options too.
‘We have some seriously unique concoctions, my fusion is basically like a tonic which refreshes you and side steps your expectations. On the opposite side of that spectrum is Avocados Anonymous, which is avocado and espresso – it’s lit, believe me.’
Additionally, customers can
‘Success is an interesting concept. i would say it’s like perfection – not something that should be attained, only strived for.’
enjoy a tasty menu of light meals, of which a Cortado double shot and lentil salad with sirloin strips is a personal favourite.
When bringing his vision to life, things he would absolutely not compromise on was family, quality and not accepting mediocrity. ‘These are my pillars. Family, because all my customers and staff are like family. Quality and not accepting mediocrity, because I take immense pride in everything I do and I like to see things being done as if I was serving customers myself.’
His insight to budding entrepreneurs is to not think small as that only yields small results. ‘However,’ he cautions, ‘at the same time, don’t get attached to a fantasy. Business-at-large is finding the balance between the dream and the reality of achieving it. Seep yourself in the reality and work daily to create the dream. Finally, the best way to succeed is to work your business yourself, this means 12-16 hours a day. I’m only three stores in and I still work 14 hours a day, six days a week.
‘Success is an interesting concept. I would say it’s like perfection – not something that should be attained, only strived for. I’m on the ground with my staff and I lead from the front. I take what my customers say and attempt to implement anything that will better my businesses. I stay humble and always take criticism.’