When was the last time that you sat down, opened a book or a newspaper, ordered a cup of fresh roasted coffee and enjoyed your time? Without being in a rush or checking the time impatiently. Let’s admit it – we all live in a fast-paced world with dynamic lifestyles that are constantly altering. But sometimes all you need is a break to enjoy your coffee to its last drop.
For the time being in Portugal, we realized an important aspect of the common lifestyle here – people love to drink coffee. In fact, it is an essential part of the local culture – enjoying your coffee time. While in many other European countries people tend to grab a plastic cup of coffee in a rush to their office, here in Portugal this would be considered a ‘sin’. But our story goes beyond the basic aspects of this famous energizing elixir as we will share with you the perfect concept of a healthy snack with a cup of warm boutique tea and specialty coffee that goes with their selection of sugarLESS deserts.
We visit the city quite often – whether it is for business or leisure. And being here so regularly we’ve come across a lot of amazing places (check out our article about Terra Nova).
Noshi is one of them. As the owner shared with us, Noshi is a ‘healthy ‘cake made with chia seeds and nuts that she used to bake for family meetings and there comes the name of the restaurant.
Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Small, cozy and carefully arranged with greeneries, this coffee house has very charming atmosphere that grabbed our attention from first sight. It has its own distinguishing style that emphasizes on natural and environmental elements like the outdoor garden with hanging flower pots that strengthen its “green” philosophy.
Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
The narrow hallway of the venue consists of cute compact tables enough to fit a couple or to sit there by yourself whenever you want to spend some time alone. On the wall you can see all kinds of coffee-related decorations and some really interesting books about the history and the different types of exotic caffeine products and as the owner shared with us, it took her almost an year to complete the project.
It is not only the books where you can find bizarre types of coffee brews, but the venue itself also offers a huge array of those, as the highlight is on their own branded coffee. There were coffee containers from all over the world. Despite all the beans looking exactly the same, they all taste completely different. You can even see the labeled jar “Jacu Bird” which apparently is the rarest and one of the most in Brazil or even in the world. But you really do not want to know how it had originated .. please Google that!
Apart from the variety of aesthetic coffee types, it was the food concept that we’ve mostly enjoyed. From the perspective of a couple with an active lifestyle, the truth is, no matter how hard we focus on a healthy diet and working out, it is not always possible to achieve that. But finding places like Noshi is a gem for all those that focus on a healthy lifestyle. The menu is quite rich with healthy options, bursting with fibers and nutrients. It has options for both vegans and vegetarians if you avoid meat and most of the products are organic. Even the deserts are sugar free so we would not consider it a sin if you want to grab a bite from the delicious cheesecake.
It is more difficult to say what this rich plate did not have instead of counting the ingredients. Toasted thin slices of bread with variety of appetizers – olives, tomatoes, goji berries, pumpkin seeds, herbs and garnished with grilled avocado filled with pesto sauce – heaven combination. The jug was filled with organic tea, which comes under the brand of “Tea Tales” and containes the unbelievable combination of ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamon seed, liquorice root, nutmeg and CHILI!
Our table with the starters and some irresistible desserts like the wholegrain pancakes, topped with peanut butter and chocolate (by the way, at Noshi they only use Belgian chocolate).
Toasted whole-grain bread with lettuce, salmon, avocado, soft boiled egg and seasonings.
Another healthy toast with rucola, tomatoes and mozzarella, grilled chicken and avocado with seeds.
And last but not least, we present you the delicious, homemade and sugar-free cheesecake. Who says you cannot enjoy sweet deserts if you want to be fit? Noshi officially declared the status of a myth-buster.
Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
If we have to describe our experience at Noshi in a single sentence it would probably be “The coffee house which revolutionizes the traditional concept of the coffee culture with food options to maintain a healthy diet”.
