12A, Greenlands Avenue, Colombo 5
Closed right now
The Blue Swan is a great place for original Hansa coffee and chocolate, and brownies. It's an affordable, cosy coffee lounge.
The Blue Swan operates from their home-base now.
Hansa Coffee has been renamed as The Blue Swan.
We've always been a fan of Hansa's toasties, coffee and chocolate based drinks, and it's nice to see how they've kept their game strong even during a time when new cafes are popping every corner in town.
Hansa Coffee is a great place for original Hansa coffee and chocolate, and brownies. It's an affordable, cosy coffee lounge.
This little coffeeshop on Fife road is really a breath of fresh air. More accurately, a breath heavy with the scent of freshly brewed coffee. It's really just a hole in the wall but its lack of pretension, excellent local coffee and reasonable prices (Rupees 100-200 for any conceivable sort of coffee) are a slap in the face to Colombo’s larger, overpriced mediocrity-peddling, Starbucks imitation coffee houses.
සිංහල අපි මෙතැනට ගොඩ වුණේ කැෆේ එක ඇරලා විනාඩි 30කින් වගේ. හැබැයි මෙනුවේ තියෙන සේරම කෑම ගන්න තිබුණා.
සිංහල ෆයිෆ් පාරේ පිහිටි මේ පුංචි කෝපිහල ඇත්තෙන්ම නැවුම් හුස්මකි. වඩාත් නිවැරදිව කියනවා නම් වත් කරන ලද ඉස්තරම් නැවුම් කෝපි සුවඳින් බර හුස්මකි. එය බිත්තියේ සිදුරක් වැනි පුංචි ඉඩකි. එහෙත්, බොරු සෝබන නැති එහි කදිම දේශීය කෝපි සාධාරණ මිලට ඇත. (ඕනෑම සිතාගතහැකි කෝපි වර්ගයක මිළ රු. 100ත් 200ත් අතර වේ.) එය ඇත්තෙන්ම කොළඹ සුවිසල් හීනමානී ස්ටාර්බක්ස් අනුකරණ කෝපිහල්වලට නියම කම්මුල්පාරකි.
Closed right now
Dish Types
Brownies Sandwiches Coffee Iced Coffee Milkshakes Chocolate
Ratings Breakdown
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Ruks
Hands Down THE BEST coffee I have ever had! no cream,no toppings.Just pure bliss!! Their pol sambol toast was sooo good.Got packet of coffee to go.and Im loving every sip of it
prasannah
I used to buy their Coffee from super market for my coffee machine. I think that was one of the reasonable Coffee machine friendly ground coffee available for locals. Others wont stand a chance.
Dimuthu
I did a comparison plain espresso (without sugar) of both Hansa Coffee(pure arabica) and Lavazza with my saeco espresso machine. Honestly Hansa coffee tasted more burnt taste (over roasted) and had very less aroma and crema compared to lavazza. I don't know they may be use different coffees in their coffee shop. btw Hansa coffee 100g was 285/= and the lavazza 200g around 1700/= so there is a huge price gap.
nitpicker
There is a new air conditioner.
steve
After no reply to email inquiry about buying their coffee beans.( I asked about roasted and green beans and their 1 kg prices) decided to go from Negombo to Colombo. I was one of 2 customers, the other one already served and sitting.
Was quite astounded at their 500gm coffee bean price (1500 rupi) That is 3000 rupi / kg, and almost double of what I pay for Ethiopian Sidamo or Yirchafe beans. Thinking perhaps Hansa would put Sidamo to shame I tried an espresso at 260 (2 usd)
Impressions; no bitterness or bitter aftertaste BUT no remarkable taste and far from the Ethiopian flavors that jump out at you.
I was very surprised to see no grinder and 2 small low end semi-automatic HOME espresso machines. The crema on my seems to have the bubbles that are famously seen in pressurized portafilter (make crema from anything) home espresso machines. They used pre-ground coffee. Not to say a home espresso setup canot make decent espresso but that requires a low end burr grinder and proper setup.
Although I am not a fan of Lavazza (common supermarket coffee in Italy) in this case I'd have to choose Lavazza over Hansa. Just coincidentally I recently fired up my old Electrolux home espresso machine to use the Casino brand european coffee podsI bought in Cambodia at 5 usd retail. 36 pods/5usd (650 rupee approx?) Even the supermarket brand pods had a lot more flavor. About 2 blocks away I stumbled upon a restaurant coffee shop(Hazari) that priced their espresso shots at 260 also, but they had a 2 group commercial machine, commercial grinder and using roasted in Italy coffee beans. As I was heading back to Negombo I wondered if Hansa had perhaps quoted me an exaggerated price for beans since there were NO prices posted for coffee beans or ground. I have bought Carraro brand roasted in Italy 1kg beans in Cambodia for 15usd about 2000 rupee and 1/3 less than Hansa grown in Sri Lanka, sold in Sri Lanka beans.
They could improve a bit by using a grinder and a commercial espresso machine or at least a better home machine such as a Rancilio Rocky.
Verdict; acceptable and I'd even say better than Starbucks espresso but as coffee aficionados and baristas know, Starbucks is over roasted and bitter and usually their espresso true taste is masked in flavored milk. For 260 rupee I'd choose the Italy roasted espresso but not over a Tanzinian or Ethiopian single origin shot. I was disappointed at Hansa.
food terroirist
steve:
you sound like a coffee nerd! that's awesome! I'm a coffee professional who got into this industry cos I used to love drinking coffee. Look me up on twitter & get in touch. I love talking to coffee enthusiasts.
You made some really great points which other coffee lovers should read. One thing you failed to mention is that coffee is like bread… fresh roasted coffee is the best. But also the style of roasting plays a big part. If you
- preground coffee sucks balls, especially in a commercial venue like a cafe. Even at home, for the best coffee experience, grind your beans just before brewing.
- shoutout to all the Rancillio Silvia owners! It is probably the benchmark for an entry level machine… my first coffee machine combo back in the day.
- burr grinders for the best coffee experience… the whirly blade grinders destroy the delicate flavours of the coffee bean & screws up the extraction of the coffee when brewed.
- Ethiopian beans are flavour & aroma bombs. Hansa's arabica coffee is mild in flavour & doesn't have the aroma of African beans (Kenya, Ethiopia etc ). This is both because of the terroir (flavour that comes from the land), the sorting/grading of the raw coffee bean and the roasting style (Hansa's coffees are on the darker end, but you should try their 'pure arabica' , it's lighter than the rest of their range. I've tried quite a few roasted Sri Lankan coffees, both from roasters & stuff I've roasted myself. It's more like the Indian or Sumatran coffees; less florals and aromas, decent body, mid to low acids.
Mel
Hansa is a gem. The staff and owners (who pop in and out frequently) are always friendly and eager to share their knowledge about coffee and chocolate (and gossip, since this is Colombo, after all). It becomes quite clear that Hansa is a labour of love - from bean to cup (and bar!). The decor is quite quirky and a little eccentric, but that is part of Hansa's charm. I am told that most of it is a collaborative effort by friends and family. I've been there a couple of times and met groups of young people painting together - and it really is quite lovely. Going to Hansa feels a lot like coming home, kicking your shoes off and settling down for a cup of coffee with a nice book. The space is set up in such a way that it is wonderful for both those who prefer time alone, or for those who'd like to meet new people.
The food and beverages there are wonderful! They don't skimp on their chocolate, that's for sure! All their snacks and cakes are home-made by some nice aunty in the neighbourhood, just like your grandma used to make (probably). Service, however, is a little slow. I believe this could be rectified if only they would hire more staff! Also, on certain days the cafe can get very crowded - for example, during the Poetry Pilau. Additionally, as Hansa coffee (and chocolate) is hand-roasted in small batches, its taste may vary slightly with each; however I find it to make a smooth, pleasing cup with robust flavours.
Hansa is a small, local business that always manages to consistently deliver an exceptional product, standing strong against international coffee giants like Lavazza and Illy. The cafe boasts a lovely, comfortable atmosphere - an oasis in the midst of the chaos of Colombo. I am excited to see where they will take Sri Lankan coffee and chocolate in the future. Two thumbs up!
Additional tips:
- If you'd like to hear some music, request it!
- Dogs are welcome!
- Sometimes they have organic herbs/veggies for sale!
food terroirist
"as Hansa coffee is hand-roasted in small batches, its taste may vary slightly with each"
Hansas roaster is not small (it's smaller than the huge multinationals like Lavazza, but it's large for a boutique roaster).
But they do roast regularly and push the fresh coffee concept (which is to be admired)
Hand roasted doesn't mean much - it usually means roasted by a wok… some specialty guys try to push this wanky term. It doesn't signify quality.
A
Hansa is a gem. The staff and owners (who pop in and out frequently) are always friendly and eager to share their knowledge about coffee and chocolate (and gossip, since this is Colombo, after all). It becomes quite clear that Hansa is a labour of love - from bean to cup (and bar!). The decor is quite quirky and a little eccentric, but that is part of Hansa's charm. I am told that most of it is a collaborative effort by friends and family. I've been there a couple of times and met groups of young people painting together - and it really is quite lovely. Going to Hansa feels a lot like coming home, kicking your shoes off and settling down for a cup of coffee with a nice book. The space is set up in such a way that it is wonderful for both those who prefer time alone, or for those who'd like to meet new people.
The food and beverages there are wonderful! They don't skimp on their chocolate, that's for sure! All their snacks and cakes are home-made by some nice aunty in the neighbourhood, just like your grandma used to make (probably). Service, however, is a little slow. I believe this could be rectified if only they would hire more staff! Also, on certain days the cafe can get very crowded - for example, during the Poetry Pilau. Additionally, as Hansa coffee (and chocolate) is hand-roasted in small batches, its taste may vary slightly with each; however I find it to make a smooth, pleasing cup with robust flavours.
Hansa is a small, local business that always manages to consistently deliver an exceptional product, standing strong against international coffee giants like Lavazza and Illy. The cafe boasts a lovely, comfortable atmosphere - an oasis in the midst of the chaos of Colombo. I am excited to see where they will take Sri Lankan coffee and chocolate in the future. Two thumbs up!
Additional tips:
- If you'd like to hear some music, request it!
- Dogs are welcome!
- Sometimes they have organic cheese/herbs/veggies for sale!
Saumya
The arabica coffee seemed over roasted and lacking in aroma when compared with similar brands in the supermarket so will not buy again.
Foodiegirl
These guys should change their name to "always closed" cafe as even on a Saturday @5pm, with customers visible inside (who look like they are not going to leave any time soon) their sign says CLOSED. But when you inquire, staff offers to let you in as a favor!! THIS is how you run a business??? Shucks to you! Plenty of other coffee places around. I have tried this place 6 times now- on weekends, weekdays and different times of day and it's always closed! Yamu team- you should update your review because opening times shown here are FALSE.
SirimalAyya
Where can I purchase their ground coffee from?
Malinthe
You can get beans ground from this shop itself. Some supermarkets also carry ground coffee.