Essentially they are very similiar terms, as you can enjoy coffee drinks at either places!
"Espresso Bar" is a term ViCAFE proudly brought into the Zurich coffee scene in 2010. Originally our idea was to serve espresso through a window like in Italy. Now it has evolved and it speaks to the way in which we serve specialty coffee to-go through a window onto the street.
We do offer seating options at some of our locations, but the concept primarily came from this idea.
To keep our menu as simple as possible, we have limited it to one type of milk coffee: the Flat White in three sizes. The base for all sizes is a double shot of coffee; the larger the size, the higher the milk-to-coffee ratio. We steam the milk into a creamy "micro foam," and latte art completes your drinking experience. Of course, we can customize your coffee drink to your liking. Just ask our baristas; they are happy to advise you and will accommodate your requests within our capabilities.
You can have your beans freshly ground at our roastery in Altstetten. In our espresso bars, certain types of beans are available pre-ground (grind size for a Moka pot or French Press). For logistical reasons, it is not possible to grind beans in our espresso bars. Our grinders are calibrated to brew the perfect espresso, but they are not designed to grind larger batches of coffee. Alternatively, you can order your beans in the grind size of your choice through our Online Shop and have them delivered directly to your home.
Together with other Swiss coffee roasters, we co-founded the Gutsch cooperative. As a cooperative, Gutsch isn't profit-driven — it has one single goal: to produce perfectly foamable oat milk from Swiss organic oats. The Gutsch community is run by a small two-person team. Café owners can become members of the Gutsch cooperative, giving them the opportunity to serve and sell Gutsch in their venues. Soyana produces and bottles Gutsch locally in Schlieren on behalf of the cooperative.
The University of Zurich has decided, for ecological reasons, to use only reusable containers. We support this decision and therefore offer our coffee at the ViCAFE Rondell and Irchel in reusable cups with a CHF 2 deposit.
For logistical reasons, the deposit cups can only be returned at ViCAFE Irchel and Rondell.
Currently, we can only produce our cold milk foam using lactose-free skim milk, as we have not yet been able to achieve satisfactory results with plant-based milk alternatives. However, we hope to be able to offer a vegan option for our milk foam in the future and are continuing to work on solutions.
We source our cow's milk from organically certified farms in the canton of Zurich. It is pasteurized, but not UHT. We do not use raw milk.
Our clay cups are another step in reducing waste — made from local clay, water, and salt, and completely biodegradable. 3D printing technology allows them to be just a few millimetres thin, using as little material as possible. Not made to last forever: that's part of the design, inspired by the disposable clay cups of Southeast Asia used for chai and beyond. What many don't know: every paper cup contains a thin plastic lining to prevent leaks — making our clay cup the more ecological choice, even for a single use. Currently CHF 1.50.
Of course you're welcome to bring your own container; whether you bought it from us or not. All we ask is that it's sturdy and clean. To encourage as many people as possible to make the switch, every drink prepared in a reusable container comes with a CHF 0.50 discount.
We use Alpro's soy drink, which is gluten-free.