Alba's and Margita's Great Test of Chais, Pt. 4: Alchymista

Very close to the Sparta stadium, somewhere at the borders of the atmosphere of hipster Letná and soccer-excitement, a café called Alchymista is hidden. It's not only a place to sit down and sip on a drink, it also has a more educational part - The Coffee Museum. This way you can get caffeinated while learning about your steaming cuppa. Coffeeception at its best!

But now let's put the spotlight on the chai.

ALBA

The Foam: Consistent thick layer of foam with a cute flower on top. Not very spicy but you could already feel the chai taste in it :) 8/10

The Chai: Tastily warm chai with the perfect point of sweetness, but missing some spicy surprise (I must admit so far no chai can top the explosive spice combo of Kavárna co bla bla). I enjoyed the thick foam layer lasting until the end of the chai (but I missed a spoon to fully enjoy it :D). 7/10

The Overall Experience: Very cozy and cute café with an old style decoration, nice staff and great jazzy versions of famous songs playlist :D Special mention to the cakes, I had the spicy chocolate one, which gave me chocolate overdose I was able to overcome thanks to a nice glass of wine and it was reeeeeally good. I could have a piece of those delicious cakes at any given time :) 10/10

MARGITA

The Foam: I remember I had a chai here ages ago and I was secretly hoping for the chai to come with a bear-decor on the foam, but the flower-y effects were nice as well. The chai came in a lovely thick-walled glass, though I missed the classic romantic-eclectic mugs and the beverage served Alchymista-style. One benefit of the glass was that the foam remained part of the beverage the whole time until finishing your drink (or was it because there was no spoon to properly eat away the foam right away?). The foam itself was smooth and in a thick layer, had a nice spicy taste already, without the classic only-milky-part. 8.5/10

The Chai: The chai - just like all other beverages - comes with a bottle of still water. I found it not too sweet, with the nicest spicy aftertaste. It wasn't even as lukewarm / cold as chais usually are served in Prague cafés. For me, this was the most balanced chai I've had so far, with the thick glass keeping it warm for a bit longer, the sweetness not too strong and the foam ideally thick. 9/10

The Overall Experience: You have to experience Alchymista at least two times per year to form a proper opinion about it - in summer and in winter. There is this amazing garden part which... I'd rather stop as this is not about the paradise belonging to this café!

Once you step into the place, you can only see one thing - CAKES. Alchymista had been the only place in Prague I managed to have a cake at, unfortunately not this time (it would have been possible if I liked chocolate with chilli. Yes, it's an abomination, right?). They have gluten-free cakes as well and not all of them are based on nuts. If you have any questions, you can ask the staff and they will answer you with a smile on their faces (and wearing a cute apron).

I don't know how to put this, but about Alchymista I really do have the feeling they are not faking it. The details are so nicely chosen, all the elements non-violently and gently matching or completing one another. The music in the background is jazzy, interrupted by the chirping of little birdies singing in their little cage. The atmosphere is pure coziness, inviting you to have a nice conversation.

All in all, I'm very happy we picked this café as the first place we've tested in my hood. Even having a jazzy version of Baby One More Time stuck in my head for days after this visit was totally worth the experience! 9/10

Price of the chai: 69 CZK / 2.70 EUR

Total score: