Entering the shop was like leaving reality at the doorstep. The gate was a portal into a world of blends from around the globe. An experience that cannot be replicated and yet has not been.

It was 2018 when I first truly lived the "coffee experience". As a whole, the place was a manifestation of excellence. In a rather mellow city like Kharkiv, I found a coffee shop that exceeded the merit of any establishment I had visited in the past and the future to come.

☕Magic Cup Coffee☕

A Turkish-owned cafe that opened the doors to an unparalleled elegance at a corner space of the famous Sumskaya Street. It had the grace and finesse that is probably yet to be recreated within the city.

Coffee to me, may it be the morning sip or a preferred beverage of breaks, is a moment of repose placed in a cup made of tranquility. It was Magic Cup Coffee that truly embodied and materialized my demands when it came to everything within and around the cup.

I am not sure if it was the insane costs that Sumskaya demands or the underappreciation of excellence that lead to the bankruptcy of Magic Cup Coffee. But in January of 2019, my favorite coffee shop had permanently shut its doors.

Due to Facebook's policies, I am unable to share pictures from the cafe's Instagram profile. You can still go over there and take a look at what was once the best (personal opinion) coffee spot in the city. I was unable to find pictures of the cafe I had taken in any of my drives, but there are 2 posts by my partner where you can see the interior of the cafe that I loved so much. Post 1 & Post 2. Do not upvote these posts, but you can leave a tip if you like.

The biggest thing about the cafe that made it stand out for me was the sheer amount of options they had. I still remember they had a gigantic menu for just coffee. Anything from a simple Americano to something so alien that I never dared pronounce the names. Quick and easy to grab drinks to coffee beverages so expensive that you'd think buying a coffee machine would cost less.

It was the whole experience. A one-stop spot to satisfy your cravings. They had coffee beans of all types and beverages of all styles. At times it felt taxing to not try something new. This is something that many coffee shops are unable to replicate and why Magic stood out.

A close second was the atmosphere. The ambiance within the shop was unique. It had so much character. The primary design was based on Turkish architecture. But it was carefully elevated with contemporary and artistic furniture and style.

The cafe itself was divided into different sections by layering the ground to different floors. Each floor had a different feel to it. Every time I sat in a new section I felt like I was in for a different experience compared to my previous visit.

Most of the places in the city follow a very predictable system. It is successful because repeatability is a strong business strategy. But with something like Magic Cup Coffee in my memory archives, the others sometimes fail to live up to the bar.

There are places that follow the same style and design no matter which branch you go to. There are places that follow a dual-toned design which can sometimes feel mundane. Others sometimes try to experiment with steampunk or something even more daring. But in the end, they fail to provide the sense of excitement Magic Cup Coffee evoked in each visit.

It could be because of the monotonous choice of styling their cafe.
_{Or it could be because it is always the same blend and some places always serve something that ends up tasting like cardboard.}

Magic Cup Coffee was always a home for new adventures. There was always the expectation of having your mind blown by something new even if you knew exactly what you wanted.

I still remember how amiable the baristas were. While most take pride in being coffee connoisseurs, the baristas at Magic Cup Coffee always focused on an experience that budded from learning and satisfaction. They always took the time to explain to me what I could expect in an item on the menu and why their recommendations could label me a happy customer.

Magic Cup Coffee was ahead of its time and probably still is. It's almost 2022 and I am yet to find a coffee shop where they offer individualized "pairs".

In MCC, almost every cup of coffee you ordered to "dine-in" came as a pair. It would be an understatement if I said my mind was blown. In UAE, we used to drink coffee with date Halwa, and I thought it was a cultural thing.

Only in Magic Cup Coffee did I learn that every cup of coffee has its own unique pairing with a sweet, wafer, cookie, fruit, or what have you that enhanced the flavor of the coffee and made the experience whole.

Yes, pairing choices are subjective and depend on the choice of the barista. But there was, and is, no one that does it as well or consistently as Magic Cup Coffee.

Still pretty heartbroken that they had to shut down.

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PROMPT: Write about your ideal Coffee Shop, one that you love to visit, or one that you wish existed. Tell us what you like about it the most or one thing that you would definitely like to change.

I invite @c0ff33a and @priyanarc to participate.
Thanks Pri for letting me use your posts as references.

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