BEL-AIR COFFEE

Scandinavian roasts in a Lausanne courtyard

Getting to BEL-AIR COFFEE means leaving the street. The shop sits back in a courtyard in central Lausanne, where it opened in 2021 and where the noise stops at the entrance. The room is small and design-led, with pared-down Nordic décor, earth tones and clean lines, and it holds to that restraint in what it serves: carefully made specialty coffee, buns, chocolates and not much else.

The beans are mainly roasted in Scandinavia, and single origins carry the programme. Espresso and filter both get proper attention, with cappuccino, flat white, espresso, pour over, iced coffee, iced filter brews and an iced matcha latte on the list, plus almond, cow, oat and rice milk. Beans are sold to take home.

Geisha handbrews and cardamom buns

The sourcing goes further than most rooms this size. A flat white has been built on Costa Rican Volcan Azul, honey processed, clear and bright with good texture; handbrews have included a washed Geisha from Hacienda La Esmeralda and another Geisha from Granja La Esperanza. Drinks can arrive with a producer card, so the origin and the tasting notes come with the cup rather than after the fact.

The food side is Swedish. Cinnamon buns are the classic hand-twisted shape, cardamom buns use freshly ground cardamom in a soft, chewy golden dough, and there is a vegan cardamom bun alongside them. A saffron bun appears at Christmas. Cake, pastries and chocolates fill out the counter, including Friis-Holm chocolate.

Order a cappuccino and a cardamom bun

The most direct order is a cappuccino with a vegan cardamom bun, the pairing the shop is best known for. If milk texture and espresso clarity are the priority, the flat white has the stronger case, and the Volcan Azul honey-processed version is the example to ask about. Filter drinkers should go to pour over or handbrew, where the Geisha lots from Hacienda La Esmeralda and Granja La Esperanza are the clearest expression of the buying.

For something cold, iced coffee, an iced filter brew or the iced matcha latte cover it. For food, follow the buns: cinnamon, cardamom, vegan cardamom and the seasonal saffron are the named options, with chocolates as a smaller pairing. The whole thing hangs together as one idea, which is Scandinavian sourcing and design, Swedish baking, and a quiet courtyard to drink it in. It suits a solo visit or a weekday working session more than a crowd.