Monotono Specialty Coffee

A slow bar in Barranco

Everything at Monotono starts at the slow bar, where filters are built one cup at a time in a pared back room in the heart of Barranco, Lima. The look is minimalist and the music stays low, so the coffee carries the visit. Peru sits at the centre of the list, and the Peruvian single-origin lots are poured beside a smooth espresso. The shop was ranked #23 in The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops in 2026.

Espresso, cortado or a slow-bar filter

Espresso drinkers can keep the cup compact with a cortado, take a latte with an extra shot when the milk needs a stronger spine, or stay with a cappuccino. The more interesting order is at the slow bar, which has poured Paraiso 92 with lychee and bourbon notes. Seasonal nanolots rotate through: Blindew and Bourbon Lavado, Prunus and LOTUS as Gesha Lavado, Unisonic as Bourbon Red Honey, SLW-3C as SL9 Lavado, CLERICÓ as Gesha Natural, and La Reserva as Sidra Natural. A Geisha from San Ignacio appears when the harvest allows. To eat, there is apple bread with chocolate ganache and an almond croissant.

Brewing gear behind the counter

Monotono sells what it uses. Alongside bags of coffee the shop carries drippers, filters, immersion brewers and presses, pouring kettles, servers, espresso and pour-over scales and drinkware, plus matcha and tea, so a visit can end with the equipment to repeat the cup at home. The baristas talk through origin, processing and how a flavour develops in the cup, which is the reason to make the filter your first order: ask what is open, then let the bar steer you between the fruit-led naturals and the cleaner washed lots.