Nanø Coffee Lab – Small but mighty coffee in Palma.
Nanø is one of those places that are easily missed, tucked away in a tiny alleyway off one of the main shopping streets in Palma. You would not know it was there unless someone told you about it. There are no billboards or bright signs pointing you in its direction. Yet, every time I met a friend or two there, it was packed – both inside and at a few tables outside. Clearly, these guys must be doing something right!
Belén Caltabiano and Luciano Rizzo met in Argentina where they both are from, lived in Mallorca, then London, and back to Mallorca. Belén worked all her life in customer service, while Luciano has always been into coffee and wanted to open his own coffee shop. While in London, he started as a barista and worked his way up to management positions, learning all the aspects of the business in the process. On his return to the island, Luciano started talking with Alejandro from Mama Carmen´s, who he already worked with in the past. The trio, including Belén, found Nanø’s current location, and the guys designed its stylish interior, in green, black and brown tones together. The café opened in October 2021 and quickly became one of the most popular specialty coffee spots in town.
Luciano told me that, aside from always wanting to have his own café, he also had a very clear idea of what it would be like. Many places in town offer brunch, snacks, cakes and freshly squeezed juices alongside specialty coffee, but Luciano’s focus has always been on great coffee above all else. He loves making it and talking about it and his passion shines through every cup he makes. Luciano changes his roasters every week in the summer and every two weeks or so in the winter. He continuously aims to offer beans that you can’t find anywhere else in town. There are some long terms stars, though, such as Hola coffee from Madrid and Nomad from Barcelona. Luciano also points out that he makes all his coffees with two shots of coffee, some even with three, making all the usual drinks strong and flavourful. It is also worth noting that Nanø is one of a few places in town that does not charge extra for any milk substitutes of client’s choice.
Despite the focus being on coffee, there are always a few choices of both savoury and sweet treats. They usually have one or two focaccia sandwiches and tostadas on offer, made by Belén, with Rosevelvet Bakery’s bread. The sweet treats come in a form of banana bread, cinnamon rolls, lemon or carrot cake and so on. Something pretty unique here are “sweet bites” – tiny squares or balls of goodness, including ingredients such as cacao nibs, matcha, tahini, dates, puffed chia seeds, etc. All the sweets are provided by Alejandro and his team at Mama Carmen’s; they’re all vegan and often organic. Furthermore, Belén and Luciano offer some lovely teas by Dos Alquemistas and some custom blends, such as camomile and orange peel by Cecilia Sorensen, as well as refrigerated fruit juices.
I was curious whether they were looking to expand, as some other coffee shops do over time, but the couple told me that they prefer to have this one café and run it really well. They have plenty of regular customers and many have become friends. They love seeing how people come in alone and end up chatting with each other, inviting each other to sit at their table, and generally making friends. They also appreciate the island´s lifestyle, its life-work balance that is often non-existent in bigger cities where they have lived before, such as London. I wish them well and hope they keep bringing us great coffee from all over the world for many years to come.
Till next month…
Yours sweetly,
Mia x
Nanø Coffee Lab.
Carrer de Can Asprer, 2, Palma
E-mail: nanocoffeepalma@gmail.com
Instagram: @nano.coffeelab
Opening hours
M-F: 8:30-15:00
Sat: 8:30-14:00
Sun: closed
Text by Mia Naprta
E-mail: mia.naprta@gmail.com
Instagram: @mianaprta
