It was a crowded night at the side alley of Sherif Street where Cairo’s most welcoming coffee bar, Kafein, is located. People were walking in and out, and a silent voice went up in their noise. As tastefully selected as the coffee and tea brewed at the café, this quiet were the words of Shayma Aziz, the visual artist showcasing her ‘Faces’ series there. We had the opportunity to catch two ladies for an interview: the painter herself and Nadia Dropkin, Kafein’s spiritual mother. First there was coffee “A coffee drinking foreigner said to me the other day: the quality of my life in Cairo has deeply improved since you opened. It’s a beautiful comment, right?” Kafein has not reached its one year anniversary yet but it has been doing well. Very well. Next to serving home made drinks and succulent snacks, the cozy yet fresh Downtown café is getting known for having a new exhibition almost every two months. “And that is exactly our point: art, people, Downtown, coffee…”, Nadia Dropkin, a proud owner, describes. To Nadia, coffee is a verb, a little oomph in a cup. “For me,…
