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Tel Aviv · Israel

Cafelix

Since 2011 · Philipp Schaefer, Yael Schaefer

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Overview

Cafelix was founded in 2011 by German expat Philipp Schaefer and his Israeli wife Yael in south Tel Aviv. After a three-year fight with Israeli bureaucracy, they eventually opened the city's first inner-city roastery — and effectively built the early infrastructure for Tel Aviv specialty coffee. Four Tel Aviv–Jaffa branches operate today, with bags identified by African and Latin-American animal logos (giraffe, elephant) rather than origin text — a signature carryover from the early days when Israeli roasters were guarded about their sourcing.

Known for

  • First inner-city specialty coffee roastery in Tel Aviv — three-year permitting battle paid off
  • Helped shape Tel Aviv's now-vibrant specialty coffee scene from the early 2010s onward
  • Distinctive animal-mascot bag design (giraffe, elephant) instead of conventional origin labels
  • Four Tel Aviv–Jaffa locations: Sgula 13 (Jaffa flagship + roastery), Shlomo Hamelech 12, Tirza 17, Merkhavya 6
  • Anchor cafe at Levinsky Market with cardamom-roll-and-pour-over pairing as a signature draw

Why it matters

Cafelix is the foundational specialty roaster of Tel Aviv — and of Israel by extension. When Philipp Schaefer started in 2011, there was effectively no specialty scene; the patience to outlast the permit process and open the first inner-city roastery is the reason later names (Nahat, Cafe Xoho and others) had a path to follow.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
Philipp Schaefer (founder/head roaster)
color sorting
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roaster machine
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filter equipment
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cupping frequency
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roastery location
Sgula 13 (Jaffa flagship roastery); training space and additional roasting at Tirza 17
espresso equipment
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annual volume tonnes
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Café

Sgula 13, Jaffa, Tel Aviv (flagship); Shlomo HaMelech 12 (central Tel Aviv); Merkhavya 6 (Levinsky Market)

Sources

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