Also away from tourists’ hubbub, BOP was installed four years ago in Trindade district and was the second coffee shop in Porto to work with specialty coffees. “Our first customers even said that our coffee was rotten, because they didn’t know specialty coffees”, tells one of the partners, Felipe Ribeiro.
The house was conceived by Felipe and his childhood friend João Brandão who, in addition to sharing the passion for travels around the world, shared the same love for the arts: Felipe, stage lighting and sound, and Brandão, music. Brandão currently owns a recording studio in the city.
Vinyl Records
From the travels to the USA they brought inspiration to BOP menu: chicken wings, hamburger, craft beers etc. The vinyl idea was imported from Asian bars and coffee shops, particularly Japan and Korea. In the whole, there are over three thousand vinyl records in the collection, with highlight for blues, jazz, rock and metal.
“I collect vinyl records for over 10 years, it was simply natural to want to bring them close to me”, he tells. The customer who wants to listen to one of his gems must select the vinyl on the site and request it to the barista on the counter, who will deliver the record for the customer to listen to it in an authentic record player.
The special coffee idea was also brought from the USA. “In the beginning, Vernazza, the first roaster installed in Portugal, roasted our coffees. Today we work with 7groaster, which prepares a special blend for BOP and selects the single-origin coffees we offer here”, he explains.
Single-origin coffees are used for preparation of both espresso coffee and drip coffee, prepared in V60. On the day of our visit we tasted an Ethiopian coffee.
The BOP has a vinyl collection of about 3.000 records.
Different opening hours
BOP is one of the few places in town that stays open until 1 am, seven days a week. “We count on 12 professionals, seven of them are baristas trained by 7groaster, and they are responsible for the whole operation, serving at the counter, cleaning tables and operating the coffee machine”, he says.
Asked about the meaning of the name, BOP, he was emphatic: “it doesn’t mean anything; we just wanted a short name. But our customers say that it is the Best of Porto”, he adds, smiling!
Business is fine and proof of it is that they are about to move to a larger address in the same district, in the beginning of 2020.
Trindade neighborhood, Porto.
Wall Cine Trindade.
Street Art in Trinidad.
BOP – Rua da Firmeza, 575, Trindade, Porto.
Website: www.bop.pt
