Malta: A swim & stroll around the Mediterranean island 🇲🇹

In the middle of the Mediterranean Sea sits the island of Malta. Often overlooked on European vacations, Malta has world-class beaches and Old World architecture and, as Deandra Gauci points out, incredible cuisine and hidden gems. Born and raised in Malta, Deandra brought specialty coffee to her home, and named her shop COFFEE & Strangers in a nod to the relationships formed through coffee.

Filter: What do you like to do for fun around Malta?

Mainly my schedule is quite tight so I barely have time nowadays but definitely love going out for dinner. Food in most restaurants is really nice. If ever I manage to get a day off I love visiting our sister island, Gozo, which is far less chaotic than Malta, going for hikes is an awesome way of exploring its beauty. In summer, the beach is a great way for switching off and relaxing.

Deandra Gauci founded COFFEE & Strangers in her home of Malta in 2016. Photos courtesy of Deandra Gauci

Filter: If a good friend came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?

Definitely a dinner in Marsaxlokk, it's a fisherman's village with divine fish.

I would take them to our silent city Mdina, which used to be our old capital city. There is no beauty like it in any European country. The history it carries and the beautiful architecture are enchanting.

Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city?

Hiking on our sister island, Gozo. And a hike in an area called "Fomm ir-rih," or watching the sunset in Golden Bay.

Filter: What touristy things in Malta are worth the hype?

A trip to Comino—but not when it's summer as it's crazy busy, so I would suggest around May or September. We have very short winter days so one can enjoy our sunny weather anytime.

Definitely try our local cuisine which is very Mediterranean but we also have rabbit dishes and best of all our local "pastizzi" which usually have a filling either of ricotta or curried peas—they are a must-try hype. Visit Valletta and all our cathedrals.

Filter: Where are your favorite green spaces or hidden gems there?

Well to be fair in Malta we do not have so many green spaces left—quiet is quite loud for Malta nowadays. But let's say we still have some hidden gems to walk around like our silent city Mdina and I do like our small tiny garden in Attard. It's nice for a relaxing walk.

Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and what about them stands out to you?

This is quite a tough question for me as I might be a difficult person to answer, but I really do like visiting Josephine's Coffee, located in one of our local hotels, as they do have nice coffee. The menu is simple and offers really great vegan food. [Also] our good friends, Caffè Berry.

Filter: What do you love about living in Malta?

If I could eliminate all our ongoing, continuous constructions... Malta is a very beautiful island. One of the main things that really fascinate me and make me feel at home here are our old beautiful architectural buildings, narrow streets, and the smell of home cooking when you pass these authentic houses. This can only be felt or sensed in particular areas of our island and they do remind me of my days growing up here.

Filter: How did you end up in the Malta coffee scene?

I am born and bred here, both my parents are Maltese and so are our family ancestors. Growing up I always knew that being employed was never my cup of tea. As an individual I consider myself as way too hard-headed, passionate, determined, and persistent, so being in a controlled environment would not be a good fit for me. Coffee was always something that did fascinate me, the entire scene from the banging of portafilters, glassware clinking, people chattering, the chaos—I think this is the most exciting part for me, hence opening a cafe was my goal, although I had previous behind-the-bar experience (of course, back then I didn't have or know any standards that I know now).

Filter: Can you share about how you started COFFEE & Strangers?

This is funny but COFFEE & Strangers kicked off in 2016, whilst on a trip to Amsterdam on our way to Rotterdam to visit our friend John from Schot Coffee Roasters. I can still remember when I told Luke that I will name my “business” COFFEE & Strangers because through the travels we were embarking on back then we met a lot of strangers through coffee :)

The main focus of the brand is to teach, educate, and share knowledge, our cafe is more of a side job although it requires a vast amount of work that we do in front and specifically behind the scenes. The most rewarding part of my work is its acknowledgment, knowing that our cafe gives people the sense of home away from home, and the fact that I get to share all my knowledge with people and specifically my team and the ability to create, grow, and work with such an amazing team.

Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?

Mmmm interesting… well I guess Norway, and close to Tim Wendelboe :) I find his coffees very interesting, least to mention his knowledge and how it’s shared are intriguing and without any extra or forced efforts, especially with all these social media “experts” nowadays. His cafe is neat and well presented.

Filter: What are you excited about in your coffee career?

Goals? Finish off CAS with ZHAW, Become an Rgrader and focus on Robusta coffees, become a QArabica coffee educator at some point :) hahaha thinking about it, it’s already stressing me out but hopefully not impossible to achieve.

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COFFEE & Strangers is located on the northeast coast of Malta in the Mediterranean.

Food & Beverage

Fishing Village

Landmarks

Out of Town