Serenity and Productivity at Ekologi: A Green Space Cafe and Co-Working Spot

This month, it almost seems like I’ve made a theme of visiting green spaces and urban forest cafes or coworking spots. I personally enjoy being surrounded by natural plants and a good establishment with adequate sunlight. Having coffee in these places often gives me serenity and a sense of a fresh start. More so, whenever I feel down, it doesn't take much for me to bounce back especially with the help of places like this.

As someone who enjoys being closer to nature, ironically, I spend a lot of time in a concrete jungle where green spaces are quite limited. However, like most things, we learn to adapt and make the most of what we have. Just like these establishments, where they innovate and eventually create a space that mixes modernity and green space. If last week I managed to visit an urban forest cafe, this time I am visiting a co-working space with adequate greenery. It’s called Ekologi and in English translates as ecology. Just like its name, it is a place where living organisms meet and interact with each other in a unique way.

Ekologi is located a few meters away from a university in my area and also nearby a forestry lab where trees grow tall and the area is surrounded by more greenness than its other neighborhood surrounding it. So, it is located in the hub of students which makes the place stand out as there are no coworking spots in the area that offers such greenery. The other ones I know of about a mile or two away.

The place itself was quite massive although the indoor area was relatively small. But they emphasize on the outdoor spot with mini gardens and massive outdoor area where people can either chit-chat, just lounging or working on their laptop. As the name suggests, as a coworking spot, they provide fast Wifi and also a comfortable environment to work from. The chairs are comfortable and they come in different types of seating sizes where you can be on your own or the two seater type. They also don’t play loud music which is a bonus since usually many cafes play very loud and inappropriate music for a place that brands itself as a co-working spot.

I was honestly skeptical of the place, as I got disappointed a few months ago with a place that promised the idea of “nature” and co-working. It wasn’t comfy, hot and overcrowded. So, I didn’t have high hopes for the place, especially since it’s a lot closer to the university area and students' dormitories. But anyhow, it was the first time that I got back again to the coworking spot scene just because I also wanted to download a video game that was over 50GB. There I was, back on the hunt for a coworking spot with a fast internet.

As I reached the place, I appreciated how friendly the baristas were and they were not rushing me to order. In fact, since the indoor area was packed, they told me that I could find a seat outside and make sure that I was comfortable with my choice.

I ended up ordering cappuccino just because it was my metric for a good cafe. A good cafe and coffee shop would have a decently balanced coffee-to-milk ratio as well as well-made latte art. Another one is that they serve it in a nice mug instead of a plastic cup or paper cup for a hot beverage. To pair with my cappuccino, I ordered a cheese croissant which was actually good too and not extremely cheesy. With just that combination, my day was already set. The menu in this place was quite reasonable although slightly more expensive than what I was expecting. But with that price, since their customers varied from workers to students, it was still quite affordable. For their coffee section itself, it was starting at $1.57 and to $2 and more for their more flavored latte and cocktails. Food in the place was starting from the same price and went up to $3. Reasonably, in the place you can spend $4-5 with the food which is the standard spending of a mid-size co-working and cafe these days.

While I was there, I was seated in the hallway side, connecting the indoor and another outdoor area. In the hallway though people were passing by, it felt quite isolated and was comfortable. I reckon not that many people chose that because if you’re with friends, it might not have been comfortable. But for me, it was perfect. Instead of a view of the wall, while getting things done, I got to see greenery which has this beautiful golden hour lighting.

Thankfully, they didn’t fuck up their latte art and the cappuccino tastes quite right. The milk wasn’t too overpowering and I could still taste the coffee. A lot of the time, cafes just put a lot more milk than their coffee and it tastes like drinking milk-flavored coffee instead creating a balanced mix of both.

As it got darker, I ended up ordering something sweet, something that perked me up once more, before I finished my download. It was a drink that I had not seen anywhere else other than this place, a cream cheese latte!

Cream Cheese latte has recently gained the spotlight again and many cooking blogs are into it. But how good is the mix of cream cheese with coffee? Well, I personally love it. The taste has a mix of sweet savory to it and that is to say, quite unique! Apparently in Finland they have something like this called leipäjuusto but they’re served with a cube of cheese instead of cream cheese.A cream cheese latte, however from what you can see on the right is a mix of milk, coffee and cream cheese foam on top with syrup on the bottom. It was pretty refreshing and the mixture was definitely something I love.Cafes tend to get creative with the latte but only a few do it so well. For example, among my favorites are sea salt and butterscotch and now, cream cheese latte.

In the end, I enjoyed my visit to the place. The space was awesome as well as their coffee and the internet speed. Personally to me the internet was definitely worth highlighting as many co-working spaces have crappy internet and sometimes, awfully made coffee too. This place was quite a gem for a coworking spot and definitely a recommended one. They have a good combination of coffee, bakery, food as well as fast internet.