Tucked away on an industrial estate south of Cirencester is Rave Coffee, arguably serving the best coffee in Cirencester, if not the Cotswolds (I say arguably; before the arrival of Cotswold Artisan Coffee, it was hands-down, no-questions-asked the best. Rave is best known as a roaster, but less well-known is its small café. This serves the denizens of the industrial estate, and anyone else who can find it, with excellent takeaway coffee, Teapigs tea, hot chocolate and a limited range of cake.

Don’t come here expecting the full café experience: Rave’s licence is strictly takeaway service only. However, if you’re passing by and want a decent alternative to the nearby services on the A417) or don’t have the time/inclination to head into Cirencester proper to catch Cotswold Artisan Coffee, then Rave makes an excellent stopping off point on any road trip!

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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Rave Coffee is principally a roaster, but as an added bonus, it has an excellent little café which serves some of the best takeaway coffee going. The only downside is that it’s tucked away on an industrial estate south of Cirencester which takes a little finding (I drove past it twice!). However, once you know that it’s there, you can’t go wrong.

It’s the last unit in a little parade off the main road through the industrial estate. With its own parking out front, it’s the ideal stopping off point if you’re passing that way. The café itself sits in front of the main roaster, which you can see through big glass windows. The impressive takeaway counter is to your right as you come in, with some very comfortable seating in the shape of two sofas and two wooden benches to your left. Technically the seating is for visitors to Rave, but I suspect no-one will complain if you sit down for a few minutes to savour your coffee. That said, I never got further than standing at the counter chatting to the barista, Donovan.

The choice of coffee, for a takeaway outlet, is outstanding and would put many speciality coffee shops to shame. On the other hand, since it’s a roasters as well, it’s not that surprising. While I was there, Rave was offering its signature blend as well as two single origins, the Java Jampit and Ethiopian Dumerso. Decaf is also available on its own grinder. These can all be had through the espresso machine, with the usual options from espresso through to latte/cappuccino, taking in piccolos and flat whites along the way. There are also Taylerson’s Malmesbury Syrups to go in your coffee if you’re into that sort of thing. Fortunately I managed to avoid that fate!

While I was there, I tried pretty much all the coffee, and it was all excellent. Honestly, you can’t really go wrong, whatever you choose. One thing to note though. I was there as the guest of Rob, Rave’s owner, following subtle encouragement (ie nagging) from Sharon, so I got the special treatment, including real cups. It’s ironic that since Rave only has a takeaway licence, it can only serve paying customers with takeaway cups, while freeloaders like me get proper cups. If, like me, you’re a little bit obsessive, you might want to bring your own espresso cup with you…

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