Like Monday’s Coffee Spot Update, The Flower Cup, I took my sweet time in writing up the Gourmet Coffee Bar & Kitchen at Crewe Station, although in this case it wasn’t because I hadn’t visited: on the contrary, it was a highlight of any change of trains at Crewe. Rather, I was never there for long enough during any one visit to write it up! However, I finally managed it earlier this year, publishing my piece the day before I wrote about The Flower Cup. So, in a pleasing piece of symmetry, I’m publishing this COVID-19 Update just after publishing my update on The Flower Cup.

For those that don’t know, there are a number of Gourmet Coffee Bars dotted around the country, principally (but not exclusively) at stations in the Midlands and North West England. Crewe is the one I’m most familiar with, although in fairness, that should be “ones” since there are two kiosks, a smaller one on Platform 6 and the one I usually end up at, on Platform 5. Both have a similar offering, with a standard espresso-based menu from Clifton Coffee Roasters and a range of sandwiches, crisps, cakes and pastries if you’re hungry.

You can see what else I found after the gallery.

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I’d hoped to visit the Gourmet Coffee Bar & Kitchen on my way up to North Wales last week, but a tight connection at Crewe made that impossible. Similarly, a tight connection on the return journey meant that while I’d probably have time for coffee, it wouldn’t be long enough to take any photographs. Fortunately, my train from Chester was delayed by problems on the line, so I missed my connection, giving me a chance to both get my coffee and do my write up. Sometimes things are just meant to be.

Not that there’s actually that much to write up. The main change is that the seating in front of both coffee bars is gone. Instead, the space is used for a one-way system, which, in the case of the larger Platform 5 kiosk, starts well to the right and leads you past the grab-and-go section with its sandwiches and cold drinks to the ordering point in the middle. You also pay here (currently cards only), through the gap in near ubiquitous Perspex screens, then continue to your left where you collect your coffee at the end of the kiosk.

Although the lack of seating is the most obvious change, there are a couple of others worth noting. The first is that, for now, the Gourmet Coffee Bar is not accepting reusable cups, although you are, of course, welcome to bring your own, then pour your coffee into it (which is what I did). The second is that the Gourmet Coffee Bar is running on temporarily reduced opening hours. Indeed, with passenger numbers still far below normal, the it was relatively late in reopening, only welcoming customers back from July 10^th.

I had my customary flat white, which came with some lovely latte art. Normally this would be destroyed as I poured it into my own cup (in this case, my HuskeeCup), but the standard serving is 8oz at the Gourmet Coffee Bar, while my HuskeeCup only holds 6oz. This left a small amount of milk in the bottom of the cup, where the latte art was almost perfectly preserved, a testament to the skill of the barista.

As to the coffee itself, it was excellent. Gourmet Coffee Bar uses Clifton’s Suspension Espresso, a naturally-processed Brazilian from Daterra which goes really well with milk to produce a sweet, smooth coffee, with some classic notes. And with that, my train arrived, and it was time to go!

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