2022 Awards – Best Physical Space

A classic decaf flat white served in a classic white cup at Medicine New Street in BirminghamNext up today, the 2022 Coffee Spot Award shortlist for “Best Physical Space”, which was won last year by Medicine New Street. One of the most important things for me is how a Coffee Spot looks and feels. This, to me, is just as important as the coffee.

This award celebrates those Coffee Spots in which there’s a pure joy in just sitting there, soaking it all in. It’s not just about physical beauty and elegance. Instead, it’s as much about atmosphere, layout and overall feel. It’s another where I could have filled the shortlist many times over, all with worthy winners. However, I have managed to whittle it down to just a single list for this year’s Award.

You can see the shortlist after the gallery.

  • Fika+, in a lovely old building on top of Chester City Walls.
  • Flight Coffee of Dover, spread across two adjoining units in Dover, New Hampshire.
  • Elements: Books Coffee Beer, coffee & beer in a book-lined heaven in Biddeford, Maine.
  • The original Five Elephant in a Kreuzberg tenement building in Berlin.
  • The Barn's original roastery, now 'just' a coffee shop on Schönhauser Allee, Berlin.
  • Tabernacl, occupying a glorious, light-filled space inside Hope Street Church in Wrexham.
  • Bloom Building and Coffee, inside the Bloom Building in Birkenhead.
  • Blooming Coffee Bar, tucking itself into an awkward space in the heart of Köln.
  • Sightglass Coffee, Divisadero, in a wonderful, high-ceilinged building in San Francisco.
  • Staying in California, Coffeebar occupies another lovely, old building in Redwood City.
  • CoRo Coffee Room, across the Bay in Berekely, is another high-ceilinged space.
  • And back in San Francisco, it's Reveille Coffee Co. in a fabulous, wedge-shaped building.
  • Switching coasts to Brooklyn, it's the original Cafe Grumpy, Greenpoint.
  • Spread across multiple rooms in a wonderful old building, it's CSONS Shrewsbury.
  • Finally, we have Hardline Coffee, inside the Art SUX Gallery in Sioux City, Iowa.
Fika+, in a lovely old building on top of Chester City Walls.1 Flight Coffee of Dover, spread across two adjoining units in Dover, New Hampshire.2 Elements: Books Coffee Beer, coffee & beer in a book-lined heaven in Biddeford, Maine.3 The original Five Elephant in a Kreuzberg tenement building in Berlin.4 The Barn's original roastery, now 'just' a coffee shop on Schönhauser Allee, Berlin.5 Tabernacl, occupying a glorious, light-filled space inside Hope Street Church in Wrexham.6 Bloom Building and Coffee, inside the Bloom Building in Birkenhead.7 Blooming Coffee Bar, tucking itself into an awkward space in the heart of Köln.8 Sightglass Coffee, Divisadero, in a wonderful, high-ceilinged building in San Francisco.9 Staying in California, Coffeebar occupies another lovely, old building in Redwood City.10 CoRo Coffee Room, across the Bay in Berekely, is another high-ceilinged space.11 And back in San Francisco, it's Reveille Coffee Co. in a fabulous, wedge-shaped building.12 Switching coasts to Brooklyn, it's the original Cafe Grumpy, Greenpoint.13 Spread across multiple rooms in a wonderful old building, it's CSONS Shrewsbury.14 Finally, we have Hardline Coffee, inside the Art SUX Gallery in Sioux City, Iowa.15
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There are 15 Coffee Spots on the shortlist this year, all listed in order of publication.

An AeroPress of an Ethiopian single-origin from Heartland Coffee Roasters, served in a carafe with a cup on the side, all presented on a wooden tray.Fika⁺

Let’s start with Fika⁺, which occupies a beautiful spot on top of Chester’s city walls. It’s a gorgeous, perfectly-proportioned space that has also been shortlisted for the Coffee Spot with the Best Lighting and Most Unlikely Place to Find a Coffee Spot Awards.

A light-fitting in the style of a sci-fi rocket ship at Flight Coffee of Dover.Flight Coffee of Dover

Crossing the Atlantic to New Hampsire, Flight Coffee of Dover is spread across two adjacent units. This allows it to provide a range of seating options, giving it something for (almost) everyone. Flight Coffee is also on the shortlists for this year’s Best Filter Coffee and Coffee Spot with the Best Lighting Awards.

 

Detail of artwork from the wall at the back of Elements: Books Coffee BeerElements: Books Coffee Beer

Staying in New England, Elements: Books Coffee Beer is in Biddeford, Maine. It’s made it onto the shortlist due to the books part of the name, since it’s a coffee shop (and bar) in a bookshop, which means you get to drink your coffee surrounded by shelves and shelves of books. Elements has also been shortlisted for the Best Neighbourhood Coffee Spot Award.

A lovely espresso, served in a classic white cup, at Five Elephant Kreuzberg, sitting outside in the early evening sunshine.Five Elephant Kreuzberg

Moving over to Berlin, the original Five Elephant coffee shop occupying a pair of high-ceilinged rooms with whitewashed walls and wooden flooring on the ground floor of a lovely old Kreuzberg tenement. The outside seating, under the shade of some lovely old trees is just as good, gaining Five Elephant a place on the shortlist for the Best Outdoor Seating Award as well.

A V60 of the Radiophare, a naturally-processed coffee from Indonesia, served in a carafe with a cup on the side, all presented on a wooden tray.The Barn Schönhauser Allee

Staying in Berlin, this is the home of The Barn’s original roastery. The roaster has now gone, leaving a wonderful coffee shop in its place. Occupying the left-hand part of the ground floor of a lovely old building, The Barn stretches out ahead of you and to your right, making for a large, L-shaped space.

 

A lovely flat white, made with the Blossom Espresso Blend, and served in a classic grey cup at Tabernacl in Wrexham.Tabernacl

Slightly closer to (my) home, Tabernacl is a newcomer to Wrexham. Part of the Hope Street Church, it occupies a corner spot on the ground floor of the iconic old Burton building. With floor-to-ceiling windows on two side, it makes for a gorgeous, light-filled space in which to enjoy your coffee.

 

An espresso, made with an Ethiopian Sidamo single-origin, roasted by Adams + Russell and served in a mauve cup at Bloom Building and Coffee.Bloom Building and Coffee

Combining café, bar and venue space, while also hosting the Open Door Charity (which the coffee shop part funds), Bloom Building and Coffee occupies a unit on an industrial estate in Birkenhead (shortlisted for the Most Unlikely Place to Find a Coffee Spot Award). This has been put to good use to create a series of spaces, including a large mezzanine (shortlisted for the Coffee Spot with the Best Basement/Mezzanine Award).

An espresso, made with the Todos Santos, a washed coffee from Guatemala, roasted by Blooming Coffee Roastery and served in Blooming Coffee Bar, presented in a gorgeous, handleless ceramic Aoomi cup, handmade in Poland.Blooming Coffee Bar

From Bloom to Blooming, Blooming Coffee Bar occupies an interesting corner space in the heart of Köln. I was in awe of the fit-out, with the designers making the most of the space with a series of bespoke seats and tables tucked into various corners. Blooming Coffee Bar has also been shortlisted for this year’s  Best Espresso Award.

 

The circular Sightglass logo, with the word "Sight" on top, "Glass" at the bottom and a horitonal lightning bolt separating the two.Sightglass Coffee, Divisadero

Re-crossing the Atlantic, this time to San Francisco, we come to Sightglass, which always seems to find some fabulous buildings for its coffee shops. This one, on Divisadero in in The Haight, is no exception, occupying the ground floor of a beautiful old building which dates from 1903. Sightglass has also been shortlisted for the Coffee Spot with the Best Lighting Award.

The circular sign from outside Coffeebar, a stylised lion's head with flowing mane, the words "Coffeebar" at the top and "Redwood City" at the bottom, flanked by the letters NV (Nevada, left) and CA (California, right)Coffeebar, Redwood City

Staying in California and moving down the Peninsular to Redwood City, Coffeebar also occupies the ground floor of a lovely old building. In this case it’s the Fitzpatrick Building, from 1905. Inside is a large, high-ceilinged space with exposed brick walls and wooden flooring. The outside seating is just as good, winning Coffeebar a place on the shortlist for the Best Outdoor Seating Award.

My espresso, the Baroida Estate, a naturally-processed coffee from Papua New Guinea, roasted and served by CoRo in its Coffee Room in Berkeley. The handleless ceramic cup is bespoke to CoRo, while the coffee is presented on a small, wooden tray with a glass of water on the side.CoRo Coffee Room

Crossing the Bay to Berkeley and another high-ceilinged space, this time home to the CoRo Coffee Room. This is a more modern, warehouse-like space with a great view of the roasters through a window at the back. CoRo Coffee Room has also been shortlisted for the Best Roaster/Retailer and Best Cake and Best Espresso Awards.

A cappuccino, made with the seasonal Paradise Espresso at Réveille Coffee Co. and served in my HuskeeCup.Réveille Coffee Co.

Back in San Francisco, Réveille Coffee Co. is on Columbus Avenue in North Beach, where it occupies a wedge-shaped building on the corner where Kearny Street intersects Columbus Avenue at 45°. This leads to a really interesting space, which Réveille has taken full advantage of, making the building and its interior as much of a draw as the coffee.

The famous Café Grumpy logo on a background of wood with multiple coffee stains, taken from above the counter in the first Café Grumpy in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.Café Grumpy, Greenpoint

Staying in the USA, but crossing back to the East Coast, we have the original Café Grumpy in the  Greenpoint district of Brooklyn. The modest exterior belies a much larger interior which stretches all the way to the back of the building, including a magnificent back room. Café Grumpy has also been shortlisted for the Best Neighbourhood Coffee Spot Award.

The CSONS logo, the letters "CSONS" written in blue (with the C in yellow) inside two concentric blue circles.CSONS Shrewsbury

CSONS occupies the ground floor of a two-storey building in Shrewsbury which, if looks are anything to go by, is several hundred years old. It’s a lovely space, with the seating spread across multiple rooms, including a large, sheltered courtyard at the back which also got CSONS a place on the shortlist for the Best Outdoor Seating Award. Best of all is probably the cosy back room with its stained glass windows and with a table in an old fireplace.

The sign outside Hardline Coffee in Sioux CityHardline Coffee

Our final entry is Hardline Coffee, which is a coffee bar and roaster inside the Art SUX Gallery in downtown Sioux City. You can take your coffee and sit anywhere in the gallery, or go upstairs to the artists studios. Perhaps my favourite spot was the cosy library nook, lined with bookshelves and a three-piece suite. Hardline Coffee has also been shortlisted for the Best Roaster/Retailer and Most Unlikely Place to Find a Coffee Spot Awards.


A special mention needs to go to the following:

Haus
Betty Berkins
Father Carpenter
KaffeeKirsche Café & Bakery
Niedlov’s Cafe & Bakery
Devoción, Flatiron District
The Barn – Café Kanzler

The winner will be announced on Monday, 2nd January. In the meantime, don’t forget to check out the other 19 Coffee Spot Awards for 2022.


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  1. Pingback: 2022 Awards – Coffee Spot with the Best Basement/Mezzanine | Brian's Coffee Spot

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