I Am Coffee Update

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Brian Williams

Of all New York City’s fine Coffee Spots (and there are many), my favourite from my trip in 2013 was the wonderful, tiny and appropriately-named I Am Coffee on Saint Marks Place. So, naturally, I had to go back on my return in March this year and catch up with Giovanni, the inspiration behind I Am Coffee. Equally naturally, Giovanni wasn’t there, having gone on a business trip to Florida. I ask you, the lengths people go to avoid me!

However, I Am Coffee is still there and I was well looked after by the lovely Iker, Giovanni’s newest member of staff. Although the shop itself hasn’t changed much (and given the lack of space, that’s not a great surprise), there are changes going on behind the scenes.

The most important things, the wonderful coffee and the warm welcome, are still there in equal measure though, so I was happy.

March 2015: Bad news. On my return to New York, I found that I Am Coffee is closed, the shop shut up and everything gone…

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La Colombe, Lafayette Street

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Brian Williams

I discovered La Colombe in its hometown of Philadelphia, visiting the glorious Dilworth Plaza branch. There I was recommended the Lafayette Street branch in New York City (several New York baristas suggested it too). However, they might have meant the flagship store at 400 Lafayette Street, near Union, which I only discovered having already visited 270 Lafayette. Although it looked impressive, there was a line out of the door when I went by, so perhaps I chose wisely.

Although Lafayette Street shares many things with Dilworth Plaza (excellent coffee, splendid crockery, soaring glass windows, high ceilings, interesting mural on the wall, no Wifi or menu, forcing you to engage with the lovely, friendly baristas) in many ways they’re like chalk and cheese. Compared to Dilworth Plaza, Lafayette Street is tiny, although by NYC standards (eg I Am Coffee, Gimme! Coffee, Bluebird or Everyman Espresso) it’s positively huge. However, it lacks Dilworth Plaza’s open spaces, multiple seating options and there’s nowhere to linger at the counter and chat with the baristas. That said, given how busy it is, it wouldn’t be practical if there were.

Despite this, Lafayette Street has more than enough positives to make up for any perceived shortcomings…

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Coutume Update

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Brian Williams

The last time I visited Coutume, the (relatively) old, established player in Paris’ third-wave coffee scene, I arrived just before closing on a day when the espresso machine had just been repaired, having been broken all day. It was also my last stop before heading back home on the Eurostar.

This time, in a nice piece of symmetry, I decided to make it the first stop of my visit. So, having arrived from Nantes, I turned up just before closing on a day when the espresso machine had just been repaired, having been broken all day … Some things never change!

I was there at the invitation of Connor, one of Coutume’s baristas, who had been following my progress around France. He made me a lovely cup of an Ethiopian Nekisse through the V60, a rich, complex brew which matured as it cooled. While I drank it, I sat (out of the way) at the bar at the front and chatted with Connor about all the things that had changed since my last visit.

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Artisan Roast, Glasgow

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Brian Williams

Artisan Roast is a chain of three coffee shops, two in its home town of Edinburgh (Broughton Street and Bruntsfield Place) and this one, on Gibson Street in Glasgow’s West End. Compared to the other branches, it’s massive, although that’s not too much of an achievement, since both of Edinburgh’s Artisan Roasts are fairly compact. Nevertheless, the sense of space afforded by Gibson Street was refreshing.

Despite its size, it manages to have the same sense of intimacy, largely due to a clever partitioning of the store into multiple, smaller spaces, which includes a mezzanine. Generous windows, running from almost the floor to the (very high) ceiling, make the front of the store a very bright space, helped by a large mirror over the bench opposite the counter. This is in stark contrast to the back, where the lighting is (deliberately) subdued, adding to its sense of intimacy.

Until April 2013, Gibson Street roasted all its own coffee in a Toper called Fatima which sat at the far end of the counter. Then Artisan Roast centralised its roasting in Edinburgh, freeing up space for Gibson Street to do more food. It now has the best food offering of the three.

November 2015: Artisan Roast is now a chain of four, with a third Edinburgh shop opening in Stockbridge in March.

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Papercup Coffee Company

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Brian Williams

Given my well-known aversion to all things paper when it comes to coffee cups, calling your coffee shop “Papercup” is not perhaps the best tactic to win me over… However, the only paper cups I saw were neatly stacked by the till, exclusively for takeaway customers, which was a relief. Other than slight misgivings over the name, I loved everything about Papercup. It’s a tiny place that packs in an impressive amount on Glasgow’s Great Western Road. Seating maybe 16 people at most, with maybe four more outside, Papercup offers a varied brunch menu, excellent cake and superb coffee. There’s even table service!

Papercup has the usual espresso-based offerings, with house blend and decaf, plus three single-origin beans, each paired to a specific preparation method (V60, Clever Dripper and Aeropress). There’s even cold brew! Best of all, the beans are all roasted right there in the back of the store.

Normally my timing is terrible since I rarely visit café/roasters when the roaster’s in operation (see, for example, TAP and House of Coffee) but in the case of Papercup, my luck was in! It was glorious to see the beans, freshly roasted, pouring into the cooling pan!

May 2018: Papercup now has a dedicated roastery just a short stroll away from the cafe. I’m hoping I can pay it a visit one day!

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Avenue G, Byres Road

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Brian Williams

As is often the case, it seems unfair to call somewhere with two outlets a chain, particularly when they’re a few minutes’ walk from each other. However, such is the case with Avenue G, although there are aspirations to open more branches.

Byres Road, in the heart of Glasgow’s West End, is the original, opening in April 2011. It feels very modern, all glass, steel and white plastic, which, if I’m honest, isn’t really my kind of thing. Décor notwithstanding, it’s a lovely, bright space with a gloriously high ceiling and, the saving grace, a mezzanine behind the counter.

There is also some stupendous food, amazing coffee, and, best of all, table service! It’s full of nice touches, such the automatic provision of a glass of water. Little things like this don’t cost much, but make a big difference.

Avenue G has a standard espresso menu, offering a house-blend and a decaf, with three single origins available through the Aeropress. When I visited, the coffee was from Monmouth, with some guests, but by the time you read this, Avenue G should be roasting its own beans (under the separate Avenue Coffee Roasting Company) at the Great Western Road Branch.

September 2015: I’m delighted that Avenue G was short-listed for this year’s Lunch Business Awards Best Coffee Experience.

May 2018: With the closure of Avenue Coffee’s roastery/cafe on the Great Western Road, Avenue G has also undergone some changes and is now known as Turadh.

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Artisan Roast, Bruntsfield Place

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Brian Williams

Stepping into Edinburgh’s second branch of Artisan Roast, on Bruntsfield Place, there is a distinct sense of déjà vu. In look, feel and layout, it’s similar to the original on Broughton Street, right down to there being a back room called “The Mooch”.

Bruntsfield Place, which started life in 2011 as a Festival pop-up, is similar in size to Broughton Street, perhaps a little narrower and a little longer. Here the espresso machine is in the back right-hand corner rather than the back left-hand corner, and the passage to The Mooch is similarly reversed, but other than that, the similarity is striking.

What you get, of course, is the same Artisan Roast excellence. Everything is roasted in-house, and all the beans are available to buy. However, Artisan Roast seems to be moving away from the “any bean, any method” model that I first came across at Broughton Street. At Bruntsfield Place, specific beans are tailored to specific methods; during my visit, a Kenyan was on offer through the Kalita Wave filter, a Brazilian through the Aeropress.

Naturally there’s the traditional espresso-based menu, along with tea, hot chocolate and the usual range of cake, plus soup for lunch.

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Workshop Coffee, Fitzrovia

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Brian Williams

The latest addition to the suddenly-expanding Workshop Coffee chain (now four and counting) is in fashionable Fitzrovia on Mortimer Street. Just around the corner from Broadcasting House, it joins a growing band of speciality coffee shops that include old stalwart, Kaffeine plus (relative) newcomers, Attendant, Mother’s Milk (now closed) and the recently-opened Curators Coffee Gallery. The one advantage it has over its near-neighbours, other than the novelty value of being new, is that it stays open until seven o’clock, making it the ideal spot to retire to before attending recordings of BBC Radio shows in the Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House.

Unsurprisingly, given that this is Workshop, the coffee is all from the Workshop roastery in Clerkenwell, with the Cult of Done house-blend and a single-origin on espresso plus a choice of two single-origins on filter (one bulk-brew and one through the Aeropress). There’s also decaf, loose-leaf tea and a small range of sandwiches and cake.

The new Workshop’s not a huge place, with the front half given over to the counter and the seating in a separate area at the back, the two connected by a short corridor. You might be able to squeeze 15 people in all told.

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ReAnimator

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Brian Williams

If there was a Coffee Spot Award for “Weirdest Shape for a Coffee Shop”, I think Philadelphia’s ReAnimator would win it, hands down. It beats even Dublin’s 3FE and London’s FreeState Coffee. Some coffee shops are L-shaped, or variations on a square or a wedge, but ReAnimator is genuinely a triangle, and a pointy one at that.

Of course, just having an interestingly-shaped building doesn’t amount to much if you don’t have very good coffee. Fortunately for us, ReAnimator has very good coffee indeed. It’s one of that breed of roaster-coffee shops that seems, to me at least, far more prevalent in the US than here in the UK.

Right now there’s just the one ReAnimator in the Fishtown neighbourhood, north of the centre, although plans are well underway for a new headquarters, which will combine roastery, training centre and a second café. In keeping with ReAnimator’s neighbourhood philosophy, this will also be in Fishtown.

If you like the coffee, you can buy it on-line, where, according to ReAnimator’s website, it’s roasted to demand. Alternatively, pop into the store itself, where you will find shelves and shelves filled with bags of coffee waiting for you to take them away!

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Ox Coffee

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Brian Williams

Ox Coffee is a lovely spot, which I visited on my first-ever trip to Philadelphia, becoming a firm favourite of mine. I try my best to pop in whenever I visit the city, calling in back in February 2016 to see the “new” back room/garden, and again in March 2018 to sample Ox’s coffee after it had started roasting.

With its stripped-back, clean looks, Ox wouldn’t be out of place in either New York or London. It brings to mind New York spots such as Gimme! Coffee or the Bluebird Coffee Shop, as well as London’s White Mulberries. This, by the away, is more of a commentary on the rents: most places in (central) London or New York just can’t afford the sort of floor space I regularly see in Philadelphia outside of the city centre!

Ox has a similarly clean, stripped-back menu, with just a selection of cake to accompany the coffee, which these days is roasted in-house. There’s a blend, Ox Coffee #1, on espresso, and another (Ox Coffee #2; you can see where this is going) on bulk-brew, which is joined by one of two single-origins (a Guatemalan while I was there). Finally, there’s a decaf, from Stumptown.

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Category Archives: Cafe/Roaster

I Am Coffee Update

La Colombe, Lafayette Street

Coutume Update

Artisan Roast, Glasgow

Papercup Coffee Company

Avenue G, Byres Road

Artisan Roast, Bruntsfield Place

Workshop Coffee, Fitzrovia

ReAnimator

Ox Coffee