Category Archives: Coffee Shops

Coffee Spots with an emphasis on serving coffee

Everyman Espresso, Soho

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A gorgeous cortado in a glass, made with the Rustico blend from Counter Culture at Everyman Coffee in New York CityEveryman Espresso is a chain of precisely two (now three) coffee shops in New York City, the original in the East Village, this one on West Broadway in Soho and a third in Brooklyn. I visited the Soho branch largely because it was more convenient, given where I was staying, plus it was the one that several baristas in other coffee shops had recommended.

There’s no obvious menu in Everyman, something I first came across in La Colombe, a neat tactic which means you have to engage with the baristas. Unlike La Colombe, however, there is a printed menu; it’s just kept under the counter so you have to ask for it if you need it.

Everyman Espresso’s tag line is “damn fine coffee”, but it could, in the words of Amanda, my barista, be “damn fine everything”. Not only does Everyman have damn fine espresso, as one would expect, which comes from a very sexy La Marzocco La Strada, but there’s damn fine hand-poured and batch brew filter as well. According to Amanda, there’s damn fine tea (which I didn’t try), to go with damn fine staff and damn fine surroundings. And damn fine Wifi too…

It certainly lived up to its billing…

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Zappi’s Bike Café

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The perfect espresso, with beans from Ue Roasters, in a classic black cup from Zappi's Bike CafeA short stroll down St Michael’s Street, just off Cornmarket Street, Oxford’s central thoroughfare, is the Bike Zone, a bicycle shop. What’s not immediately apparent, except to those in the know, is that it’s also home to Zappi’s Bike Café, one of Oxford’s best-kept secrets. Indeed, even walking past might not give it away, such is the small size of the sign, which advertises the presence (on the first floor) of this lovely little coffee spot.

Zappi’s Bike Café is not quite as well hidden as Newcastle’s Flat Caps Coffee, but it’s in that league. The small sign, well above eye-level, and a menu, painted on the door, are the only real giveaways. Even then you have to negotiate your way up a narrow, switch-back staircase and the make your way through the display room, past all the bikes, before you get to Zappi’s itself.

Zappi’s focus is on coffee, toasted sandwiches and banana bread, of which the staff are rightfully proud. The coffee comes from the local Ue Coffee Roasters, supplemented by a regularly-rotating guest blend. All the cakes, sandwiches and, most importantly, the banana bread, are made in the tiny kitchen behind the counter.

August 2017: Zappi’s has expanded to occupy the whole upper floor, and changed its name to the Handlebar Cafe. One of the Dans (Williams, no relation) has left and now runs Coffee + Beer in Bristol.

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Menagerie Coffee

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A cappuccino in a classic white cup, sitting on a tree-stump table in the window, half in shadow from the sunlight.If I lived in/around Philadelphia, I could see the delightful Menagerie Coffee, just off Market Street down near Penn’s Landing in the Old City, becoming a regular haunt. Set up six months ago by April and Elysa, they’ve brought excellent coffee heritage (April worked at the long-established Elixr, another Philadelphia stand-out) and married it with a lovely space in an area that’s crying out for quality coffee.

It doesn’t hurt that it’s also a couple of blocks from the hotel I stayed in, which was a bonus! My host, Greg of Coffee Guru App fame, and I went there on Friday afternoon, not long after I’d arrived in Philadelphia. I popped back on my own on Sunday morning, preferring to start the day with a Menagerie cappuccino over the (adequate but unexciting) coffee served up by the hotel.

Menagerie uses Dogwood Coffee from Minneapolis for the house-blend (Neon espresso) and decaf (Sumatran mountain-water process), while four single-origins are available as pour-overs. These change on a regular basis and come from a variety of roasters (while I was there, two were from Dogwood, with one each from Ceremony of Annapolis and Boston’s George Howell).

February 2016: true to my word, on both my subsequent trips to Philadelphia, I have stayed near Menagerie and have started each day there with a cappuccino.

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Bluebird Coffee Shop

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The Bluebird Coffee Shop logo as written in the window of the shop, bluebird in lower case blue, COFFEE SHOP in upper case white.Bluebird Coffee Shop is a tiny spot on East 1st Street, just by the junction of 1st Avenue and East Houston. Even though I was looking for it, I walked straight past it the first time, that’s how small it is. And, if I’m honest, I wasn’t paying attention. However, it is a lovely little place, well worth hunting down, in an area which already has several great choices.

Serving Counter Culture coffee either through the espresso machine or via the obligatory bulk-brew drip filter, Bluebird also manages to pack cake and a fairly decent breakfast/lunch menu (which it stops serving at three o’clock) into its small space. What’s even more impressive is that it’s all baked on the premises in the kitchen downstairs (with the exception of the croissants)!

The other outstanding thing about Bluebird was its friendliness. Other than I Am Coffee, which is so small you have to talk to everyone, Bluebird might be the friendliest coffee shop I’ve been to on my US travels. Starting with the Barista, Ben, and running through the customers, everyone seemed happy to chat, but not in a pushy way. It is pretty much the perfect coffee shop atmosphere.

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La Colombe, Dilworth Plaza

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The La Colombe logo with Penn Square in the backgroundLa Colombe is, according to my host, Greg of Coffee Guru App fame, something of a Philadelphia legend and it’s not hard to see why. Although it has branches around the country, including New York City, its home is in Philly. As well this chain of coffee shops, La Colombe roasts all its own beans in the Fishdown district of Philadelphia, not far from the centre, where it has a new flagship cafe.

At Greg’s recommendation, I visited the Dilworth Plaza branch, right by City Hall, smack bang in the centre of Philadelphia. La Colombe offers espresso, the obligatory bulk-brew, iced coffee and, for filter coffee, it uses the famous steampunk machines. Something that sets La Colombe apart from the crowd is an insistence on only serving one size of drink (8 oz). No buckets of milk here!

Interestingly, there’s no menu, which, according to Katrina, my barista, forces customers to engage with the staff. And vice-versa. Certainly in the case of my visit it worked really well!  There’s also no Wifi, another move designed to promote conversation and interaction. As much as I like my free Wifi, I can only applaud the sentiments behind this decision.

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Darkhorse Espresso

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The Darkhorse Espresso sign, white writing on a red oval.Darkhorse Espresso is the brainchild of husband and wife team Neil and Sarah. It opened in the summer of 2013 and is a little off the beaten track on Exeter’s Magdalen Road. I say “off the beaten track” but it’s all of a 20 minute stroll from the centre. However, Exeter is sufficiently small that it feels a completely different world from the first two stops on my Exeter coffee tour: Devon Coffee and Artigiano Espresso.

However, it’s definitely worth the walk. It’s also worth your perseverance as you go past the local shops and a few cafés before they peter out, leaving you to wonder if Darkhorse is down here after all. Then, just as you are questioning your faith in Googlemaps, there it is!

There are many excellent reasons for taking this stroll. For a start, Darkhorse gets its coffee from London’s Ozone, which makes a change from Origin, the roaster, which, with the odd exception, seems to dominate Exeter. There is also tea from Tea Nation and cakes from another of my Exeter favourites, The Exploding Bakery. Add to that a quirky interior and a wonderfully warm welcome from my host, Sarah, and you’re onto a winner.

June 2016: heard the sad news that Darkhorse Espresso has had to close.

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Mother’s Milk

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Thumbnail - Mother's Milk (DSC_9567)The first thing you need to know about Mother’s Milk is that it’s called Rosalind’s Kitchen. No, not really, but that’s what’s on the window of the tiny store on Little Portland Street, which is how I managed to walk past it three times without noticing even though I was looking for it! In fairness, there’s usually a bench and A-board outside, but it was raining when I went by and they’d just been brought inside.

When you do track it down, you’ll find a delightful little coffee shop with just enough room for the counter, an espresso machine and a few stools. I got told off on twitter for suggesting that it might be crowded with two customers, but I was only exaggerating ever so slightly. Yes, it really is that small.

The brain-child of baristas Will and James, the focus is entirely on coffee: no cake, food, tea or hot chocolate, just coffee. Despite its size, Mother’s Milk still manages to offer the usual espresso-range and filter coffee made via the Aeropress. The other thing that makes it stand out is the coffee itself: Mother’s Milk is London’s only permanent outlet for JB Kaffee, a micro-roaster from Munich.

September 29, 2015: This was the last day for Mother’s Milk’s in its old location. It moved a massive 80m along the street to 22-23 Little Portland Street, where it re-opened on 19th October. You can see what I made of it when I visited at the end of December.

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Devon Coffee

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Devon Coffee on Exeter's Queen StreetOn Exeter’s Queen Street, next to Caffe Nero and just five doors down from the Boston Tea Party, you’ll find the delightful Devon Coffee. I’m not quite sure why I took so long to find it, other than the obvious excuse that it’s in Exeter and I live in Guildford. Even the Exeter excuse wears a bit thin when you consider that I’d previously made it as far as the Exploding Bakery (just up the street at Exeter Central Station) and the aforementioned Boston Tea Party. In my defence, when I was last in Exeter, Devon Coffee had only been open in its current guise for a month, but it’s not much of an excuse.

However, find it I did and it was the starting point of a day-long tour of some lovely coffee shops in Exeter which I’ll publish over the next few weeks. I have to say that I’d heard a lot about Devon Coffee and it more than lived up to expectations: it’s a lovely place and although it’s small, it doesn’t feel cramped. There’s excellent coffee and very fine pastries/cakes, all served by excellent staff. The only I things I didn’t sample were toasted sandwiches.

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Coffee Affair

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Making a V60 pour-over at Coffee Affair, Queenstown Road Station.Coffee Affair, in London’s Queenstown Road Station on the line into Waterloo, was a chance discovery. I’ve been through the station many, many times, but I’m not sure I’ve even stopped there before now. Then, when the shortlists for the Coffee Spot Awards 2013 came out, I got told off on Twitter for not including Coffee Affair in the Best Coffee Spot near a Railway Station category.

Intrigued, I made it a New Year’s resolution to investigate and, having done so, I have to say that the loss is all mine. Mags and Michael, the couple behind Coffee Affair, have been at Queenstown Road since 2006, first in a Piaggio Ape and now in their current location, the old ticket office. That’s seven years of coffee goodness I’ve missed out on!

If, like me, you’ve not been before, what you’re missing is a small, friendly coffee shop in a lovely space, with excellent coffee that’s as good as you’ll find anywhere. There’s the usual espresso-based range or you can have filter coffee. This is either freshly made on the bulk-brewer or, if you come after the morning rush, Mags or Michael will make a V60 pour-over just for you.

January 2015: For the foreseeable future, Coffee Affair will be open until four o’clock on Saturdays.

May 2018: It is with great sadness that I have to report that Coffee Affair has closed, Mags and Michael having decided that they need a sabatical. I wish them both well in whatever the future brings them.

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Colonna & Small’s

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The coffee menu at Colonna & Small's, with three beans on espresso and three on filter.So, finally, I made it to Bath and, naturally, had to make my first stop the legend that is Colonna & Small’s. I’d heard so much about it, and had so many people sing its praises, that I feared the reality would be a crushing disappointment. Fortunately Colonna & Small’s came through with flying colours.

The first thing that struck me is that it’s visually stunning with an unconventional layout (take a look at the gallery and the walk-through on Google Maps). It’s a lovely bright space (unsurprisingly, the building used to be an art gallery), with whitewashed walls and ceiling, pale blue tiles behind the counter, wooden floorboards and a wooden counter. Long and thin, its physical dimensions reminded me of TAP No 193, although the similarity ends there.

However, it’s the coffee that draws most people. Colonna & Small’s uses various roasters (Origin, Has Bean, Workshop, Extract and Round Hill Roastery to name a few), rotating the coffee regularly, often on a weekly basis. There are usually three options on espresso, three more on filter and a decaf on the espresso machine. Each is carefully chosen and presented so as to get the best from the bean.

March 2017: I’ve learnt that Colonna & Small’s now only serves coffee from Colonna Coffee.

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