Category Archives: North East

Coffee Spots in the North East of England

Flat Caps Coffee Update

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An espresso in a classic white cup, plus a glass of water, on an oval wooden platter, separated by a tea spoon.Flat Caps Coffee, brainchild of the lovely Joe Meagher, is not only one of my favourite coffee shops in Newcastle, but it’s one of my favourites in the whole country. The only problem is that I don’t get to Newcastle very often… However, whenever I’m in town, I make a point of popping in to say hello.

I first wrote about Joe and Flat Caps in April 2013, writing a longer piece after I visited in October that year for Caffeine Magazine. So, what’s changed since then? Well, honestly, not a lot. Joe’s still Joe, Flat Caps is still Flat Caps and the coffee’s still excellent.

However, since I published my Coffee Spot on Flat Caps, Joe has, in the way that coffee shop owners do, redecorated and also started using single-serve Kalita Wave pour-over filters. And every time he sees me, he nags me that the photos on the Coffee Spot are out-of-date…

March 2017: I’ve just learnt that Ridley Place is closing at the end of the month. Sad news, but I understand Joe’s reasons for taking this step. If you’re interested, this is what I wrote about the closing of Ridley Place. The good news is that Flat Caps will continue at Flat Caps Carliol Square and Flat Caps Campus North.

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BLK Coffee

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A carafe of Ethiopian Kayamo coffee roasted by Workshop, served by BLK Coffee, Heaton.Normally, when visiting a Coffee Spot, I do so unannounced, sneaking quietly in, ordering my coffee and sitting by myself, getting a feel for the place. I do this for a number of reasons, one of which is so that I can sneak quietly out again if I don’t like it (rare, but it occasionally happens). My main reason, however, is so my experience is as much as possible that of the average customer who’d just walked in off the street.

With BLK Coffee in Heaton, Newcastle, I knew that this wasn’t going to happen. I’ve known Alison, BLK’s owner/head-barista/chief bottle-washer (delete as appropriate), for a couple of years. What’s more, she’d invited me to BLK’s launch party, which was on the evening of my visit. What that in mind, read on…

BLK is a multi-roaster, with a host of regularly-rotating guests, including, in the opening weeks, London’s Workshop, Bath’s Round Hill Roastery and Berlin’s Five Elephant Coffee. There are two options on espresso and on filter a choice of three single-origin beans through any of four preparation methods: Chemex, V60, Kalita Wave and Aeropress. Finally, there’s tea from Waterloo Tea, Kokoa Collection hot chocolate and plenty of cake.

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Flat Caps Coffee

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One of the cleanest cups of coffee I've ever had, at Flat Caps Coffee, Newcastle.I started this series of articles, taken from my feature in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine, with one established player in Newcastle’s coffee scene (Pumphrey’s Coffee). So it seems appropriate to end it with another, Flat Caps Coffee, run by the ever-affable Joe Meagher, ex-banker turned purveyor of fine coffee.

When Joe left banking to become his own boss, he chose coffee as his natural outlet. Initially considering a coffee cart, he quickly realised that there was no consensus must-visit coffee shop in Newcastle. Spotting a gap in the market, Flat Caps Coffee was born. For a long time Joe was a one-man band, but recently he has taken on what he terms “an apprentice” with the view to being able to take the odd day off without having to close the shop!

Flat Caps Coffee will celebrate its fourth birthday in August, making it something of an established player in Newcastle’s fledging speciality coffee scene. I spent a very happy hour perched on a stool at the counter chatting coffee with Joe (who disappointingly wasn’t wearing his trademark flat cap) pausing only while Joe served his customers.

You can find out what Joe had to say after the gallery (which is from my original visit to Flat Caps Coffee).

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Pink Lane Coffee

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One of the intimate nooks in Pink Lane Coffee, appropriately enough painted pink...I present the third of four Saturday Supplements taken from an extended version of my article in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine It features Pink Lane Coffee, a coffee shop which has taken the same journey as the subject of the previous Saturday Supplement, Ouseburn Coffee Co. (OCC), but in the other direction, branching out into roasting via the Colour Coffee Company. I chatted with founder, Anthony Atkinson (Anth), who runs Pink Lane and the Colour Coffee Company with his wife.

Anth started as an account manager for a large coffee supplier, but as self-confessed coffee geek, Anth wanted the freedom that he wasn’t getting working for a large company. As the rep for the northeast of England, he visited lots of great coffee shops in the region as well as travelling to legends such as Colonna & Small’s in Bath.

It was while travelling around the northeast that he spotted a gap in the market in Newcastle, which, despite boasting Flat Caps Coffee and Pumphrey’s, still didn’t have the sort of coffee shop Anth was seeking. This led to the setting up of Pink Lane, where the focus is on coffee and all its glorious variations in flavour.

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Ouseburn Coffee Co.

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The Ouseburn Coffee Co. logo: the letters OCC above, with 'Ouseburn Coffee Co.' below, separated by a thick horizontal line.I present the second of four Saturday Supplements, drawn from an extended version of my article in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine on the Newcastle coffee scene. Although not specifically written as part of my Meet the Roaster series, it ticks all the boxes, so I have included it as such.

In complete contrast to Pumphrey’s, the subject of my previous article in this series, today it’s the turn of new-kid-on-the-block, Ouseburn Coffee Co. OCC, as it’s known, has been around for less than two years, but has quickly established itself a reputation as a roaster of some of Newcastle’s finest coffee. Based in the sometimes-overlooked Ouseburn valley, just east of the city centre, Al, Simon, Pete and James, the men behind OCC, have created something special. All friends, who grew up in Newcastle, they gigged together in bands in their early years before going their separate ways.  They returned to Newcastle two years ago and got back together, this time to create coffee rather than music.

Each of these Special Saturday Supplements can be read as a stand-alone article or the four can be read together as a coherent whole. The more astute amongst you will notice that in a radical departure from recent practice, this Saturday Supplement has come out on a Saturday! For more details, please see my recent State of the Nation(s) 2014 post.

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Pumphrey’s Coffee

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The Pumphrey's Coffee sign: 'Pumphrey's Coffee Served Here'As promised in my recent State of the Nation(s) 2014 post, I present the first of four Saturday Supplements taken from an extended version of my article in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine. This was my feature on the coffee scene in Newcastle, which, since Scott wouldn’t let me fill the entire magazine with one article, had to be cut down somewhat. This left me with lots of interesting things to say, but nowhere to say them.

Until now, that is…

We start, appropriately enough, with where it all began in Newcastle, and that’s Pumphrey’s, a venerable company which can trace its roots all the way back to 1750 when Leigh Smith established the company that was to become Pumphrey’s.

Each of these Special Saturday Supplements can be read as a stand-alone article or the four can be read together as a coherent whole. It also forms part of the Meet the Roaster series, although it wasn’t written specifically a Meet the Roaster. The more astute amongst you will appreciate that I’ve actually published this Saturday Supplement on a Thursday, but that’s just the way it is…

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Arch Sixteen Café

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The Arch Sixteen Logo in the window of Arch Sixteen Cafe: Fine Food & DrinkArch Sixteen Café is the latest addition to the Newcastle coffee scene. Okay, I’ll stop myself right there, because, of course, Arch Sixteen is in Gateshead, a few short steps away from the Gateshead end of the High Level Bridge across the Tyne. If there’s one thing that Tyneside has in abundance, it’s great bridges. If you’re visiting Newcastle you could do a lot worse than head across one of them and give Arch Sixteen (which is also within easy striking distance of the Tyne Bridge and, via a steep hill, the Swing Bridge) a try. Of course, if you live in Gateshead, the good news is that you don’t have to go all the way to Newcastle to get great coffee.

Opened in May 2013 by the lovely Pam, Arch Sixteen serves its own house blend roasted by local coffee legends, Pumphrey’s. There are also some excellent-looking cakes and a short but interesting-looking food menu. However, where Arch Sixteen really comes up trumps is in its lovely, spacious interior, which, coupled with Pam’s genuine, warm welcome, makes it a wonderful place either to pop in for a quick espresso or to stay for the whole day.

June 2016: Arch Sixteen now uses local roasters, Colour Coffee Company, the roasting off-shoot of Pink Lane Coffee.

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Quay Ingredient

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Eggs Florentine and Toast at Quay IngredientTucked away under Newcastle‘s Tyne Bridge on a street that not even the local map seemed to think existed, Quay Ingredient took a little finding, but it was worth it (the trick is to walk until you are standing directly under the Tyne Bridge and, as if by magic, you’ll find yourself in front of Quay Ingredient).

The main draw for me is the range of excellent breakfasts: when I asked for recommendations, Quay Ingredient was top of everyone’s lists and it didn’t disappoint! Quay Ingredient’s not a huge place and you might have to wait for a table, such is its popularity. However, it’s definitely worth the wait with classics on the menu such as Eggs Florentine (my favourite), full English, grilled Caster kippers and cinnamon pancakes. Breakfast is served until 11.30 during the week and all day at weekends. If breakfast’s not your thing, there are sandwiches, salads and soup, plus cake, of course.

Quay Ingredient has a lovely, friendly atmosphere. You’re assured a warm welcome from Maggie, who works front of house, and her husband, Simon, who does all the cooking in the little kitchen at the back. Impressively, Maggie remembered me from my first visit six months before!

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The Settle Down Café

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The Settle Down Cafe on Newcastle's Thornton Street. One of the nicest places to sit outside.The Settle Down Café, just on the western edge of Newcastle city centre and within easy striking distance of the station, is a friendly, laid-back, community café. You can tell a lot by the staff that a café employs and the folks in the Settle Down were lovely. Even though I’d turned up near closing time on a Saturday, nothing was too much trouble for them. Where other staff might be eager to usher you out, shut up shop and head home, at the Settle Down, they were happy to serve me, making me feel right at home.

What makes the Settle Down is the atmosphere. Multiple spaces, including a lovely outdoor seating area, means that there’s plenty of space, but each area has a fairly intimate feel to it. The coffee, from local roasters Ouseburn Coffee Co, is pretty good, while there’s a wide range of food and cake, all locally made, with a lot of it coming from the nearby Sugar Down bakery.

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9Bar Coffee

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9Bar Coffee, complete with perky coffee bean...Newcastle’s 9Bar serves excellent coffee and world-class cheese toasties. In that respect, it reminds me of Montréal’s Le Lapin Pressé although that’s where the similarity both starts and ends. While Le Lapin Pressé, contrary to its name, is almost as laid back as Flat Caps Coffee, 9Bar is at the opposite end of the scale.

The walls are plastered with the four characters “9Bar” repeated over and over again, interspersed with slogans such as “The pressure is good for you | 9Bar coffee” (if you’ve not worked it out yet, espresso is made by forcing hot water through the ground beans at nine bars of pressure). This, coupled with the really loud music (loud enough for several other people to comment on how loud it was…), make for a pumped up atmosphere which I found really enjoyable (much to my own surprise). However, if that’s not to your taste, there are seats outside, plus a large outdoor seating area on the broad pavement of the pedestrianised Grey Street, right next to the Theatre Royal.

As well as coffee and toasties, 9Bar has other food options, a good selection of cake, tea, soft drinks, beer and wine by the glass.

August 2015: I had heard rumours that 9Bar had closed, but on my latest trip to Newcastle, I popped by and it has indeed gone, with no evidence that it was ever there, which is a real shame.

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