Cafe Coho, Queens Road

The back room at Cafe Coho with the morning sun streaming in through the window.Café Coho is a chain in the strictest sense of the word (there are two of them). Queens Road is the second of the two, very handily placed just a stone’s throw from Brighton Station and around the corner/down the street from the likes of Coffee@33 and Taylor Street Baristas. Despite this stiff competition, it more than holds its own, being a lovely spot, the décor full of brick and wood. As a bonus, on the day I was there, it was flooded with sunshine.

The coffee is from Union Hand-roasted, with a decaf option, but unlike many places in Brighton, there’s no guest roasters or pour-over. There is, however, a comprehensive breakfast/brunch/lunch menu, with a lavish array of cake and pastries. I ‘d only come in for an early-morning coffee before starting a day of café-hopping, but I made the mistake of sitting in the sun-filled room at the back, which is by the stairs down to the kitchen… After a constant stream of breakfasts coming up the stairs (plus harassment on twitter), I finally cracked and ordered poached eggs on toast (I’d have had the Eggs Florentine, but I’d already had one breakfast that day before setting off!).

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Ground Coffee, Kemp Town

The word "ground" with the "g" and "d" replaced by portafilters.On my first visit to Brighton, I made it all the way to Hove to visit its branch of Ground, the second branch of this local chain (if chain is the correct term for somewhere with just two branches). However, I failed to get east of the centre and so it was only on my return that I finally managed to track down the original Ground in the delightful Kemp Town. After all that, I’m pleased to say it was well worth the wait!

Compared to the Hove branch, the original Ground is quite a bit smaller, and, as a result, much more intimate. It also benefits from being on a south-facing corner, so, unlike its Hove counterpart, it’s flooded with light on a sunny day.

There’s a relatively straight-forward espresso-based menu, complimented by bulk-brew filter and tea from Canton Tea Co. A decent range of cake is joined by toast and a selection of three sandwiches for the more savoury-minded. Currently the coffee is from Union, with North Star guesting on filter, but all that is about to change, with Ground due to move over to North Star for all its coffee as a prelude to roasting its own.

January 2016: Ground has now started roasting its own coffee under the name Pharmacie.

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Flying Coffee Bean, Guildford

The FCB Logo: the letters "FCB" in white in the centre of an orange circle, with "Artisan Espresso Bars" in white around the circumference.The Flying Coffee Bean (these days FCB Coffee) is a chain of coffee kiosks on stations in London and the South East. The Guildford one’s been a fixture for several years, but, until recently, I never gave it a second thought. I distinctly remember when, a couple of years before I started the Coffee Spot, I took my coffee (a two-shot latte) back to get an extra shot because all I could taste was milk. The barista didn’t look best pleased, explaining that this was how the customers liked it, at which point I decided to take my custom elsewhere.

Fast forward to six months ago and, for various reasons, I revisited the Flying Coffee Bean. Expecting disappointment, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only could I taste the coffee, it was really nice-tasting coffee too! 12-second extractions were a thing of the past and the milk was steamed so it held decent latte-art.

Consider me converted!

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Tamp Culture

An espresso being poured via a single-spout basket at Tamp Culture in ReadingFor a long time, speciality coffee in Reading has meant the (excellent) Workhouse Coffee with its two branches on Oxford Road and King Street. However, that is slowly changing with the arrival of several new players, including the intriguing Tamp Culture, which has been at the entrance to the Oracle centre since April of this year.

Technically a coffee cart, Tamp operates perhaps the most impressive set-up I’ve seen, with a counter that puts many a shop to shame and a range of coffee-kit and merchandising that surpasses many a speciality outlet. What’s even more impressive is that whole edifice is dismantled every evening and packed away in the Piaggio Ape that forms the backbone of the operation. There’s even outdoor seating and a nice big awning to keep the rain/sun off the counter.

Like Workhouse, Tamp roasts all its own coffee, with a range of around 20 single-origin beans. Two of these are always on offer, the choice rotating on a weekly basis, with plenty more beans available to buy. As well as the usual espresso-based options, Tamp also offers Aeropress and pour-over filter options (these aren’t on the menu, so you have to ask).

July 2020: Following enforced closure due to COVID-19, Tamp Culture has reopened, initially for takeaway and then, from the start of July, for sit-in service. You can see what I made of it when I visited at the end of the month.

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Bogotá Coffee

The logo of Bogotá Coffee, painted on the wall of the coffee shop, the words "Bogotá Coffee Company" in a circle surrounding a steaming coffee cup.Continuing the Coffee Spot’s recent theme of finding great coffee in unusual places (Cambridge, Norwich and St Albans for example), I was recently persuaded to pay a visit to Milton Keynes. This, by the way, is quite an achievement, given that I have something of a hate-hate relationship with Milton Keynes, going back to my basketball days, when my team, the late, lamented Guildford Heat, used to slug it out with local rivals, the Milton Keynes Lions (who themselves are now the London Lions).

However, I was in the area and was determined to call in. Thus, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, I found myself approaching the rather artificial and somewhat unpromising environment of “The Hub”. Despite this, I persevered and in due course I found myself in the oasis of loveliness that is Bogotá Coffee. If there is a coffee shop more out of keeping with its immediate surroundings, I have yet to visit it. Amidst the soaring glass, steel and concrete of central Milton Keynes, Bogotá Coffee is a homely spot of wood, brick and natural warmth, topped off by some cracking coffee from Cirencester’s Rave Coffee Roasters.

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Coffee Charisma Update

Trish, the Proud Owner of Coffee Charisma, at her Stall on Guildford's North Street MarketAs regular readers with long memories will know, my long-time coffee bean supplier is Coffee Charisma on Guildford’s North Street Market. I wrote about Trish and her excellent market stall not long after the Coffee Spot first started. Back then Trish supplied most of my coffee beans, with the exception of my espresso beans, which I got from London’s Algerian Coffee Stores. How things have changed!

Now my coffee comes from all over. Sometimes, it’s gifts from friendly roasters or suppliers (LeedsNorth Star Micro Roasters and the Press Coffeehouse subscription service being the latest examples: thanks guys). Other times I’ve been so impressed with a coffee that I’ve impulse bought a bag (for example, the Tiger Espresso Blend from Steampunk that I had at Monday’s Coffee Spot, Machina Espresso). There’s also the massive haul of coffee I obtained at the London Coffee Festival.

All of this is a roundabout way of saying that I don’t buy many beans from Trish these days. However, I do make a point of popping in to say hello as I wander by. Last Saturday I noticed that there was something different about the stall, so I strolled over and made a shocking discovery!

November 2019: I’ve learnt that Trish has returned to New Zealand and, as a consequence, Coffee Charisma is no more.

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Brew Oxford

The writing on the window says all I need to know about Brew's attitude: "Coffee, Coffee, Coffee & Tea. Dogs, Children & Coffee Snobs Welcome."The biggest issue I had with Brew was finding it. About as far north from the centre of Oxford as Quarter Horse is east of it on the Cowley Road, Brew sits on North Parade Avenue between Banbury and Woodstock Road. Not that Google was having any of it, refusing even to acknowledge that Brew existed (the good news is that Brew’s now made it onto Googlemaps!). In the end, I was indebted to Dan of Zappi’s Bike Café for showing me the way.

Brew, however, is well worth finding. Owned by Drew and Will, the people behind The Keen Bean Coffee Club, Brew is a delightful little space, one of the most beautiful settings for a Coffee Spot that I’ve come across. As the name suggests, Brew’s focus is on filter coffee, rather than espresso, although that doesn’t stop it from having an iconic Elektra cylinder espresso machine gracing its counter-top.

Brew acts as a showcase for local Ue Coffee Roasters, carrying a full range of its beans for sale, three of which are available through the V60 filters on the counter. These rotate on a regular basis, a new bean coming on every six weeks or so.

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The Keen Bean Coffee Club

The light blue and cream Crema Caffe Elektra espresso machine, complete with dog, at The Keen Bean Coffee Club, Oxford.The Keen Bean Coffee Club (aside from possibly having the best-ever name for a Coffee Shop) is just short stroll along Oxford’s Cowley Road from Monday’s Coffee Spot, Quarter Horse Coffee. As well as this close physical proximity, the two coffee shops almost share a birthday, Keen Bean having opened just two weeks before its near neighbour in 2012.

Typical, isn’t it? You wait ages for a decent coffee shop, then two come along at once! A lot like buses…

Keen Bean is one of that new breed, a coffee shop sharing premises with another business, a model pioneered by bookshops. In this respect, it’s like Zappi’s Bike Café, another star of the Oxford coffee scene, although Keen Bean’s inside a record store rather than a bike shop. Whereas Zappi’s was always planned as an integral part of the bike shop, Keen Bean approached the record shop, Truck Store, which was already well-established on the Cowley Road.

Serving coffee from local roasters, Ue Coffee, Keen Bean manages to pack a lot into a relatively small space, with a comprehensive espresso menu, individual pour-over coffee, tea and hot chocolate! Kean Bean is owned by the same people behind the recently-opened Brew.

September 2015: It’s all change on the Cowley Road. I’m aware that Brew no longer owns Kean Bean, which, I believe, is now operated by the Truck Record store itself. I’m hoping to get back for an update at some point…

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Quarter Horse Coffee, Oxford

The Quarter Horse Coffee Logo, a style white chess piece (a knight) against a black backgroundWhen visiting Oxford, don’t be seduced by the colleges’ gleaming spires in the centre. Oxford is a town that rewards exploring, particularly when it comes to coffee. Head east over the river and, after a short stroll, you’ll find yourself on the lively Cowley Road where there are two outstanding Coffee Spots, The Keen Bean Coffee Club and, just before it on the right, Quarter Horse Coffee.

Set up by co-owners, James and Nathan, Quarter Horse has been serving fine coffee to the Cowley Road for just over 18 months. Arriving at a time when Oxford was in danger of becoming a one-roaster town, Quarter Horse brought London’s Square Mile to Oxford (although it now roasts its own beans). Quarter Horse also started doing filter coffee (bulk brew, betraying Nathan’s American origins, and Aeropress) and continues its coffee education/evangelism with regular events such as monthly cupping classes.

In the same vein, Quarter Horse offers a Flight Test, a chance to taste the same bean as a straight espresso and in milk. I wish more places would offer this as an option since I often try an espresso and then wonder what it would taste like in milk (or vice-versa if I had it as a piccolo).

January 2017: With the move to Birmingham and to roasting its own coffee, the original Quarter House in Oxford has been taken over by Peloton Espresso. Expect an update as soon as I can get back to Oxford!

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Zappi’s Bike Café

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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