Rival Bros Coffee Bar

Posted on by
6

Two bare-chested men, dressed as old-fashioned pugilists, but each holding a large coffee cup in their hands.On my first visit to Philadelphia in 2014, I missed Rival Bros who, back then, were a roastery with a growing reputation and a coffee truck that wasn’t open at weekends. Naturally, I was there for the weekend. Two months later, having waited until I was safely out of town, Rival Bros opened its first (and so far only) shop on the corner of 24th and Lombard Streets.

It’s a brick-built building in a residential part of south Philadelphia, on the end of a row of two-/three-storey terrace houses. In many ways the setting, on a sunny March afternoon, couldn’t be lovelier. The exterior brickwork is painted grey and white, while the interior has white-washed walls with dark grey woodwork and ceiling. Windows, glass doors and plenty of lights make it a wonderful, bright spot.

The focus is firmly on the coffee, allowing Rival Bros to showcase its output. There’s a blend (Whistle & Cuss), single-origin (Ethiopian) and decaf on espresso, the Revolver blend (which I’ve previously had as espresso) on bulk-brew and a choice of four single-origins through the Chemex. If you’re hungry, there’s a small range of bread-based goodies, including toast and toasted sandwiches, plus cake, of course.

Continue reading →

Noble Espresso

Posted on by
11

A black pop-up gazebo shelters a wooden counter holding a grinder and espresso machineNoble Espresso has become a fixture in Battle Bridge Place outside London’s King’s Cross Station, occupying a pitch that was once graced by the likes of Weanie Beans and Bean & Gone. However, for just over a year, Noble Espresso has been in occupation, regardless of the weather, serving excellent espresso-based drinks, plus tasty pastries, to all-comers.

Even more impressive, given that the two baristas, Shaun and Jonny, operate from a simple wooden counter, with little shelter from the elements, is the dedication to quality. Noble Espresso regularly rotates the beans on offer, which can make dialling in the new beans on a cold winter’s morning a particular challenge!

As I watched Shaun and Jonny serve a steady stream of customers, my admiration grew. There were no quick extractions here, no skimping on the steaming of the milk, with each flat white, latte and cappuccino carefully crafted and exquisitely poured.

November 2016: Craft Coffee has taken over the pitch from Noble Espresso as Shaun has decided to concentrate on his milk business, Estate Dairies. I can confirm that the coffee and service are just as good though!

Continue reading →

Society Café, The Corridor

Posted on by
11

The mural on the wall of the basement in Society Cafe, The Corridor, in Bath, showing flowers growing in a coffee cup, with a small animal peaking its head out.On Bath’s High Street, close to the Cathedral/ Baths, opposite the Guildhall and with High Street chains Caffé Nero to one side, Starbucks to the other, it’s an unlikely, but welcome, location for an independent speciality coffee shop. This prime spot, at the eastern end of The Corridor, Bath’s Georgian shopping arcade, is home to the second of Bath’s two Society Cafés. A wonderful location, it’s probably the loveliest setting of all the Coffee Spots that I’ve visited in Bath.

I visited twice, first in 2014, and again five years later in 2019. Originally, Society used locals, Round Hill Roastery, as the house coffee, with a pair of single-origins, one on espresso, the other on filter, with a guest roaster also supplying a pair of single-origins for espresso/filter. However, in 2017, Society switched to Origin, again with a guest option (often Round Hill), with one filter made using theAeropress, the other on batch brew (replacing the original second option, the Clever Dripper).

If you don’t fancy coffee, there’s always a selection of loose-leaf tea and hot chocolate from old friends Kokoa Collection, as well as Willie’s Cacao. Add to that sandwiches and a great selection of cakes and you’re spoilt for choice!

Continue reading →

Filter Coffeehouse & Espresso Bar, Dupont Circle

Posted on by
7

A vintage, brass coffee pot from Filter Coffeehouse and Espresso Bar, Dupont CircleMy first stop in Washington DC was the original branch of the Filter Coffeehouse and Espresso Bar, currently a chain of two coffee shops (the second is in Foggy Bottom, while there was a third which has since closed). The original is tucked away in a basement on 20th Street, just north of Dupont Circle, in a predominantly residential part of DC. In a fit of completely bad timing, I arrived precisely one day before Filter celebrated its fifth birthday. Go me…

To look at, with its steps down to a basement in a terrace of brick-built buildings, it instantly reminded me of Boston’s Wired Puppy. Filter has a small courtyard at the bottom of the steps while the door gives access to a long, thin basement space which, rather disconcertingly, runs off at about 30 degrees to the door! All the coffee is from nearby Ceremony Coffee Roasters, while there is also tea and, if you’re hungry, a small selection of cake.

This being the FILTER Coffeehouse and Espresso Bar, there’s an emphasis on filter coffee, with five single-origin beans available through the V60. If that doesn’t appeal, there’s the usual espresso range available as well.

Continue reading →

Shot Tower Coffee

Posted on by
3

Shot Tower Coffee, on the corner of Christian & South 6th Streets.My friend Greg, of Coffee Guru App fame, and my number one source of all things coffee-related in Philadelphia, described Shot Tower Coffee as “one of the best” in Philly. No pressure then. Fortunately I loved it from the moment we drove past along Christian Street on our way to the 9th Street Italian Market. Greg had to do his shopping then head home, leaving me free to wander back to Shot Tower at my leisure, which I did.

Sitting on the corner of Christian and South 6th Streets, Shot Tower is perhaps twice as long as it is deep, and ever so slightly wedge-shaped. Windows run the length of both sides, which, coupled with a high ceiling, give it a bright and airy feel. Well-spaced seating adds to the sense of space.

The coffee is from Counter Culture, with a fairly standard espresso-based menu, the obligatory bulk-brew drip coffee and hand-brew pour-over, with a choice (while I was there) of a Rosales from Columbia, a Kinyara from Kenya or decaf. There’s also decaf available for the espresso and a wide selection of loose-leaf tea and iced drinks. Pastries and oatmeal provide food options if you’re hungry.

Continue reading →

Daily Press Coffee, Havemeyer Street

Posted on by
3

From the window of Daily Press Coffee: the words "Daily Press" written in blue in serif capitals.The Coffee Spot has finally made it to Brooklyn and where better to start than today’s Coffee Spot, Daily Press Coffee? Conveniently located on Havemeyer Street near the foot of Williamsburg Bridge, this is the second outpost of Daily Press Coffee, a chain of precisely two. The original, also in Brooklyn, on Franklin Avenue, opened five years ago, with the current location joining it three years later.

It’s a delightful little spot, offering a simple menu of coffee, cakes and pastries, plus an all-day breakfast menu in the shape of breakfast burritos made on demand. The coffee is from New York roasters, Irving Farm, with a concise espresso menu, bulk-brew filter and the house speciality, with a nod to the Latin neighbourhood, Café con Leche.

Although fairly narrow, it’s not quite arms-outstretched-touch-both-sides narrow (it is, perhaps, twice that wide) and since it’s fairly long, with a high, white-washed ceiling, this leads to a sense of space that belies its small size. The interior is beautifully laid out, with wooden floor, bare-brick or whitewashed walls, a sumptuous wooden counter and wooden furniture. The result is very pleasing on the eye, making for a lovely, relaxing place to sit and drink your coffee.

Continue reading →

Espressno C

Posted on by
7

The Espressno logo: a smiling, yellow cup of coffeeToday’s Saturday Supplement is a blatant piece of self-publicity if ever there was one. As some of you may know, my friend Paul, wearer of many hats, possessor of too many first names (and, consequentially, too few surnames) and all-round-good-egg, has a podcast called Espressno (and no, I don’t know why he called it that either).

What you may not realise is that last month, while I was in Sheffield on Coffee Spot business, I made a sneaky day-trip to Leeds where I met Paul, who, somewhat foolishly, sat me down, handed me a microphone and then pressed record. The result is Episode C of Espressno, half-an-hour of me talking and occasionally letting Paul get a word in edgeways (It’s only fair, it is his podcast after all).

I would encourage you to listen to it, not least because Paul needs another listener…

Continue reading →

Repack Espresso

Posted on by
3

The Repack Espresso logo, a stylised outline of the mountain-biking track it's named after above the words "repack espresso" in lower case.It’s all well and good, visiting the historic sites of the wonderful city of Bath and trying all its fantastic Coffee Spots, but if you never leave the centre, you’re missing out. Head west for about a mile along Upper Bristol Road, north of the Avon, and you’ll come to the delightful Repack Espresso, one of the more recent additions to Bath’s growing coffee scene.

Repack’s lovely, very much the epitome of a neighbourhood Coffee Spot, and a labour of love for owner, head-barista, chief-bottle-washer and all-round good guy, Jonathon. Jonathon, who hails from nearby Wells, originally worked at Bath Spa University, a couple of miles further out. However, he’s another who found inspiration at the counter at Colonna & Small’s and gave up a career in university administration to set up his own coffee shop.

There’s not a lot to Repack, just enough space for a few seats, all clustered around the counter and its shiny Kees van der Westen espresso machine, a worthy centrepiece of any quality coffee shop. The house espresso is from nearby Round Hill Roastery, with regularly-rotating guest espressos and filters from the likes of Cornwall’s Origin, plus Nude Espresso and Square Mile from London.

May 2017: Sadly I’ve learnt the news that Repack Espresso closed, although I’ve not been able to find out any more details than that. Thanks to Nick for the heads-up.

Continue reading →

Boston Tea Party, Honiton

Posted on by
2

The letters BTP (with the B in white, TP in blue) over the words Boston Tea Party (Boston in white, Tea Party in blue)Over the last year, I’ve been to several large branches of the Boston Tea Party (Whiteladies Road, Birmingham and Salisbury spring to mind), so it’s nice to visit a smaller one for a change. Not that the Honiton Tea Party is tiny; it’s not, for example, on the scale of the one in Bath, but at the same time, it’s not a sprawling, multi-floor affair.

Honiton’s Tea Party occupies a beautiful, old house on Honiton High Street (Monkton House, a Grade II listed building). As with every Tea Party, it’s instantly recognisable as a Boston Tea Party, while simultaneously its own place. There’s the usual Boston Tea Party offerings: good quality food, including an all-day breakfast menu, loads of cake, and coffee from Bristol’s Extract Coffee Roasters. This includes the house-blend espresso and single-origin bulk-brew filter.

There’s something about the smaller Tea Parties that promotes a sense of intimacy. It’s not that the staff at the larger branches aren’t friendly (far from it; the Boston Tea Party staff have always struck me as very friendly), it’s just that in the smaller ones, there seems to be more time to interact and chat and, in that respect, Honiton is no exception.

Continue reading →

L.A. Burdick, Back Bay

Posted on by
5

A cup of hot chocolate from L.A. Burdick's Back Bay branch in Boston.I first came across L.A. Burdick exactly three years ago after a tip-off from a friend in Cambridge (Massachusetts, not UK). I tried the branch there and loved it, but was a little put off by how busy it was. Even late on a weekday afternoon, I still had to wait 20 minutes for a table, such was its popularity!

On my trip to Boston a year ago, I learnt that there was a branch on Clarendon Street in Back Bay, around 10 minutes from my hotel. Although excited, I nevertheless approached it with some trepidation, expecting crowds. However, I needn’t have worried: it was an oasis of tranquillity in comparison. It might have helped that it was gone six o’clock on a freezing cold Tuesday evening, but I wasn’t complaining.

The main draw of L.A. Burdick is the hot chocolate and the Back Bay branch is no exception. However, there’s also coffee, tea and a range of cakes and pastries. And, of course, chocolate. L.A. Burdick is definitely at the luxury end of the chocolate market and both prices and décor reflect this, making L.A. Burdick one the more sumptuously-appointed cafés you’ll visit.

Continue reading →