Caffe Reggio

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An espresso in a Caffe Reggio espresso cup.I’ve been visiting Caffe Reggio, a Greenwich Village institution, for years, almost as long as I’ve been coming to New York City. Like Boston’s Caffé Vittoria and Little Italy’s Caffé Roma, it’s the sort of old fashioned, American-Italian café that I can’t help but fall in love with (although I also have a soft spot for the Anglo-Italian variety). Established in 1927, Caffe Reggio been going strong ever since, trading partly on its heritage, although there’s a lot more behind its success than just nostalgia.

In terms of its coffee, it’s not going to win any third-wave aficionados over, but it serves a decent espresso, while there is an excellent range of cakes, which I’ve sampled before. Like many cafés of its ilk, there’s also a full food menu, which, due to illness, I didn’t get to try on this visit.

It’s a fairly small, busy space, with a sumptuously-appointed interior, which is half the attraction. You can also sit outside at a row of tables on the sidewalk. Full table service is an added bonus. It’s fair to say that while I enjoy the coffee, the main purpose of my (continued) visits is to soak up the atmosphere.

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Strangers Coffee House

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Some superb latte-art by Alex of Strangers Coffee House in a classic-black cup with the Strangers five-sided logo.If I randomly picked an English city where I’d expected to find a vibrant coffee scene with one of the country’s top coffee shops, it wouldn’t be Norwich. Perhaps this is just a result of my ignorance, but tucked away in East Anglia, down the narrow streets of Norwich’s historic city centre, something very special is going on, and Strangers Coffee House is at the heart of it.

With a south-facing aspect on the broad Pottergate, the late summer sunshine was showing Strangers off to the best possible effect. However, no matter how visually pleasing it is, the real draw is the coffee, with an exclusive house-blend roasted by nearby Butterworth & Son plus two guests, one from Butterworth & Son and the other from London’s Caravan. These are rotated on a regular basis: for example, when this is published, Union Hand-roasted will be supplying the two guests, using same bean, but with the green beans prepared using two different processes, which should make for an interesting comparison.

Add to that three pour-over options (also regularly-rotated), plus loose-leaf tea (Butterworth & Son again) and decent selections of sandwiches and cake and you’re in for a treat.

September 2015: I’m delighted that Strangers Coffee House won this year’s Lunch Business Awards Best Coffee Experience. Congratulations!

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The Coffee Spot is Two!

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An espresso, made by my Rancilio Silvia espresso machine, in a classic white cup and saucer from Acme & Co., New Zealand, distributed in the UK by Caravan Roastery.Today’s Saturday Supplement marks a very special occasion: the Coffee Spot is two years old! Tomorrow it’ll be exactly two years since I launched the Coffee Spot (14.15 on Friday, 28th September 2012 to be precise). This time last year, when The Coffee Spot was one, I’d made 123 posts, covering 107 Coffee Spots and had over 31,000 views. However, that’s nothing compared to my second year, which has seen 179 posts, covering 113 Coffee Spot, with a staggering 84,000 views, up almost three-fold on my first year!

This success is largely down to you, dear readers. Without you, there would be no point in the Coffee Spot, so to thank you, I’m organising a Coffee Spot birthday coffee-crawl. This will take place on Sunday, the Coffee Spot’s actual second birthday, and will take in three of my favourite London Coffee Spots.

Anyone who wants to is welcome to join me at any (or all) of the three Coffee Spots. You can just pop in to say hello or you can stay as long as you like (well, as long as the individual Coffee Spot will have you; I suspect you’ll have to leave when they close for the night!).

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La Caféothèque

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The La Caféothèque logo, a stylised picture of a woman, sitting on the floor, drawn so that her torso looks like a coffee roaster, holding an espresso cup above her head.In terms of Paris’ third-wave coffee scene, La Caféothèque has been around forever, first opening its doors nine years ago when even the London scene was in its infancy. Since then, it’s been steadily going about its business, that of educating the French coffee-drinking public that there’s more to coffee than “un café, s’il vous plait”.

Of all my Parisian Coffee Spots, it feels the most French, from its look and feel, all the way down to the ownership and staff, all of whom were French. La Caféothèque roasts all its own coffee, with owner and head roaster, Gloria, working the 3kg Toper in the front of the store, from dawn until dusk (and often beyond). You can have any of 20 different beans (all single origins, no blends here) via any of 10 different brew methods.

When it comes to seating, you’re also spoiled for choice. There are two counters (three, if you count the retail counter as you come in), with four separate salons, spread around a sprawling old building located across the Seine from the Ile St Louis. With a small selection of food and a mouth-watering range of cakes, tarts and pastries, there’s something for everyone.

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Hot Numbers, Gwydir Street

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The new Hot Numbers logo from the sign outside the original branch on Gwydir Street, Cambridge.I first visited Hot Numbers on Gwydir Street in the summer of 2014, when it was the one place that pretty much everyone recommended to me in Cambridge. These days, there’s much more competition, with the second Hot Numbers (the cafe/roastery on Trumpington Street), plus the likes of The Espresso Library, Urban Larder and Novi, but the original Hot Numbers still has plenty to offer.

Spread over two large rooms on the ground floor of the old Dake’s brewery, Hot Numbers is a café, single-origin roaster and music venue. The coffee is the main draw, Hot Numbers only serving single-origins, all roasted in-house at Trumpington Street. There’s a choice of two espresso beans (with milk and without), plus decaf and another single-origin on offer through Aeropress, Clever Dripper or Syphon. There’s also a decent range of loose-leaf tea.

If you’re not that obsessive about your coffee, it’s still a great place. To start with, the atmosphere is lovely and you can sit in either of the two rooms, which offer a variety of seating. The cakes, with offerings from local bakers such as Afternoon Tease and Fitzbillies, are amazing, and there are decent breakfast and lunch menus too.

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The Java Room

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The Java Room: cafe, music, espressoWhen I originally started the Coffee Spot, the intention was to write about places where I liked to have coffee. Although it’s evolved a lot since then, this original motivation is still very much at the heart of the Coffee Spot. On that basis, I present today’s Saturday Supplement, The Java Room. Located in a small plaza on Littleton Road in Chelmsford, you might be mistaken for thinking that this represents my first foray into Essex, but this happens to be Chelmsford, Massachusetts. Confusingly, the New England version of Chelmsford is in Middlesex County. Go figure, as my American friends would say.

The Java Room offers pretty standard coffee-shop fare. There are no flat whites and piccolos here, no single-origin beans or micro-lots, just large lattes, cappuccinos and espresso, along with bulk-brewed filter coffee and various iced and blended beverages. Where the Java Room really scores is in its atmosphere. It’s a lovely spot, the perfect, small town, neighbourhood coffee shop, friendly, relaxed and welcoming. I’m kicking myself for having been to Chelmsford many, many times and not discovering it before last year.

March 2015: Correction. I popped in one Monday in March (since I was literally passing by) and there are indeed flat whites to be had at The Java Room. Naturally, I had to have one and it was very fine.

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Bodhi Coffee

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The sign outside Bodhi Coffee. Bodhi's symbol, a leaf, topped by the words "Bodhi Coffee" with the address at the bottom.I can’t believe that it’s been six months since my trip to Boston, New York and Philadelphia. Such was the embarrassment of riches that I found during my visit, especially in Philadelphia, that here I am, still writing up places from the trip.

Today it’s the turn of Bodhi, the first stop on the Sunday Coffee Spot tour of Philadelphia I took with my local guide, Greg of Coffee Guru App, and journalist, Drew Lazor, who was writing about my visit You can read Drew’s piece on-line and also see what Greg’s made of this leg of my trip.

Other than being a lovely spot for coffee, especially on a sunny Sunday morning, Bodhi’s main claim to fame is that, as far as Greg knows, it’s the oldest building in Philadelphia that’s in use as a coffee shop. Situated on Headhouse Square in Philadelphia’s south side in the historic (and beautiful) Society Hill neighbourhood, the building dates back to the 1700s, although Bodhi’s only its most recent tenant.

Serving Elixr on espresso, and with beans from both Elixr and Stumptown available as either bulk-brew or filter, Bodhi certainly makes the grade when it comes to coffee.

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The Fleet Street Press

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The A-Board from The Fleet Street Press: a hand-written sign say "Great coffee" with an arrow pointing towards the coffee shop and another arrow, pointing the other way, labelled "Corporate coffee".My visit to The Fleet Street Press was an exercise in going from the sublime to the ridiculous, since I had just come from the soaring, glorious space that is The Wren, to the small, intimate series of spaces that make up The Fleet Street Press. Really, the two of them are like chalk and cheese, representing the two extremes of coffee shop spaces, and yet I love them both.

The Fleet Street Press fills a fairly awkward, long, thin space at the start of Fleet Street, opposite the Royal Courts of Justice. Spread over two floors, the highlight is a cosy basement, stuffed with sofas and armchairs, although upstairs, with its bright, window seats, bar opposite the counter and intimate nook at the back, is pretty decent too.

Talking of decent, The Fleet Street Press serves a bespoke seasonal house-blend (The Press Blend) on the espresso machine, roasted by Caravan, plus regular guests and a daily-changing single-origin on filter. Add to that a wide range of loose-leaf tea from London Leaf and award-winning hot chocolate from Kokoa Collection and you’re onto a winner. And I’ve not even mentioned the wide range of cakes and the friendly staff…

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I Am Coffee Update

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The I Am Coffee logo on St Mark's Place, New York CityOf 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

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A magnificent decaf cortado from La Colombe, 270 Lafayette Street, NYCI 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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