Boston Tea Party, Birmingham

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The Boston Tea Party on the corner of Birmingham's Corporation Street.Here I am in Boston, Massachusetts, and so I thought to myself, what’s more appropriate than posting about The Boston Tea Party? Well, I’ll be the first to admit, it’s probably not very appropriate at all, but it suits my sense of humour, so there you go.

Today’s Boston Tea Party is, to date, the most northerly Tea Party. Yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s the Birmingham branch, which has been going just over a year. As a chain, the Boston Tea Party has the commendable habit of taking iconic buildings and turning them into excellent cafés. In Birmingham, it’s done it again and, what’s more, I think it’s surpassed itself this time with its most handsome branch so far. It’s also got the largest single-floor area of all the branches I’ve visited.

Being a Boston Tea Party, there’s the usual Tea Party offering, including a full range of food (with the all-important all-day breakfast menu), extensive cake selection and coffee from Bristol roasters, Extract, with espresso-based drinks and single-origin on the bulk filter. It also pulls off the usual Tea Party trick of simultaneously being a Boston Tea Party and yet being very much its own place.

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State of the Nation(s) 2014

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An espresso, in a classic white cup on a white saucer on a tableThis is my second State of the Nation(s) post, coinciding with my annual trip to North America. Readers with long memories may recall that I made a similar trip this time last year, taking in Boston, New York City and Montréal. This year’s itinerary is slightly different, starting in Boston and ending in New York, with a stop in Philadelphia to catch up with Greg Cohen of Coffee Guru App fame (still no Android version, Greg?). And, of course, I’ll be visiting lots of coffee shops along the way.

The purpose of this post is to let you know what will be happening to the Coffee Spot while I’m gone. In an ideal world, I’d be posting regularly about all the fantastic coffee spots I’ll be visiting, but the reality is that I won’t have time. This is, after all, supposed to be a holiday and while I do dearly love the Coffee Spot, I can’t spend all my time blogging or I won’t actually see anything!

However, last year I hardly posted anything while I was gone and I think that the Coffee Spot suffered for it. So, this year I do intend on posting on a regular basis…

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Artigiano Espresso, New Oxford Street

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Artigiano Espresso on New Oxford Street, LondonIronically I seem to be visiting the various Artigiano Espresso branches in reverse order of opening. First I went to the Exeter branch (opened just before Christmas). Then, three weeks later, I was in London’s New Oxford Street, where Artigiano opened about a month before it did in Exeter. All that’s left for me now is to visit the original branch at St Paul’s. Which has been open a year or more…

Regular readers will know that I really liked the Exeter branch and I have to say that I like the New Oxford Road branch even better! It’s very similar to Exeter, only more so, with the added bonus of a really lovely mezzanine level. Overall it’s about half the size, which, coupled with the layout, gives it a more intimate feel.

It has the same Artigiano offerings of food, cake, coffee (from Cornwall’s Origin), beer/wine/cocktails, friendly staff and late evening opening which make the chain as a whole such a winner. Add to that the wonderful surroundings and the only thing that puzzles me is why it’s not packed out every day. So, do yourself a favour and get down to New Oxford Street right now!

December 2014: Sadly, too few of us made it down to New Oxford Street (myself included) and Artigiano Espresso has now closed. However, there’s a new Artigiano in Reading if you’re interested.

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Continental Stores

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One of the Continental Stores black light fittings hanging above the name written in white on a darkened window.It feels harsh calling Store Street Espresso a chain, but technically, with the opening of the second branch of the Store Street Espresso empire, it is. The new outlet, Continental Stores, on Tavistock Place, is less than 15 minutes’ walk northeast of Store Street, home of the original Store Street Espresso, but it’s a totally different part of London.

Although it’s half the size of the original, resulting in a more intimate atmosphere, Continental Stores sticks to the same formula that has made Store Street such a success. The house-blend on the espresso machine is Square Mile’s Red Brick seasonal blend, while there’s also a guest espresso (from various roasters; Nude Espresso’s Guatemalan was on while I was there) and a decaf option. Finally, there’s a single-original pour-over filter coffee via the V60 (a washed Bolivian from Square Mile during my visit), with bulk-brew coming soon. Add to that Store Street staples of cake, sandwiches, soup, toast and very friendly staff and you’re onto a winner.

Grinder-geeks, by the way, will be fascinated by the Mahlkonig EK43 grinder which deals with the guest coffees and the decaf. It certainly cuts an interesting figure on the counter!

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Birthday Coffee Tasting

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The set-up at my Birthday Coffee Tasting at Bar des ArtsI celebrated my birthday last weekend by inviting a group of friends down to the closest thing I have to a local, Guildford’s Bar des Arts, for a coffee tasting. I’d originally been given the idea by Lee Hall of Matthew Algie when he did a similar demo at the Caffé Culture Show. There he put two different coffees through a pour-over filter and a Chemex and I was astounded by how different they tasted.

So, when thinking about how I wanted to celebrate my birthday, I could think of nothing better than surrounding myself with some friends and replicating this experiment. I approached Bradley of Horsham Coffee Roaster, who supplies Bar des Arts, and he provided three very different coffees for us to try. Meanwhile, I brought along my trusty Aeropress (and one of the guests, Richard, brought his down) to go with Bar des Arts pour-over filters and cafetiere.

So, the scene was set for an afternoon of good company, coffee tasting and cake (although, very disappointingly, I seem to have taken exactly no pictures of the cake!).

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Association Coffee

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Association Coffee as written on the window in the store on Creechchurch LaneAssociation Coffee, on Creechurch Lane in the heart of the City of London, joins a very select list of L-shaped coffee shops (from memory, Le Lapin Pressé, The Borough Barista and Darkhorse Espresso), although in fairness to the others, Association actually looks like two shops with the dividing wall knocked through. In theory, that should leave us with a square, but the back half of the second shop has been walled off by a large mirror behind the counter, thus creating the L-shape.

Serving up a variety of Square Mile coffee on espresso and Aeropress, Association is one of those places that I’ve visited a couple of times without ever having the time/opportunity to write it up for the Coffee Spot. So, when I had a couple of hours to kill on the day of the tube strike, I thought it was high time that I rectified this oversight.

Association is also a place I associate with fellow coffee blogger, Kate Beard (aka A Southern Belle in London), since the previous two times I was there, it was to meet up with her. So it was no great surprise when, completely unannounced, she walked in halfway through my visit!

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Café at 36

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Cafe at 36 on Cowick RoadCafé at 36 was the last stop on my mini coffee-tour of Exeter. It’s somewhere I’ve been aware of for a long while and have long wanted to visit. The other side of the River Ex from the city centre, and a stone’s throw away from Exeter St Thomas station (first stop south of Exeter St David’s on the line to Plymouth), it’s an easy, if not particularly pretty, 15 minute walk from the centre.

However, it’s definitely worth the walk (or the short train ride). Best described as a neighbourhood greasy spoon with excellent coffee, Café at 36 is worth a visit for the food, the cake or for the coffee (or any combination of the three). The menu is typical café fare: cooked breakfasts, panini, sandwiches, jacket potatoes, plus flans and various platters. One of the things that helps Café at 36 stand out from the crowd is a commitment to local sourcing wherever possible. The other, is, of course, the speciality coffee, which comes from Cornish roasters, Origin.

It’s a friendly, down-to-earth sort of place. You’re not going to find the latest single-origin pour-over filters on the menu, but that doesn’t stop it being an excellent spot.

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Natural Bread Company, Oxford

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The counter at the Natural Bread Company, Oxford, groaning under the weight of cake!To celebrate the latest issue of Caffeine Magazine, with its feature on the Oxford Coffee scene, I present the Companion Café & Bread Bar, the Natural Bread Company’s retail outlet on Oxford’s Little Clarendon Street. The Natural Bread Company has made its name, naturally enough, through its sourdough bread, which it sells at Oxford Farmers’ Markets and elsewhere. However, luckily for me, it doesn’t stop there, since it also takes its coffee and cake just as seriously.

The coffee, from Has Bean, came highly recommended by various Oxford people. Comments ranged from “the coffee’s very good” to “where I get my coffee on my days off” (this from a barista at Quarter Horse Coffee). With recommendations like that, it’s hard to go wrong! There are a couple of single-origin beans on the espresso machine as well as a bulk-brew filter option. There’s also tea from both Tea Pigs and Cardiff’s Waterloo Tea.

However, it was the cake that really sold it to me (not that it needed much selling if I’m honest). All home-made, the counter was groaning under the weight of the cake. And such a range: pastries, cinnamon buns, brownies, flapjacks, this list goes on… And there’s toast!

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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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Birdhouse

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A fine Climpson & Sons espresso in a glass from Birdhouse.Birdhouse is one of those semi-legendary coffee houses of south London, a part of the capital which is still a bit of a closed book to me, despite my whizzing through it often enough on the train. However, when I knew I was going to be in the area with a few hours to kill, I took the trouble to find out where Birdhouse actually was.

I was surprised to learn how close to Clapham Junction it is; a mere five-minute walk from the southern entrance of the station, heading away from Clapham High Street and up Saint John’s Hill. Then again, I very rarely leave the station, not even changing trains there very often (the last time was to go to Coffee Affair), so perhaps my ignorance shouldn’t be that surprising!

What I’ve been missing is a delightful little place, all decked out in yellow and grey with coffee from Climpson and Sons and tea from Cardiff maestros, Waterloo Tea. There are also bocaditos (no, I didn’t know what one was either; as I discovered, it is Cuban for sandwich) and cake, so ideal for popping out to if you have a long wait for your train.

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