Maya

Posted on September 23, 2021 by Brian Williams

I’ve been meaning to check out Weybridge’s speciality coffee scene for a while, so when I found myself in the vicinity with time on my hands on Saturday, I did just that. I did have a list of potentials, but ended up visiting Maya, which was a chance discovery. A self-styled artisan micro-bakery and coffee house, I spotted Maya as I wandered down the appropriately-named Baker Street.

Opened in March 2019 by Oniz and Serdar, everything is prepared on site in the kitchen/bakery at the back, including the sourdough loaves that form the basis of the breakfast (available until 11:30) and sandwich (lunch) menus. There are also plenty of cakes, while the coffee comes from Square Mile, Maya offering a standard espresso-based menu using the Red Brick blend, with milk-based drinks served in HuskeeCups.

You can sit outside in the sun at the solitary table, or inside, where there’s a sunny window-bar on the left, plus tables down the right-hand side, opposite the counter. The kitchen and bakery, meanwhile, are tucked away at the back.

Continue reading →

Lantern Coffee

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Brian Williams

On my way through London a couple of weeks ago, I caught up with Bermondsey’s resident coffee blogger, Bex, when we had lunch at WatchHouse’s new Roastery & Café, after which I sought out one of Bex’s more recent finds, Lantern Coffee. Located a five-minute stroll away on the other side of the train tracks, Lantern Coffee is a recent addition to Bermondsey’s growing speciality coffee scene, having opened in April 2021. It’s the in-house coffee shop of Little London, a combination, in equal measure, of offices, artists’ studios and flats, arranged around a triangular courtyard. As well as serving the residents, Lantern Coffee is open to the public, with seating in the spacious interior or outside in the sheltered courtyard.

Lantern Coffee offers a concise espresso-based menu from Workshop, with Square Mile on batch-brew, plus plans for a pour-over option in the near future. There’s also tea, soft drinks and hot chocolate from old friends, Kokoa Collection. If you’re hungry, Lantern Coffee offers a small, savoury lunchtime menu with filled croissants, sausage rolls and three bespoke sandwiches, although there are plans to expand the range. There’s also a selection of pastries from The Bread Station, along with various snacks.

Continue reading →

Carbon Kopi

Posted on October 22, 2020 by Brian Williams

I’ve known about Carbon Kopi ever since it opened almost exactly a year ago, on October 8^th, 2019. The owners invited me to visit, but my travel schedule being what it was, I couldn’t take them up on the offer. Then, on Tuesday, I unexpectedly found myself in Earl’s Court, a 15-minute walk from Carbon Kopi, so I knew what I had to do.

Carbon Kopi is on Margravine Road, in a quiet, residential part of Hammersmith, standing on a shady corner at the junction with Gastein Road. There’s a small outdoor seating area at the front, a light-filled main area, with a cosy nook off to the side, and a larger, partially-covered outdoor seating area at the back.

Square Mile is on espresso, although rather than the ubiquitous Red Brick, there’s a seasonal single-origin which changes every two to three months. A monthly guest roaster provides two batch brew options, while if you’re hungry, there’s soup of the day, a small selection of toasted sandwiches and a range of very tempting cakes, all on display on the counter. Just be aware that because of COVID-19 restrictions, Carbon Kopi only uses disposable cups, so don’t forget to bring your own.

Continue reading →

Kaffeine Eastcastle (COVID-19 Update)

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Brian Williams

If you ever need evidence that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for operating a coffee shop during the COVID-19 pandemic, I present Kaffeine, the London-based chain of precisely two coffee shops. I’ve already looked at how the original Kaffeine, on Great Titchfield Street, has adapted to COVID-19 and today it’s the turn of Kaffeine Eastcastle, which reopened at the start of September. Although less than five minutes’ walk apart, how the two shops are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic is quite different.

Of course, there are similarities, with both adhering to the same underlying principles, but in each case, the response has been moulded to/by the needs of the individual shop. Perhaps the biggest difference is that while Great Titchfield Street offers table service, Eastcastle, with its lower footfall, has a more traditional counter service model.

In terms of what’s on offer, little has changed. The espresso-based menu still has Square Mile’s ubiquitous Red Brick at its heart, along with a single-origin option, while there’s also a single-origin filter, which changes monthly. The concise brunch menu is served until 2 pm (3 pm at weekends), supported by an all-day selection of salads, tarts and toasted sandwiches, plus cake, of course.

Continue reading →

Kaffeine (COVID-19 Update)

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Brian Williams

One of the legends of London’s speciality coffee scene, this is the original Kaffeine on Great Titchfield Street, in the heart of Fitzrovia. It reopened in June, initially just serving takeaway, and has been slowly expanding its offering ever since. First, the internal seating reopened, then, in mid-August, following traffic restrictions put in place by the council, the outside seating was expanded.

Wherever you sit, you’ll get the trademark Kaffeine hospitality and some exemplary service. You’re greeted at the door by a staff member who takes your order. If it’s to go, you’ll need to wait there until your coffee is brought to you. Alternatively, if you’re staying, once you’ve ordered, you’ll be shown to a table (or allowed to select one if sitting outside), thus ensuring separation between sit-in and takeaway customers.

As usual, Square Mile’s Red Brick is on espresso, joined by a single-origin guest, which can be had instead of the Red Brick, or there’s a tasting flight where you can try them both. There’s a selection of cold/iced coffee options, plus tea from the Rare Tea Company. Finally, if you’re hungry, Kaffeine has the usual cake and pastry options, plus small breakfast and lunch menus.

Continue reading →

Canopy Coffee (COVID-19 Update)

Posted on May 30, 2020 by Brian Williams

On March 15^th, I was in Chicago, visiting Fairgrounds, Purple Llama and Intelligentsia in Wicker Park. The following day, I flew home. Little did I know that they would be the last coffee shops I’d visit with my Coffee Spot hat on for more than three months. On my return to the UK, I did my best to support my three local speciality coffee shops, but within a week, last of them, Surrey Hills Coffee, had joined the other two in temporarily closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

March turned into April and April turned into May and, while I wasn’t short of good coffee at home, I missed my local coffee shops, missed my flat whites (while I make good home pour-over and espresso, I’m still rubbish at milk) and missed my friends who worked there. Then, on Saturday, 16^th May, exactly two months after leaving Chicago, I was in Guildford, shopping, and what did I see? Canopy Coffee. And it was open! Naturally, I forgot everything else and made a beeline for it!

Continue reading →

Panna Chester

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Brian Williams

I first came across Panna in Liverpool at the end of 2015, where owners Ivana and Peter, a friendly, welcoming Slovak couple, had turned a potentially unpromising basement in Silkhouse Court into a lovely, warm, welcoming café. There was some excellent food, along with coffee from Has Bean and local roasters Neighbourhood Coffee.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Silkhouse Court was sold and Ivana and Peter decided to relocate to Chester, opening five weeks ago on 15^th August 2019, not long after my previous visit to Chester! In so doing, they’ve moved up in the world, quite literally in fact, swapping a basement for a ground floor space on Chester’s famous Rows on Watergate Street.

The good news is that they’ve brought the same warm, friendly atmosphere with them. For example, although it’s been four years since we last met, I was greeted like a long-lost friend! They’ve also brought the excellent food along in the shape of an all-day brunch menu with plenty of cakes and pastries. And then there’s the coffee, with two Has Bean blends on espresso and multiple guests on filter using a variety of brew methods, including Chemex, V60 and Aeropress.

Continue reading →

Second Shot, Marylebone

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Brian Williams

Second Shot made its name as a coffee shop and social enterprise, tackling homelessness one espresso at a time. Plenty of coffee shops offer help with pay it forward schemes, but Second Shot’s founder, Julius Ibrahim, went one step further, employing people affected by homelessness, giving them jobs in the short-term and careers in the longer-term.

Second Shot opened its first branch in Bethnal Green in 2016, but I didn’t manage to visit until two months ago. Then, just over a month later, Second Shot opened its second location, this time in Marylebone, between the station and Edgeware road. This time I didn’t want to leave it as long, so when the England vs Ireland Test Match at the nearby Lords’ Cricket Ground finished early, I saw my opportunity and went along.

Like the original in Bethnal Green, Second Shot stands on its own two feet as a speciality, multi-roaster coffee shop, up there with some of the best in London. It offers a different roaster on espresso and filter, along with a small brunch menu and a selection of cake. While the shop’s quite small, it’s larger than the original, plus there’s a specious basement/training room.

Continue reading →

Speciality Coffee at Lord’s, 2019

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Brian Williams

Over the seven years I’ve been writing the Coffee Spot, I’ve seen speciality coffee spread from a handful of city centres to all sorts of interesting places. One of the most exciting is seeing speciality coffee appearing at major sporting events, in particular, at Lord’s, the home of cricket, where I’ve been going each summer for over 20 years.

It all started in 2011 when Kaffeine were asked to make coffee in the Harris Gardens behind the pavilion. It’s been slow going since that promising start, but last year, I noticed a change. Suddenly there were numerous speciality coffee outlets around the ground, with the likes of Browns of Brockley and the Ground Coffee Society leading the way. There was even an in-house coffee shop, Portman’s Café, serving Union Hand-roasted!

This year I managed to get tickets for the first ever England vs Ireland Test Match, which took place two weeks ago (although sadly I’ve missed out on tickets for the Ashes Test next weekend, unless anyone has got any spares…). So I popped along to watch some cricket (England won, rather famously) and also brought my HuskeeCup, Therma Cup and Kaffeeform cup, to see what coffee I could find.

Continue reading →

Story Coffee

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Brian Williams

Occupying a bright, sunny corner just a few doors down from Birdhouse, Story Coffee has been part of the furniture in this part of London, which is just west of Clapham Junction station, for close to four years. Give how often I go up to London, this shows just how little I get out of the station rather than zipping through it on the train. The loss, frankly, is all mine.

There’s not much to Story Coffee, just a single, unfussy rectangular space, with plenty for room on the broad pavement for a cluster of tables. Meanwhile, inside is a mix of tables and bars. Since it started, Story Coffee has used London’s Square Mile, but that’s slowly changing, Story having recently started its own bespoke coffee, roasted by Modern Standard. For now it’s Square Mile’s Red Brick on espresso, with a different single-origin on batch-brew and another on pour-over. These change every day or two and represent your best chance of sampling Story’s own coffee, which occasionally makes an appearance.

For somewhere so small, there’s also an impressive brunch menu, prepared in the kitchen downstairs, and served until three o’clock each afternoon (four o’clock at weekends). Naturally, there’s a good selection of cake.

Continue reading →

Brian's Coffee Spot

Devoted to Coffee

Tag Archives: Square Mile

Maya

Lantern Coffee

Carbon Kopi

Kaffeine Eastcastle (COVID-19 Update)

Kaffeine (COVID-19 Update)

Canopy Coffee (COVID-19 Update)

Panna Chester

Second Shot, Marylebone

Speciality Coffee at Lord’s, 2019

Story Coffee