coffee Archives - Time for a coffee

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026

Double Pistachio

I do enjoy walking around Portishead Marina, it’s a lovely place. There are quite a few places to get food and drink. Reality is that I don’t go to many of these, as lots of other people like the marina too, and a lot of places are very busy. I also seem to be there in the afternoon, so too late for lunch and too early for dinner.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in August, so I was expecting places to be very busy, however when I got to Cafe Mokoko I was pleasantly surprised that it was busy, but not too busy, no queues.

I ordered a pistachio oat latte and a pistachio ganache pastry. So, I had one drink and one pastry and even I was a little surprised that the total cost was £9.90. So nearly ten pounds. I know it sounds like an old man complaint, but it did feel a little steep to pay nearly ten pounds for essentially a coffee and a snack!

I am guessing that I have been spoilt with the Three+ app where I was getting £1 coffees from Caffé Nero for the last couple of years. When it was sunny I would often have a pistachio latte, so having to pay full prices was unusual.

I went with the oat version of the latte as I don’t normally have milk in my coffee, and I rarely have milk with cereal either. It was almost an impulse decision to go with the oat milk version, I think it was partly as it was on the sign next to the till.

I did enjoy the latte. I could tell it was made from oat milk, but it worked. There was a good taste of pistachio, and it wasn’t too sweet either. Nice and cold as well. Certainly, would have this again, on another visit to Cafe Mokoko.

The pastry was a croissant style pastry filled with pistachio ganache.

I did think this might be too sweet and sickly, but actually it worked well. The pistachio ganache was not too sweet and was absolutely lovely The combination of flaky croissant style bread with the soft flavourful ganache was perfect.

This was a lovely drink and pasty. Often Cafe Mokoko can be really packed and busy, but today it was just about right, there was a lovely atmosphere. They have outside seating, but I chose to sit inside (it was cooler) and had lovely views of the marina. I will be going back there again.

August 3, 2026August 2, 2026

Garden Centre Flat White

I’ve not had coffee at the Cadbury Garden Centre for a while now. I was there killing some time while my car was getting a hand wash.

I went to the café, I had originally planned to have breakfast there, but I wasn’t hungry, so I just had a flat white instead. You order at the till, but then you take a seat and they will bring your coffee to you.

This was a lovely coffee, beautifully made and delicious.

August 2, 2026

Time for a Flat White and Fruit Toast

I was getting some work done on my car and some time to kill. Nearby I had the choice of McDonalds or Starbucks, neither of which would be my first choice for a coffee (or a second breakfast).

In the end I went to Starbucks and ordered a flat white and some fruit toast.

I am not a fan of Starbucks coffee, but I have to say I really enjoyed the flat white. The taste and texture were excellent. I was surprised, but this was a nice surprise.

The fruit toast was good as well. Though I would argue that this is a toasted fruit bun rather than toast, but from the top it looks like toast.

Overall I was pleased with the coffee and the toast.

July 29, 2026

Iced Pistachio Latte

It was a hot summer’s day, and I had a special offer for Caffé Nero. I went with an iced pistachio latte.

This is pistachio syrup, milk, ice, and coffee.

A nice refreshing drink on a hot sunny day.

May 16, 2026

Gatehouse Coffee at Walmgate Bar

On my recent short holiday to Yorkshire, my plans weren’t set in stone, I had planned to visit Fountains Abbey and the National Railway Museum, but anything else would be a bonus. On the day I left York I had planned to visit a couple of National Trust properties on the way back. However I woke up earlier than I expected. So, after getting washed and dressed and a quick breakfast I headed back into York with the idea of walking the walls.

I walked over to Walmgate Bar and then headed anticlockwise around the city. I noted that there was a cafe, Gatehouse Coffee, within Walmgate Bar, not sure how long that had been there, I don’t recall one been there when I was living in York in the 1980s. It was early, so was closed.

I then walked the city walls, which took just over an hour. Upon my arrival back at Walmgate Bar the Gatehouse Coffee was open, I thought about it, decided I would stop for a coffee.

It was quite busy, I placed my order for an espresso and waited. It took a while for my coffee, as there were quite a few orders been dealt with prior to mine.

I took a seat and enjoyed my coffee, there is outdoor seating in the gate and upstairs as well. As I drank my coffee, I could see that the “delay” was just because I happened to arrive at a busy time, other customers got their drinks in good time.

The coffee was excellent and I would have probably stayed for another if my car parking wasn’t about to run out.

If you are walking the walls of York then (depending on where you start) this is an ideal place for an end of walk drink, or a mid-walk stop.

Service was warm and friendly. I hope to make a return visit soon.

April 28, 2026

Grassington Espresso

I was up in Yorkshire and visited the village of Grassington in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. This is the location for the externals of the Channel 5 series, All Creatures Great and Small. When I arrived they were breaking down the “sets” as they had finished filming.

After walking around the village I stopped Plaza Uno Grassington for a coffee. I placed my order at the bar and took a seat at a table outside. The sun was shining and it was nice to sit and watch the world go by.

The coffee arrived and was excellent. Part of me did wonder if I should have really gone for a pot of tea instead, as I was in the heart of North Yorkshire, however I like coffee, so I had coffee.

February 15, 2026

A Flat White at Darts

I’d made my way over to Darts Farm Shop in Topsham to use their bank of Tesla chargers. Once I’d figured out the best angle to get the Funky Cat plugged in, I headed inside to explore.

The shop itself is lovely, filled with so much local produce that I was very tempted to browse. Instead, I made a beeline for the cafe to grab a coffee and kill some time while the car charged up. A nice touch here is that, unlike many other farm shop cafes, they actually offer table service. I had been here before so was use to the process and service.

I ordered a flat white, and it wasn’t long before it arrived.

It was a well made coffee and I really enjoyed it.

February 8, 2026

Venetian Espresso

One of the unwritten rules when visiting Venice is that if you drink coffee, and order coffee in the busy tourist areas is you will (probably) get ripped off. Well, you will pay a lot for the coffee compared to other places in Venice.

Though if you are in Venice as a tourist there is something I guess about sitting at a table in the bustle of Piazza San Marco drinking a coffee.

Personally I wasn’t too fussed about that when I was in Venice for the day. What I wanted was a coffee. Having just walked around Campo San Barnaba looking at the Chiesa di San Barnaba where they filmed Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, I wanted a coffee.

Close by and near Campo Santa Margherita was a small cafe, Panini e Vini da Babbo. I ordered an espresso which was €2.50.

This was an excellent coffee and just what I needed. What was interesting was when I went back later that day I was only charged €1.50 for the same espresso.

February 4, 2026

Espresso at the Airport

I had a really nice espresso at Alembic at Bristol Airport. I had an espresso which was really good.

Alembic is now my go to place for coffee when I am waiting for a flight at Bristol Airport. It’s table service, the coffee is served in proper cups and the price of the coffee is about the same as a takeaway coffee in a cardboard cup from other places in the airport.

January 3, 2026

Mokoko Mortadella Sandwich

It was a nice sunny day, so I headed to Portishead to have a walk around the marina and I also stopped for coffee.

I went for a coffee and a sandwich at the Mokoko Bakery. I went for a flat white and an interesting mortadella, pistachio, and mozzarella focaccia sandwich.

Though I have had cakes and pastries from the Mokoko Bakery, however this was my first sandwich from the bakery.

It was an interesting sandwich, with thin slices of mortadella, fresh mozzarella, and some chopped pistachio. The bread was quite oily, so much so, I needed more napkins to wipe my hands with. The sandwich was nice and fresh and you could tell it had been made that morning.

I enjoyed the sandwich and the coffee was great as well.