Category: coffee

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Pretty Coffee

We were up in the Mall doing some shopping and decided to stop for some coffee. In the basement was the John Lewis espresso bar, which I have visited a fair few times before. More recently it has been revamped and is now a branch of Ori Caffé.

Ori Caffé is a partnership between John Lewis and Massarella, a family run business with Italian origins. Massarella dates all the way back to 1864, when the family came over from Italy with a view to move to America.

The cafe area has been re-decorated, and their is a Mediterranean inspired menu sandwiches, and more traditional British cakes, as well as Italian cannoli.

As we entered it was a little awkward, in that we had to wait to be seated, but it wasn’t table service, you went up to the counter to order your food and drinks. I ordered a tea, a flat white, a vegetarian sausage roll, and a cheese and ham rarebit.

We took a seat and waited for our food and drinks to arrive.

My flat white looked very pretty.

It was an excellent coffee, which I enjoyed. The tea was very nice too.

The rarebit, was not a rarebit. It was a cheese and ham sourdough toastie. 

It needed a lot more cheese, and to be a rarebit, needed a cheese sauce. The ham was good quality though. Overall I did enjoy the toastie.

The vegetarian sausage roll was rather good, or so I was told.

Overall it was a nice place for coffee and the food was tasty.

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Cardboard Cortado Coffee

I was out waiting to pick up my daughter, and I had some time to kill. I decided to get a coffee from Costa on Marchfields Way.

I was intending to have coffee and cake. They were very short on cakes, so I just had a cortado. I had a free coffee on the app, so it didn’t cost me anything.

My main issue was that, I was drinking in, but they still served me my coffee in a takeaway cardboard cup. I prefer my coffee in a real cup, and actually will make the time for a coffee, rather than do take out. However the choice was coffee in a takeaway cardboard cup, or no coffee. As I wanted a coffee, I took the takeaway cardboard cup.

The coffee was quite nice though.

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Hanbury Hall Espresso

I stopped off at Hanbury Hall, a National Trust property for a break during travelling. The house was lovely, but afterwards I headed to the stable for a coffee. I went with a double espresso. It was nice and I enjoyed it.

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Society Cafe

Going for a walk in Bristol today I noticed that at the bottom of Baldwin Street was a new, well new for me, coffee place, called Society.

I didn’t have time to stop for coffee, but did pop inside to see what it was like inside.

It felt very modern inside, so wasn’t sure if it was my kind of place, I quite like the wooden environment in Coffee #1 for example. However the real question is, what is the coffee like?

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Ditto Coffee

When I am in a new city or town, though familiarity normally means visiting a place like Caffe Nero for a coffee, if I do get the chance, I do like to try somewhere new, such as Kiss the Hippo in London.

Up in Manchester, back in May 2022, close to our office, I liked the look of Ditto Coffee so popped in for a coffee. It was a delicious cup of coffee and I really enjoyed it.

So it wasn’t too surprising when I was back in Manchester and wanting a coffee I headed back to Ditto for a coffee.

This time though I ordered a Cortado and a cake, as part of a special deal.

The coffee was excellent (again) and I really enjoyed it (again). The caramel slice was rather good too. I was tempted to stay for another, but needed to get back to work. I will visit again.

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Cheese Games

Met up with some friends at The Stable Game Room for a coffee and a bite to eat (oh and to play a game).

The Stable Game Room has many board games you can play, as well as serving food, alcoholic drinks and coffee.

I had an espresso, which was a little harsh to be honest, so much so I had to add sugar and I generally never do that to coffee. However when I was in Italy in the 1990s I would see quite a few Italians do that, so still felt I was being honest with myself.

I wasn’t that hungry, so I had the Cheese Deli Board, expecting to share it with the table.

The board was quite plentiful with cheddar, red Leicester, stilton and brie. Alongside was apples, grapes, pickle, pickled onions and cornichons. With this came bread and crackers. 

I had to ask for butter though. It was a big board and there was lots of cheese. I have to say though, the cheese was nothing to write home about, the sort of cheese you could find in any supermarket. The cheddar was quite bland in comparison to the mature cheddar I usually have. Nice to have some stilton with the dish.

For a little more money you can have a cheese and ham board. Not sure if this means the same amount of cheese and then ham, or less cheese and some ham!

Our table also had a couple of pizzas. They have a pizza oven and used fresh dough, so the pizza looked excellent and according to those that ate them, they were delicious.

Certainly would do a return visit.

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Now you can get Pret at home

I am not really a fan of coffee from Pret, I think it’s probably more down to the fact they only serve coffee in disposable paper cups. If I am going to get a coffee out and about, and I am going to sit down, then I really want a proper china cup for my coffee.

However I noticed on a recent visit to B&M that you can get Pret Nespresso capsules. So you can drink Pret at home and you can use a proper cup.

Pret coffee capsules

Pret are not the only high street chain to do this, Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Nero also sell their capsules in supermarkets.

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Time for a German Flat White

I was staying in Berlin for a few days attending a conference. The last time I had been to Germany was in 1985 staying for a couple of days in Munich on the way back from a camp in Yugoslavia. This was my first visit to Berlin and the first visit to a unified Germany.

I had various meals and snacks while I was there in Berlin. Though when it came to coffee I usually used the coffee machine in the hotel, but I did have a nice flat white at a branch of Einstein Kaffee. I was out and about walking around Berlin and did quite fancy a coffee. I had seen a Starbucks, but I hadn’t travelled to the heart of Europe for an American style coffee. I had seen a fair few branches of Einstein Kaffee across Berlin, so when I came across a branch I headed in and ordered a flat white.

I did think about having a cake, but nothing took my fancy and they all looked quite expensive. So, in the end I ordered just the coffee.

The place was quite busy, but I found a stool and sat down to drink my coffee.

It was a nice coffee. 

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At the airport, time for a terrible coffee

I had been on a visit to Scotland and was making my way home via Edinburgh Airport. Having flown through security (for once) and mooching around the shops I decided to go for a coffee. I chose Caffe Nero as I usually get a decent coffee there and across their different branches at least a level of consistency.

I ordered a double macchiato, which is different to my usual flat white. It was served in a paper cup, despite the fact I was sitting in. I prefer my coffee in a real cup, and actually will make the time for a coffee, rather than do take out. I was reminded how nice it was to get a proper coffee at Bristol Airport on my way out, not just coffee in a cup, but also table service.

So I sat down with my cardboard cup and took the lid off. Was I impressed, no I wasn’t!

Now as far as I am aware a macchiato is an espresso coffee with some milk foam on top. What I got was an espresso coffee with milk! Not what I wanted and certainly not what I ordered.

I know I should have taken it back, but there was a huge queue and I didn’t really have the time.

Sometimes I have had to explain what a macchiato is to the barista I am ordering from, makes me wonder why they have it on the menu if they don’t know how to make it. 

Next time I will probably just order an espresso or a flat white and be done with it.

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Coffee time at the Clyde Built Bar & Kitchen

SEC Glasgow

I was attending a conference at the SEC and wanted a coffee. I went to the Clyde Built Bar & Kitchen and ordered a double espresso. I asked for a china cup rather than a cardboard one. So they gave it to me in a cup, which I would have expected to have tea in!

The actual coffee was okay, but they needed to have warmed the cup first. I get the feeling that they didn’t make coffee properly very often.

I was a little surprised by the lack of coffee places and eateries around the SEC in Glasgow. There are plenty of hotels close by, and up the road on Argyle Street there are some really nice food and coffee places. However around the actual SEC there are only a couple. I think I was comparing it to the ICC in Birmingham where there is a much wider choice.