Berlin is not enough
Anyone who has followed my Instagram profile over the past few days knows that I’ve been sipping through the London coffee scene. The selection was more spontaneous and with the flow. Today there is a short outline for you.
Ozone Coffee Roasters
On Day 1 I headed for Old Street. In a small inconspicuous side street I found a very Third Wave hipster buzzing shop on 2 floors. The focus is on the La Marzocco Strada. Either you join the Coffee to go queue or get a seat. I opted for a spot on the counter overlooking the espresso, brew bar and open kitchen. With coffee you are spoiled for choice – classic Italian espresso based coffee or rather filter coffee, V60, Aeropress or siphon? On the menu you also get the Info with which single origin or blend your coffee is prepared. My choice fell on the Aeropress with Colombia Fidel Fernandez coffee (lemon, peach, rhubarb) for a whopping £ 4. My food was actually faster than the coffee. But I could watch at the bar, as my coffee was pressed. And the visit was well worth it – the coffee came with a small profile card and tasted excellent.
Finally, I allowed myself a small detour to the basement, where just freshly roasted coffee from the drum was dropped onto the strainer. Perfect timing! When leaving I take along the Caffeine magazine. I’ll be back.
Origin Coffee Roasters
Same corner as yesterday and again in a nondescript little road. In contrast to Ozone, pleasantly small, quiet and relaxed. Perfect for my little afternoon break. Again, the focus is on the espresso machine and Brew Bar. And because the sun was actually shining in London and it was pleasantly warm, I opted for a fancy coffee lemonade – and a bun. There will soon be a separate article on coffee lemonade. Short summary – holy shit. Why haven’t I seen something like that in Berlin?
If you need coffee accessories like Chemex and Co. you can get them here as well. Unfortunately, I have not tried coffee from the machine, a good reason to come back for a relaxing break.
Notes Coffee Roasters & Bar
So central! Between Leicester and Trafalgar Square and not far from Covent Garden. But there are also 9 other locations spread throughout the city. If you’re more into coffee house style with big lilies on the tables, that’s your place to be. Although you order at the front of the bar, you then get a coffee bag with a number for waiting and looking for a nice spot to sit. What a beautiful idea! My mocha for £ 3.30 definitely sweetened my afternoon. While my phone was pouring power, I finally took a look in the Caffeine magazine and found my cafe for the next day. According to the article “New coffee boom in Fitrovia” north of Oxford Street there are not only a lot of pubs, but also more than 20 specialty cafes.
Jardin du Jasmin
Day 4: Enough of the Third Wave cafes! Now it is becoming traditional! Full of anticipation that, according to Caffeine article, there will be Turkish coffee from the Ibrik and Arabic coffee from the Dallah and small mocha cups from Kuwait in addition to minimal Latte Art coffee, so I’m running up the Great Portland Street. Next to a run-of-the-mill Starbucks you will find this pearl. White tiles with Arabic ornaments, green tendril plants on the ceiling, as well as about 1001 lamp with warm light give you the feeling to sit in a garden in Damascus. At the bar, there is fresh Middle Eastern food and you can see on the wall already the Ibriks and Dallahs shine. Of course I order a small dallah with Arabic coffee and a piece of baklava. Granted, you have to plan some time for this coffee. The hospitality is great – even the coffee is poured in style for you. You could easily forget that you are in the middle of London. My absolute favourite.
What can I say – I’m around the corner of Oxford Street – so a little trip to the food hall at Selfridges is a must.
In addition to coffee spread of Flatbrew with the flavor of Espresso and now also Caramel Macchiato I also put some cold brew coffee and coffee concentrate in my basket. Who needs Gucci, Prada and Dolce & Gabbana, if there is a food hall 😉
Soon I will head to Copenhagen … stay tuned!