Coffee Travel: London, United Kingdom

London is home to many of the world's famous coffee shops; Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Prufrock Coffee, Kiss the Hippo Coffee, Rosslyn Coffee, and more

Our first stop was Rosslyn Coffee, a cafe that was started by Mat Russell and James Hennebry, who hail from Australia and Ireland, respectively. Rosslyn is a coming together of the hospitality styles of Australia and Ireland, where Mat and James hail from, respectively. All the high standards and attention to detail of the great Australian café, combined with all the warmth and hospitality of the great Irish pub!

This is one of the cafes that we have been following closely since its beginning.

Rosslyn Coffee at Queen Victoria Street, before the morning rush.

Started as a multi-roastery cafe, now they are working closely with Origin Coffee for their coffee program. The menu is pretty simple; your usual espresso, lattes, filter coffee and batch brew option. No fuss, just great coffee and friendly hospitality.

Batch brew coffee, Rosslyn Coffee at Queen Victoria Street

Now, if you have been following us for a while, you know that we are big fans of batch brew coffee. Fast, flavourful and consistent coffee. It was by far the most pleasant cafe experience among the coffee places we had visited so far. Interesting choice of filter coffee options available, the service was pleasant, and the cafe vibe was cosy.

Prufrock Coffee, London

Next, we visited Prufrock Coffee, one of the must-visit coffee places in London, co-founded by Gwilym Davis, the 2009 World Barista Champion, and the pioneer of specialty coffee in London.

They work with Square Mile coffee, as well as featured roasters from Europe and beyond, including Five Elephant, Koppi Coffee, Coffee Collective, Tim Wendelboe, La Cabra, Drop Coffee, Belleville and many more.

It's truly a gem for any specialty coffee drinkers, and you will find yourself having a difficult time choosing what's available on their retail shelves.

Colonna & Small's, London outlet

The next cafe was Colonna and Small's, also widely known as Colonna Coffee, a multiple-time World Barista Champion finalist, co-writer of Water for Coffee, who started all the water science behind coffee brewing.

One of the most progressive coffee roasteries in the world, it was probably one of the first to kickstart the concept of labelling coffee into Foundation, Discovery, and Rare so that regular coffee drinkers could easily understand what kind of coffee they could expect.

They were also one of the first independent coffee roasteries to turn their coffee into capsules, filling the needs of specialty coffee drinkers who value quality at convenience.

Last but not least, Kiss the Hippo, literally a Hippo as their logo.

Kiss the Hippo, Covent Garden outlet

We first came across Kiss the Hippo through the winning of Paul Ross, the United Kingdom's Barista Champion in 2019. Then, the rapid expansion of Kiss the Hippo in London.

The offering of a co-ferment coffee is an interesting choice on Kiss the Hippo's coffee menu, a topic that we will discuss further in our recent experience at the cupping table.

London's Coffee Culture

By now, you should know that there is no shortage of great specialty coffee spots; London is packed with amazing specialty coffee shops.

Quality is pretty vocal in the cafe scene there. There will always be two or more espresso options, a Decaffeinated coffee, in most, if not all, the cafes that we visited.

On top of high-quality coffee being served in the London cafes, there is also a strong emphasis on sustainable business and a living wage for the staff.

If you always enjoy drinking coffee with no milk and sugar, just black, you'll find London a pleasantly delightful coffee city.