Coffey & Cake

Your guide to great coffee

Colonna & Small’s

Staying only a few minutes away from Bath we spent a good deal of time wandering the cobbled streets of this magical Georgian city. I had heard from SO many people that Colonna & Small’s was the coffee shop I had to go to. Unfortunately the first day we went in they were closed so we made steadfast plans to be back within the next few days.

Colonna & Small’s is a coffee shop run by the most passionate baristas. When you walk inside your mind is just filled with coffee knowledge, from coffee bean graphics on the walls to coffee paraphernalia adorning every corner. Colonna & Small’s offer barista courses, latte art courses and cupping sessions, for more info on this check out this LINK to their website.

In their own words, “our shop is all about exploring the flavour of coffee, focusing on how region, variety, processing, roast and brew method affect the taste.”

The coffee shop rotates through some of the UK’s best roasteries, namely Origin Coffee Roasters, Has Bean Coffee, Round Hill Roastery, Workshop, James Gourmet Coffee, Extract Coffee Roasters, and Square Mile Coffee Roaster. There are always 3 espresso coffees on the go, single origin and blended espresso and the baristas can tell you all the flavours in the coffee. Colonna & Small’s don’t sell beans but they will point you in the right direction of where to buy beans.

Colonna & Small’s is the perfect place to go and learn about coffee. We sat with Maxwell and asked a million questions and were absolutely intrigued by his knowledge.You can read all about this incredible coffee shop on their WEBSITE and if you plan on visiting, their address is 6 Chapel Row, Bath.

Open Monday to Sunday, I would recommend this coffee shop to anyone traveling to the UK.

UK Coffee Shops

Hello all you wonderful people! After 3 weeks in the UK exploring their coffee culture I must say I am feeling inspired and ready to take on 2014.

We have been so blessed to travel and visit family, and because of this we get to see the world. Paul and I came to the conclusion that doing coffee tours around a city is SUCH a great way of seeing the real heart of a city. We found alley ways, parks and squares that we would never have seen if we hadn’t been searching for a coffee shop. Before leaving for the UK I had done some research into the UK coffee culture and coffee shops to visit, and on arrival to each we connected with the baristas and were prompted to so many more coffee shops. Each coffee shop we visited was unique and amazing in it’s own way. From vintage, eclectic decor to friendly service and most importantly, really great coffee.

We spent most of our time in the South West of England, visiting London, Bath, Bradford-on-Avon, Winchester, Portland, Weymouth, Lyme Regis & Bristol. We also spent a day in Cardiff, Wales, which we so enjoyed.

So here is a list of some of coffee shops we visited and would recommend you visit when in the UK next.

London
Scooter Cafe - 132 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AE
Fernandez & Wells - 73 Beak Street, W1F 9SR
Flat White - 17 Berwick Street, Soho, W1F 0PT
Monmouth Coffee - 27 Monmouth Street, WC2H 9EU

Bath
Society Cafe - 5 Kingsmead Square, BA1 2AB
Colonna & Small’s - 12a Princes Street, BA1 1HL
The Kindling Coffee Company - 9a Claverton Buildings, BA2 4LD

Cardiff
The Plan - 28 & 29 Morgan Arcade, CF10 1AF

Bristol
Small St. Espresso - 23 Small Street, BS1 1DW
Baristas Coffee Collective - 29 Victoria Street, BS1 6AA
Didn’t You Do Well - 20 Park Row, BS15LJ
Full Court Press - 59 Broad St, BS1 2EJ

Over the next few weeks I will be writing specific posts about some of these coffee shops which I would rate as MUST visits.

I hope that if you are reading this from the UK that you have or will try some of these coffee shops. They definitely do the UK coffee culture proud and we certainly enjoyed them very much. If you plan on traveling to the UK this is just a starter guide and I would love to hear of other coffee shops you came across on your adventures.

Also have a look at this awesome London Coffee Map App for your next trip or stop over.

Enjoy 🙂

The Bridge Tearoom

Bradford-on-Avon is a quaint village, nestled among the Wiltshire countryside in England.
In December 2011 Paul and I spent some time in this town with Paul’s gran, the wonderful Bette Riddle. On one occasion we were there with his mum and she took us to the most incredible tearoom called The Bridge Tearoom. The door couldn’t have been more than a meter high and on stepping into this tearoom our world was transformed back to the Victorian age.

The waitresses were dressed in tea maid outfits (white aprons and hats) and the tea was served in beautiful vintage tea pots and cups. The building dates back many years and from the outside looks lop sided and about to collapse but this just adds to the charm of The Bridge Tearoom.

We ordered tea for 2 and I’m not joking when I say that it could have fed 6. There were four tiers of cake, scones, sandwiches and tarts. Paul was feeling sick so his mum and I had the scrumptious treats to ourselves. Needless to say we barely dented 2 tiers.

As you can tell by the design of my blog, I love vintage! So this tearoom made my heart beat JOY JOY JOY! We took some beautiful pictures and loved every moment of being in this cosy treasure.

When we go back to visit we will definitely be going there again! I cannot wait 🙂

So if you happen to travel to the South West of England, do yourself a favour and pop in to Bradford-on-Avon. It is a delightful town with beautiful churches, walks along the Avon river and gorgeous old architecture.

Happy travels 🙂

Bird and Carter

While in England Paul and I spent most of our time in Salisbury. His mum and sister live in this lovely town amidst the country, home to the jaw droppingly beautiful Salisbury Cathedral, and quite a few cute coffee shops.

Bird and Carter was the first of the coffee shops we visited while in Salisbury and loved it. Never mind the fact that it was a warm refuge after walking out in the winter chill, but it is the most quaint building nestled between two buildings towering over it.

The lower level is a Deli, selling bread, meats, cheeses, then as we walked up the rickety staircase into pure warmth we were greeted by the wonderful smell of coffee and delicious treats.

Wooden tables, benches and iron lace chairs fit into the country interior of Bird and Carter, while the large cups of coffee we received made for one very happy couple.

We so enjoyed our time in England. Even though it was very very cold, we had cafes like Bird and Carter to run into. The service was friendly and the coffee warmed us up… what more could you ask for.

Forsyth’s Tearoom

Right, let the UK adventures begin. My first addition to this December holiday is a quaint tearoom that Paul and I stumbled upon while walking the streets of Edinburgh. I have to say that I had big intentions to find the coffee shops I had Googled before leaving, I unfortunately didn’t get there… and that’s a story I will share later.

Anyway, if you ever go to Edinburgh and walk along the main street up to the castle you will come across a Close every few meters. These Closes are little alley ways leading to other parts of the city. The most famous Close is Mary Queen on Scots Close which also leads to a part of the city that is hidden underground.
Now I must admit I can’t remember the name of the Close but we found this delightful tearoom, by chance down a very narrow Close, called Forsyth’s Tearoom.

The woman who owned it was a very old lady with a beautiful nature, so hospitable and very excited to have South Africans in her tearoom. The tearoom was a mismatched haven for tea lovers and was adorned with every different pattern tea cosy known to man… or maybe just Scotland.

We were starving from walking around so an all day breakfast was munched and tea drunk to keep us warm. I will admit the tea was weak and not the greatest but the cakes were AMAZING!!!

All in all this little find was such a win and exactly what we needed to get out of the cold.