Taylor Street Coffee - London

I found myself in London recently and had time to kill, so scoured Google Maps to find some proper coffee shops in the area that I was visiting.

The first I came across was Taylor Street Coffee in New Street, opposite Liverpool Street station. Hidden among the chains, this is well worth seeking out if you are looking for a good cup to take out (there are four sit in stools). The reviews pre warned me to expect a queue and there was one snaking out of the door. What I didn’t expect was a cheerful person to be managing the queue taking orders on an iPad. Having ordered a bacon sandwich and a single origin filter coffee I quickly found myself in the shop.

It would do them a little dis-service to describe it as a roll on roll off shop, but the design is great. In one door, grab your coffee and whatever food and out the other. Genius design and one which a few other places could learn from.

My expectations were raised as soon as I entered as I spied Keep Cups, V60 filters and Aeropresses for sale, these guys knew their stuff. Engaging with the barista behind the desk he proudly informed me that the filter coffee was their own roast of Kenya origin. He passed me a loyalty card (drink 4 and get one free, none of your 9 nonsense) I collected my sandwich and left, having felt that I had been in the presence people who knew, respected and took great pride in their coffee.

I sat on a bench at the station surrounded by well know chains and sipped my brew. I am not expert enough to talk about Loganberry flavours with chocolate aftertastes, but this was coffee at another level, full of flavour, mouth feel and inviting me with each sip to drink more and more. The bacon sandwich was made with sour dough bread with a relish that again enhanced the quality of the contents and didn't last long.

Would I visit again? Simply yes, if only to take in the different brews on offer and to perhaps try their porridge which looked amazing. Oh and I have only three more drinks and I get a free one.

If you want to sit in and luxuriate over breakfast then this is not the branch for you, there is a full throughput of people and the outlet is designed for this, serving great coffee and great food to the people in the city that it serves. However some of their other outlets are designed for sitting in, though the one in Shoreditch is officially described as a shed.

More on https://www.taylor-st.com/pages/locations

Would love to see one around Paddington, be a great place to end my day when I visit the “Big Smoke”