Unless you're an espresso worshipper, and I most certainly am not, it seems like Birmingham is a bit of a dead zone on the coffee front. On Monday afternoon I tried several different independent coffee shops and not one of them could offer me a standard drip filter, a pour over or even a simple cafetiere for my trouble.
To be fair to one of them, Yorks Cafe on Colmore Row, they had simply sold out of filter coffee and whilst they did offer to grind some beans and brew a fresh pot, this was the last place I called, I was already running a little late for my train and I didn't really have the time to spare to wait. All the others, however, simply didn't sell filter coffee and could only offer me an 'americano' as if somehow a watered down, largely tasteless espresso is a valid alternative to a well brewed mug of old school coffee.
Don't get me wrong I understand that making espresso is almost an art form in itself, and that a half decent espresso machine is hugely expensive and that most of the modern fashionable coffee choices start life as a shot of espresso. What I don't understand is why refer to yourself as a coffee shop if the only coffee you serve is a variant of espresso, surely at that point you're actually an espresso bar? By a strange coincidence the only place to offer me the option of waiting for a fresh brewed pot of coffee is the only place, of the few I visited, used to identify itself as an espresso bar.
Next time I'm in Brum I think I'll pop to Yorks, and, if they're out of filter, I'll ask them if they mind brewing a fresh pot, I'll order myself one of their awesome looking handmade doughnuts, I'll sit in, wait for my coffee and spend a few minutes people watching.
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