The Coffee Mafia

This blog keeps my mind ticking over and my heart full of palpitations. Coffee Mafia is dedicated to drinking coffee in as many different places as possible, while all along reviewing the whole twitching, juddering experience. Keep coffee independent Twitter @TheCoffeeMafia

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Luscious Juice Bar - Bedford

This place looks like it should be situated at the bottom of a mountain in the Yorkshire dales (i used to roam that area and there are many cafes like this one). Luscious Juice Bar serves up some of the best atmosphere and coffee i've ever had in my home town. I had a cappuccino, i know people may think i'm not being very adventurous with my selection in drinks for this blog, but I'm trying to judge on an even keel here. Only if i think the cafe looks so good that a simple coffee might not be pushing them enough, do i then choose a more extravagant drink.

Now, this isn't to say Luscious doesn't draw you in by sight, far from it - it has the look of a little bohemian cafe where intellects would sit and argue Zizek's stance on 'living in the end times' or where writers sit and ponder their next piece, ahem!  They offer a huge number of healthy snacks and juices (hence the name) but today I'm here for the more sinful drinks they offer.

Luscious draws you in, takes your order, sits you down and plonks something in front of you to read -  all this is done with the simple smile of one of the baristas.

A gorgeous cafe with a simple take on a cappuccino but a delight to sit in and people watch or to read the latest Bedford Clanger (which i was delighted to see had used a Coffee Mafia quote in one of it's reviews - fame beckons?).

If you pass by Lime Street, drop in and catch a bargain caffeine fix at this - one of Bedford's hidden gems. You'll probably see me in there very soon, giving them a harder drink to make.

Four beans!!!!

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Dock Street Market - Leeds

Everyone raves about this place.

I've spent a few nights in here before, guzzling down the wine and watching the nights flit away. True enough, it is a nice place to sit and for some reason the conversation you find yourself having in this place are a bit weird, obscure discussions on the pro's art and just how talented was Mark Rothko... etc.

Dock Street Market is famous for it's teapot cocktails, trendy hipsters (or the few that are in Leeds) sit and sip rum delights from the china cups. Today however is quiet, it's 2pm, i've just passed Howard Marks in the street and enjoyed a brief chat about our Dance Awards rendezvous in 2010 and am now settling down for a cappuccino. Hmmm, maybe i should have invited Howard...

I ordered a cappuccino and am told by the barista what kind of beans they use. Good start. La Bottega Milanese - it's served promptly, brought to my table, money exchanged and change brought back to me, boy! what service. I feel the need to tip.

The cappuccino was not as good as expected, it was weak, and served in a tiny cup which was borderline espresso. But i ordered a cappuccino. It really was awful, then just as i was thinking it would be tolerable, a passer-by knocked it over and and it soaked the table. I was saved form bad coffee.

Different note, the design of Dock Street Market and the art work which adorns the the walls are amazing. It's a feast on the eye, you're left stunned and inspired by the artwork around, but it the coffee left not just a sour taste in my mouth, but a large stain and mess on my jeans and the table.

Maybe it's best i visit on a different occasion.

Two and a half Beans!!! 

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Brew Bar - Leeds

It's like coffee heaven in here, great atmosphere and proof that Leeds is becoming a force in UK coffee culture - this is definitely a good thing. I opted for something different this time; a split shot. An espresso shot and a side was a 'milky' drink - piccolo. Excellently presented, the espresso was no nonsense, like a debauched gig in my mouth and the piccolo was the after show party, no one wanted to go home and we wanted to party all night. A great coffee. The atmosphere reminds me of my old bedroom (a good thing) the layout of artwork is a common theme in many coffee shops these days, but is always eye catching. God knows I'd prefer to stare at some artwork instead of the miserable frowns of fellow coffee punters - cheer up people. Stop drinking that green tea and get yourself a coffee. Perfectly situated by the galleries, Brew Bar is a thriving hub of creative types. Another jewel in the Leeds coffee crown.

Four bean mash up! Short and sweet review, just like my visit and drink.

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The House - Stoke Newington, London

Amazing setting, right in the middle of Stoke Newington, a beautiful sunny day - a lazy day, kids and their parents kicking footballs around carefully constructed picnics while the hipsters of 'Stokey' flounce around in cut off denim shorts and slip ons. Ray-bans pulled down to cover heavy hungover eyes, some laying flat out on the grass sipping from cardboard cups. The cups and contents supplied by The House - a mansion house on a slight hill by the entrance to the park. It's a large welcoming cafe, you walk into the kitchen and are presented with a huge table laid out with cakes and sandwiches. It's like walking into someones home, the till is hidden away and you struggle to recognise who is staff and who isn't. A large open plan kitchen with many people running around. I ordered a cappuccino and went to sit in the park beside the house. Moderately prices but a fantastic, strong coffee. Friendly staff and although there is not much of a welcoming atmosphere to sit in the The House, the terrace and surrounding gardens are a great place to sip your day away. a bonus was the free water provided with you coffee, and especially on such a hot day it was much needed. Although a little bit of a trek to north London, it's tourist free and well worth visit.

Three mean beans for this place. I felt like a lord sipping my cappuccino in the garden of a mansion.

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Tea Monkey - Milton Keynes

Tea Monkey! In the Centre:MK! Hundred yards from the Starbucks!

"Try this shop, it looks nice, you can get a Starbucks anywhere" i'm told. I know this, but Starbucks make nice coffee and this place is a chain anyway (granted not as big as Starbucks but still a chain).

Despite the name involving 'tea' this place makes a fairly good cappuccino. I did have to wait ten minutes to be served, even though i was the only person waiting int he queue and only one other person was actually drinking in the shop - this did however give my mum plenty of time to think about what over priced bottle of flavoured water she wanted (£3!!!). I eventually got served and ordered my cappuccino in a take out cup but to have in, this always freaks out the baristas, I'm never normally asked why i want this but this young man asked to which i felt i should say "none of your business" but i felt i would explain why, "it's just if i want to get up and leave, i can without having to rush my drink or leave it behind". He seemed bemused.

The great thing i suppose about Tea Monkey is the row of iPads they have on the bench along the wall, all free to use and all connected to the free Wi-Fi. There was even one left logged into someones Facebook account. I resisted the temptation to assume their identity.

All in all a mundane experience. As i was leaving, the girl topping up the sugar sachets asked what i was writing in my notepad (Tea Monkey - home of nosey baristas). I said i was writing a blog about coffee shops. She offered to stamp my receipt as a kind of loyalty card. Explaining i don't come to Milton Keynes often enough to remember a stamped receipt she told me there is a shop in Birmingham - not sure i fancy traveling up there for a one off cappuccino. 

Two beans. They have made me feel like i want to start my own shop called 'Coffee Chump'.

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The Coffee House - Bedford

The Coffee House is what i was going to name my house. I was going to go get an engraver to make me a plush looking shiny sign, etched in gold. It would have been a beacon on my street. I would have polished it with Brasso and made sure it dazzled local drivers. Alas, the name has been taken.

The Coffee House in Bedford is across from St Peters church and the cafe itself offers a great view of Bedford centre. Small in size and very ornate, it used to be the old tourism office. I remember as a child in the 90's i would walk past it and wonder why we needed a tourism office - what was here for tourists.

Well, they moved the office and its mass supply of toy London buses, Beefeaters and tube maps to an equally nice building and turned this into the kind of coffee shop you'd expect to see in York.

The regular order - a small cappuccino was delivered to my table and a healthy sprinkling of chocolate on top. The coffee was a medium roast and i opted for the brown sugar too. A great price and i took my time with it. So much time in fact they closed the big drawbridge 'like' door and began to put chairs on tables, i wasn't asked to rush off -  bonus bean for that.

Not the biggest, most comfy, arty or 'happening' coffee shop in Bedford, but its location and attractive foreign staff ;) and just general friendliness and great price scores it high.

Would i go back? Of course i would. I'm going there after i've finished this post.

Three beans!

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Laynes Espresso - Leeds

Hey, did you hear the one about the best coffee shop in Yorkshire....

Laynes Espresso is situated on New Station Street in Leeds, seconds from one of the most well known live music venues in the country and in the centre of one of the UK's fastest growing cities.

When i arrived in Leeds recently, i was in such a rush to get a connecting train i had to walk past Laynes without going in, it was the hardest challenge of my life, but i promised myself the biggest cappuccino possible on the way back.

The walls are adorned with art - amazing photos of all things uniquely Leeds. It is a  relatively small coffee shop and has no way of setting up a terrace to while away the days on, but it makes up for this in charisma. I instantly felt at home here and you will too. The set up i understand is quite small, a dedicated team run by a driven businessman.

Laynes presents some of the best coffee roasts in the UK at the moment, it has an extensive tea menu too. This place has won awards. If Laynes was a celebrity, it would be 'The Boss' - highly respected, creative, you'd always want to be in its company and you can't believe your luck when you are. 

During my visit i went for a large cappuccino to take out, it came with a beautifully presented design in the foam and i had an amazing chat with one of the baristas about Steve ESPO Powers' art in Shoreditch, London. It was an education. Not only do they know their coffee, they know their art too.

Laynes is a new addition to Leeds' and my own coffee taste buds, it may also be a new addiction.

Pop in for that quick shot of espresso for the train journey, or pick up a cappuccino and meander around the city.

Five beans!!!! Best coffee bar in Leeds, i can't wait to come back.

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Ground Floor Coffee - Bedford

What can i say about this coffee shop? It's amazing, why isn't it in the town centre?! It would be perfect in the middle Bedford's shopping centre, but as it happens, it is a little out of the way (about a 15 minute walk) but well worth it.

It is very new, only opening in May of this year, but opening to a fanfare of publicity. Ground Floor Coffee is situated in what feels like an industrial estate but the chic look sets the kind of tone you would expect to find in a Covent Garden cafe or the trendy areas of most of our major cities. It has acres of space inside and if i could... i would move in! They certainly have the space to make this happen.

A large stage takes up one side of the room with a giant screen and projection unit fixed in too. It's a new cafe, but from what i hear it has big plans to be a creative hub, there will be a whole host of interesting events lined up for the future.

The staff are extremely friendly, broad smiles and friendly chit chat welcomes you. They're utilizing social networking sites well, their Tweets feel so personal that you almost feel like your best mate is asking you to pop over for a coffee. 

The deco is unique, the sofas look as though they have been plucked from every building lobby of 1950's Wall Street. No tables here, just giant suitcase trunks for you to perch your beverage and cake on, making you feel like you're just setting off to start a new life in America.

Ground Floor Coffee grabbed me instantly, all this and i haven't even mentioned the coffee. The usual cappuccino was purchased and is a bargain price too. The dark roast on offer is a coffee I'd walk any amount of miles for (even my mum loved her hot chocolate and caramel cake). 

This place is amazing, it must be tried.

Five beans!!!! Can you legally marry a coffee shop?

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Creperie 95 - The Stables Market Camden, London

I really liked this place, but it does have a head start because i love Camden. There are so many coffee shops stretching from Chalk Farm Road all the way down Camden High Street. From the The Barfly to Koko, you're spoiled for choice. You know what, one day i'll have them all reviewed too.... i hope.

I ordered the standard Cappuccino, it didn't cost the arm and a leg that you're thinking either. The barista was generous with the sprinkles - always a bonus and as it's an outdoors market, the cup was super-thermal to keep the heat as i wondered the vintage shops.

This coffee bar is a required taste. The coffee is great and although the food is super expensive - it does look and smell delicious. Again you have to remember, it's about coffee. The surroundings are amazing, everywhere you turn there is colour as well as many huge horse sculptures (it is called The Stables). There are history lessons to be had, and as you wonder around the market taking in the history of the place, you really feel part of something.

The environment is a bonus but has nothing to do with Creperie 95, so they can't take credit for it being good or bad. The Stables Market is amazing, the downside; constantly being asked by tourists to take photos of them with the giant horses which equals less cappuccino drinking time.

Two beans!!!! (Both for the cino, there is no atmosphere to judge Creperie 95 on as it's an open market). 

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The Singing Kettle - Settle, Yorkshire Dales

I really wanted this place to be good, because i love the Dales and especially Settle.

The Singing Kettle got very confused during my visit, i don't normally complicate my coffee reviews by adding breakfast, but i was just so damn hungry. Anyway, the breakfast was wrong in every aspect. I had a cappuccino while here, it was just like one of those sachet coffees you can get from any supermarket. I loaded it with just enough sugar to make it tolerable.

The most redeeming aspect of the visit is where it's situated, it's impossible to feel annoyed enough to vent spleen or complain, the Dales is just that nice and The Singing Kettle is adorned in pictures of the Three Peaks and whether you're drinking shit coffee or not, the mixture of friendly locals and quiet surroundings distracts you enough. 

Two beans!!! (The atmosphere saves it from being one bean).

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The Cheese Kitchen - Bedford

Wow! Castle Road is spoiled for choice when it comes to great coffee.

Another friendly and welcoming coffee shop. I had a cappuccino in the Cheese Kitchen (you gotta love the name!) Not strictly a cafe, it is well known in Bedford it offers the biggest range of handmade British cheeses. I've been here many times and often find myself tempted to try one of their gorgeous looking paninis, but let's not deviate from the mission statement - to find the best coffee in the land! Haha!

The only draw back with this cafe is the lack of space under its roof. You can sit along the window bench but there is little extra room, it offers a number of tables outside the front which on Castle Road isn't a bad thing, as you are surrounded by vintage book and antique shops but int he unpredictable weather, it is a gamble.

The Latte i enjoyed was the perfect remedy for the damn rain, delivered with a smile from the staff. She even brought it over to me as i was distracted by the site of a man screaming profanities at his dog.

Three beans!!!!

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A Nation of Shopkeepers - Leeds

Normally I'm knocking back a few whiskey and cokes in this place and watching a decent band. However, recently I've taken to spending my afternoons in here and sipping an Americano. Not primarily a coffee shop or cafe, but a great atmosphere, loads of space and always a spare copy of Vice on a table somewhere.

A large projection screen beams short art films on a far wall, and the walls are littered with vintage looking frames full of amazing local artwork.

Bargain coffee and fucking nice coffee, served by a barmaid/barman and not a barista but still a great time spent with a plenty of black coffee.

Try it!

Three beans!!!!

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Fancy - Bedford

I went into this cafe on Roff Avenue in Bedford at about 9.30 and i was still half asleep (which is why i was so eager to wake myself up with a strong cappuccino), i was even going to sit in and enjoy it, but it soon turned into a drama, then quickly went to being a disaster.

Fancy is the only cafe I've ever been in that charges you more to take drinks out, eh?! I asked for a small cappuccino to have in, it was going to cost me about £1.40 i instead thought I'd better hurry to catch my train to Leeds so asked to take it out. I was then told they don't do small cappuccinos to take out, so i had to go a size larger and then the price would also go up to nearly £2, WTF?!

It is a nice looking cafe and i should point out it is also a cake makers, but it's mainly about the coffee.

The cappuccino was flat, no frothy head, no chocolate sprinkles, NO THRILLS! Plus, on the way out i was told to move out of the way by a delivery man just before he tried to decapitate me with a stack of boxes.

One bean!!!!!!

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Gracie May's - Bedford

An amazing coffee shop with some incredibly smiley staff.

This lovely hidden gem on Castle Road is decorated in a very delicate way, it feels like you're sat in a tiny country cottage with everything in their looking crisp clean, very white but at the same time the giant rowing oar which stretches the along the wall, reminds you of the river just a few hundred yards away.

I'm such a regular at this cafe now i have a loyalty card, but my last visit is as good as my last. I opt for the large cappuccino, their medium roast coffee is easy to drink. Gracie May's skilled baristas are very generous with the chocolate sprinkles too.

Four beans!!!