Garcia Coffee Company, Beckenham, UK - New Beckenham station

New Beckenham station. The train station of my child hood, my youth and the one that took me to school every day. Many memories I have of this station and here I was many years later trying out the coffee on offer.

Garcia Coffee seems to have a stall at Clock House station and Beckenham Junction as well but I found it hard to find much other information on them on the interweb. This review is for the New Beckenham stall found in a little hatch on the platform and also serving papers and other things you need early on in the day.

I took a double espresso. It was quite long, no crema and the aroma hard to find. The strength was good and the flavour relatively smooth. It had I fear been slightly over espressed giving it the length but also souring the taste. The after-taste started of pleasant but gave way to a low level bitterness also due to too much trying to be extracted from those beans.

• Double shot espresso, take away
• Strong
• Relatively smooth with sour notes
• No crema
• size long
• £1.50

Garcia Coffee provide a drinkable coffee but one that is not climbing the heights of flavour. Considering the location, availability and convenience it certainly has some benefits depending on your needs but I would wait till London Bridge.


Having said that I do love their bright blue cups.


New Beckenham: Map


Other locations:
Beckenham Junction
Clock House

Le Traiteur, Beckenham, UK

It was a hot sunny day in the suburbs when I popped into Le Traiteru on Beckenham high street. As a food place I had heard good things and a friend even worked there in the past, she was an Aussie so I expected excellent coffee to boot.

The coffee didn't look too bad with a light frothy crema floating on top but it was over-ridingly bitter in flavour. To its credit it had real knock your socks off strength and even a little sweetness but that can't avoid the fact that the taste was pretty foul. 


There was one final bright moment to my visit, a large coffee costs £2.00, they charged me £1.50 for a short double so either I was lucky, they were generous or you have have to pay 50 pence for hot water.

• Double shot black americano, drink in
• Strong
• Bitter
• Frothy crema
• size medium
• £1.50 

A pretty poor tasting coffee.  I don't see much hope for Beckenham but I will persevere.


Map
http://www.cuisinegroup.co.uk/