A well known London coffee bar, Flat White has been around
since 2005 serving the good people of Soho. It is a tiny strip style bar with
the counter on one side and narrow seating alone the other. Quite darkly lit and well
styled with plenty of black, red and cool bespoke light bulbs it was pleasant to sit
in although a little cramped.
They have their blend made by Square Mile for sale along with
a couple of other beans and some nice equipment indicating this is a place for serious coffee people.
The London’s Best Coffee app states that they are “renowned
for their questionable service and incredible coffee” and I can see why. The guy who took my order was a massive tool but please don't let that put you off, the coffee is brilliant.
However another barista, an antipodean who made
and served the drinks, was most gracious, fun and approachable. Not only did he
serve the drinks with a little quip; when we started to talk about coffee, we
had a good old chin wag, & he was helpful and informative. So things are looking
up from a service point of view.
The Long black had a smooth, rich and sweet aroma. The first
mouthful was like having a sock full of cherries forced into your mouth and then explode, suffice to say it had a tart tang and you could
immediately taste the Guatemalan in the blend.
It filled the mouth with flavour
and the acidity was well balanced against the more medium rounded flavours, providing a
sexily smooth and not at all bitter taste.
Nearing the end the coffee sweetened and left a pleasent lightly
creamy after taste in the mouth. This finish was a little messy, slightly marred
with a touchy of ashy bitterness.
That Guatemalan flavour was so strong I enquired about the
blend, on asking I was told that it was 60%. The current blend was 20% El
Diamante (Guatemalan), 40% Finea De Dios (Guatemalan) 40% Sierra Nevada (El
Salvador) but was going to be changed soon.
They seasonally update their
espresso blend which is good to see and gives you something to come back for.
They also had a handy break down showing beans types, variety, process and
altitude if you are into that kind of thing.
My friends enjoyed a Flat White and a Cappuccino respectively and enjoyed them very much. stating they were indeed amongst the best they had ever drunk.
- Long Black, drink in.
- £2.90 ( need to check this as I wrote 3.90 which must be wrong)
- Medium strength
- Tart cherries, sweet and smooth.
- Light Crema
- Medium size
- Beans: Square Mile – Flat White Blend.
- Machine: Synesso
- Grinder: Mazzer
A great coffee overall with a well balanced flavour of
fruity tartness and a medium body. With their changing blends it will be a cafe
I will come back to sample again.
flatwhitecafe@gmail.com
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