Buona Sera Restaurant, Clapham, London, UK

This espresso (and a beer too) was free as they processed our bill before giving us the drinks. This by no means will interfere with the review. This unassuming Italian seemed empty and a cheap and cheerful place to get a bite to eat before a night out. It certainly was cheap and cheerful but it had also much more to offer. By the end of the meal Bouna Sera was buzzing with people and conversation, the waitresses were pretty and polite, the chefs were doing tricks with the pizza dough and the pizza itself was fantastic. A great restaurant.

The espresso came in the daintiest of mugs. It was very dark and the crema was nearly black under the restaurant lights. It was strong and smooth but perhaps could have had a cleaner taste overall. The taste was still above average and maximum marks given for this Joe being the perfect size. It was tiny and by just giving me the oil and no excess water it gave the purity and strength that an espresso should have.

The thick crema could not be left and had to be spooned out by little finger; it felt like a gently bitter dessert at that point.

• Espresso
• Very strong
• The taste was a little muddled but good
• Crema like whipped cream
• Tiny mug 
• £2.00 (or free)

A very solid espresso with ridiculous amounts of crema. 

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Cafe Rouge, Brighton, UK

Damn Fine Joe does not just seek out the coffee boutiques and station stalls it gives restaurants and hotels equal time to be raised up or cast down.

Cafe Rouge always supplies a fine feed and on visiting recently I also treated myself to their black Americano. It was a modest to poor effort firmly placing it in the drinkable but indifferent category of coffee. It certainly had strength but had been over espressed possibly with stale beans providing a far too bitter fore and after taste to the proceedings.

• Black Americano
• Very strong
• Drinkable but far too bitter
• No Crema
• Overly large mug
• £1.95

Not very good but by no means terrible. 

http://www.caferouge.co.uk/

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Cafe Rouge, Brighton, UK

Damn Fine Joe does not just seek out the coffee boutiques and station stalls it gives restaurants and hotels equal time to be raised up or cast down.

Cafe Rouge always supplies a fine feed and on visiting recently I also treated myself to their black Americano. It was a modest to poor effort firmly placing it in the drinkable but indifferent category of coffee. It certainly had strength but had been over espressed possibly with stale beans providing a far too bitter fore and after taste to the proceedings.

• Black Americano
• Very strong
• Drinkable but far too bitter
• No Crema
• Overly large mug
• £1.95

Not very good but by no means terrible. 

http://www.caferouge.co.uk/

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Ground, Brighton, UK

One of the closest Joe houses near me it took an age to write up a review. Nicely done up inside the store takes the coffee seriously and they were using Union beans.

I had a single but followed it up with a double as the single didn't touch the sides. It smelt strong and looked the business. See above, the thick Crema and the oily gleam are always a sign of quality. It was made with not too much water, not over espressed, fresh beans, not burnt and all resulting in a strong, smooth and sweet infusion of bean and water. It was excellent and I have to thank the bartista.


The single negative was that  it made for an expensive breakfast so if you are hungry and thirsty so watch even though every product is of the highest quality.


They even made a lovely Babychino for us.

• Black Americano
• Strong
• Smooth tasting and hitting all the right notes
• Good Crema
• Small cup
• £>?

Very good in all aspects, go try this coffee. 


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http://groundcoffeehouses.com/

@Ground_Coffee

Redwood Coffee House, Brighton, UK

Another new coffee shop in Brighton opened on Trafalgar street. This new shop looked very nice inside but was deserted, this may have been because it was new or perhaps because of the entirely inappropriate early morning music. The coffee came fast but in a very large cup. Size is always an issue however I can say straight out that even with this size it was surprisingly well balanced. The coffee smelt good and was not beset with bitterness or ashtray after taste. The strength has been slightly diminished by the water but it was not burnt and still shone through with a touch of sweetness at the end. 

Without a doubt it had been well made with good technique and good beans. I could not clearly see where the beans where from but some notices implied they were roasting their own but certainly it seemed to be from a small batch set up.

• Black Americano
• Medium Strength
• Good aroma with a smooth taste
• Too large but not overly watery
• No Crema
• Large cup
• £1.80

With the size of the cup I had concerns but this was a more than average coffee. Worth visiting again but will ask for it short.

http://www.redwoodcoffeehouse.com/home/?page_id=2 (was under construction at time of posting)


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Sampling coffee

A new team member has been treating me to a sample of different coffees this week.
So far we have tried out:

• Guatemala 100% Maragogype
• Costa Rica Reserva San Bosco
• Zambia Chisoba Estate AAA

All pretty lovely.

Alfredo, Brighton, UK

Another new place, run by an Italian called Mike. The Spartan dressed shop had some great deli items on what few shelves they did have.  Their speciality is to make you a custom sandwich from their great selection of meats and cheeses. Lots of imports, freshly sliced ham, cured meats etc. It looked  the business.

I did not have high hopes from the coffee after the last Italian cafe but went in with an open mind. They were serving coffee from Lavazza beans a great solid brand. Alarm bells rang when I saw the size of the cup offered to me and the heat that it held. This could easily have been another station style cup but I was to be surprised. A relatively smooth coffee sadly hugely let down by being watered down. It had a sweet aftertaste and was not beset by burning or over expressing. So the worse crimes had not been committed and that is always half the battle.  

• Black Americano
• Medium Strength
• A pretty smooth taste, not too bitter and ending on a sweet note
• Far too watery
• No Crema
• Large cup
• £1.40

Not that bad at all. With some instruction on the amount of water to suit personal taste this may become a solid coffee.

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