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Best Coffee
EDINBURGH ARTISAN ROAST
57 Broughton Street. Mon–Thu 8am–7.30pm; Fri 8am–6.30pm; Sat 7am–6.30pm; Sun 10am–6.30pm. www.artisanroast.co.uk The flat white is made with absolute passion, resulting in a smooth, complex flavour and creamy consistency. The aroma alone is enough to satisfy your craving.
WELLINGTON 33a George Street, 225 6854. Mon–Fri 7.30am–7pm; Sat–Sun 8.30am–7pm. An excellent cup of Square Mile Coffee Roasters coffee, and one of the best flat whites to be found, with beautifully smooth rounded flavour and texture. Perfect city-centre hotspot for your daily hit.
KILIMANJARO 104 Nicolson Street, 662 0135. Mon–Fri 7.45am–8.30pm; Sat–Sun 8.30am–8pm. Based near the University and popular with students fond of a caffeine buzz. Its espresso’s indulgently thick crema cradles sugar for a few precious moments before it sinks through into the inky depths below. Superb.
PROJECT COFFEE 192–194 Bruntsfield Place, 229 6758. Mon–Fri 8am–6pm; Sat & Sun 9am–5pm. New kid on the Bruntsfield block, this stylish addition to the Edinburgh coffee scene seems to be getting things right. Its creamy latte has a pleasing texture which doesn’t drown out the roasted coffee aroma.
SPARK
25 Dundas Street, 652 3715. Mon–Fri 8.30am–4.30pm; Sat 9.30am–4pm. www.sparkcoffee.co.uk This latte has a lovely texture and temperature. Round, nutty Union Coffee Roasters flavour cuts through the milkiness without any bitterness. However, loses major points for using Nescafé instant decaf, especially when UCR’s is very good.
FRUITMARKET GALLERY CAFÉ 45 Market Street, 226 1843. Mon–Sat 11am–5.30pm. Sun noon–4.30pm. www.fruitmarket.co.uk/cafe Green Mountain Coffee is the order of the day at the Fruitmarket Gallery Café, with sweet nutty undertones and a creamy finish. Cappucino comes with a generously chocolate-sprinkled top. Reviews by Carine Seitz
PETER’S YARD 27 Simpson Loan (Quartermile), 228 5876. Mon–Fri 7am–6pm; Sat & Sun 9am–6pm. Apparently the Swedes know a thing or two about making coffee too. Expect a cappuccino served at just the right temperature, thick froth and gentle-tasting coffee which doesn’t overpower.
28 THE LIST 7–21 Oct 2010
QUALI-TEAS
Why should coffee get all the good press? We root out the best teashops
TCHAI-OVNA 42 Otago Lane, Glasgow, 357 4524. tchaiovna.com Over 80 varieties of tea, shishas and vegetarian food, plus an extremely active calendar of music, poetry and storytelling events. An ideal accompaniment to an afternoon’s browsing on Otago Lane.
WILLOW TEA ROOMS 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, 332 0521/ 97 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, 204 5242. www.willowtearooms.co.uk Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh over a century ago, the Willow Tea Rooms offer elegant surroundings in which to enjoy a tea break from Glasgow’s busiest shopping streets.
CUP 311 Byres Road, Glasgow, 357 2525. cupglasgow.co.uk Billing itself as ‘tea, cupcakes and delights’, Cup aims to bring high tea out of stuffy, overpriced hotels and back into the hands of the tea-drinking proletariat. Vive la tea!
ETEAKET 41 Frederick Street, Edinburgh, 226 1982. www.eteaket.co.uk Eteaket aims to rekindle Britain’s formerly passionate (and now quite workaday) relationship with tea, by offering quality international brews alongside kitschy collectible tea sets.
TEA TREE TEA 13 Bread Street, Edinburgh, 228 3100. www.teatreetea.com With a view to world domination, Tea Tree Tea ships via the internet to locations around the globe and uses its Bread Street premises to flog brews with names such as ‘Russian Caravan’ and ‘Funky Oolong’.
LOOPY LORNA’S TEA HOUSE 370–372 Morningside Road, Edinburgh, 447 9217. www.loopylornas.com Lorna’s constantly bustling premises is a testament to the quality of tea and atmosphere provided; no mean feat when catering to the tea-quaffing Morningside Ladies market.