We live in a time of Twitter, a technological era where updates no longer occur biannually through something as time-consuming as the post. Oh no. This is a period where is all happens now. So, in the day of the digital age, the-what-exactly-are-you-doing-at-this-moment movement, I shall be doing as many reviews as possible in situ. Just don't expect me to do it in 140 characters or fewer...
I'm currently sitting in Coffee #1 on Wellfield Road. I like to think of myself as a girl of the twenty-first-century world. I can stroll into any café I choose and order a double skinny latte with a shot of amaretto with confidence. If I so choose.
Today, however, I just wanted to get out the house, sit down and write a couple of previews or maybe another application form if the mood took. I had envisioned a sofa, a table, a plug socket and a quiet corner. In this vision, the drink I had chosen in order to get this privilege slowly went cold by my side, an unfortunate victim in my drive to keep my chair as long as possible.
So, I left my Italian at home, and opted for a standard predictable white coffee. But then the chaos kicked in.
'Would you like filter or latte?'
Ok, a little unexpected but this was manageable. Filter please.
'Small or large?'
Err, 'large please'. I was getting good at this. I felt like a likeable politician at Question Time, charming the life out of David Dimbleby.
'Medium or Strong?'
Coffee. Just coffee. The calm politician vanished and I stuttered like a Conservative trying to warmly acknowledge Thatcher. Just pour me coffee and I'll make my decisions later, after I've had the necessary caffeine.
'Are you more about taste or caffeine?'
Well, anyone sighting the flabbergasted wreck that was now glancing at the choices in blind alarm would have been able to prescribe me some of the more serious option. Instead, I just muttered something irrelevant about 9 o'clock starts. I think I handled it though. I just had to collect my drink from the end of the counter.
'Hot or cold milk?'
Life-affirming decisions aside, though, this is a gorgeous place to kill an hour. Soothing music, a selection of local magazines and a book crossing point. The staff are polite, the décor tasteful and, as my exchange will indicate, there is certainly an attention to detail. The place could benefit from wifi though, and a few more chill-out tracks on the loop.
Anyway, thanks go to my barista. The medium roast with refrigerated milk was divine.
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