I recently visited Londonderry via train from Bangor and while walking along Strand Road, I spotted this minimalist-looking coffee shop from across the street. I was immediately curious with positive vibes that it might be exactly the sort of artisanal place that I had been looking for and so I photographed it and crossed the road for a closer look. Blackboard menu included welcome words like "Batch Brew" together with nationalities and plantation s, all of which pointed towards genuinely caring about coffee and having alternatives to the ubiquitous espresso-based beverages. I asked for batch and was then asked which one. I chose Brazilian, plus a salted caramel brownie from the range of traybakes. Both delicious.
One of the key points about places like this, which have been on the rise in recent years, is that here I enjoy the coffee black, whereas in so many "ordinary" coffee shops (which may or may not be large chains), I have to have milk. Generally the better the coffee, the less milk I take.
While still there, I checked if Hang Ten was on Yelp, as I hope to be in Derry more often now (thanks to over-60s free public transport across Northern Ireland!). It wasn't and so I added it and came back for more a couple of days later! On my second visit I had Kenyan coffee and raspberry banana bread. read more