The Caffeine Chronicles: Scarlett Coffee Roastery

UPDATE (Jan 2021): Scarlett's coffee shop is now closed permanently, but you can still buy their coffee online.

Despite its close proximity to Angel Tube station, it's easy to miss Scarlett Coffee Roastery if you don't know where to look. Located on a quiet stretch of Duncan Street, which runs east from Upper Street, the cafe and roastery is a stylish haven of speciality coffee — and brunch.

Scarlett takes its name from the bright red hue of ripe coffee cherries, and the scarlet ibis stands proudly — if one-leggedly — as its sigil. These vibrant pinky-red colours add pops of colour to the otherwise grey tones of the cafe, from the coffee bar with hexagons reminiscent of the now-defunct Coffee Curators Gallery, to the gorgeous grey marble table that occupies most of the space in the main area of the shop. There are also some seats at the window, outside on the small patio, and upstairs on the mezzanine level where the Probat roaster holds court.

I arrive in the early afternoon on a Saturday, and brunch is still in progress, with dishes like pulled lamb with poached eggs on sourdough toast, as well as brunch classics like crushed avocado on toast, albeit with some interesting twists. There are also various cakes and pastries for tho I have already eaten but I make a note to come hungrier next time. Instead, I skip straight to the coffee menu. All of the usual espresso-based drinks are there, and they also serve pourovers, brewed through the Clever Dripper.

First up, I order a cortado with the De Beauvoir espresso, a Colombian variety, which tastes smooth, sweet and very well-balanced with a little milk. When I spot the Clever Dripper, I decide to try the filter coffee too; Clever Drippers are sadly all too rare — and they are one of the few brewing devices that I don't own. The single-origin filter-roast beans are from Rugali Coffee Washing Station in Rwamiko, Rwanda. The coffee, served in a navy Kinto mug, is very well brewed with notes of dark chocolate and red berries, which again evoke the inescapable scarlet ibis.

After I've finished my very enjoyable cups of coffee, I pop up to the mezzanine to get a better look at the roaster and the beautifully designed bags of retail beans. As well as the De Beauvoir espresso, whose name recalls the local neighbourhood, there are two versions of the Rwandan beans: washed process ('Ibis') and honey process (in the black packaging). They roast on Wednesdays and the cafe is closed, but if you show up on any day, you'll see that new Islington coffee shop is most certainly pretty in scarlet.

Scarlett Coffee Roastery. 30 Duncan Street, London, N1 8BW (Tube: Angel).

For 100+ more of my favourite coffee shops in London, please check out my speciality coffee guide. 

Three Specialty Coffee Shops To Visit in Lausanne

As soon as the train pulls out of Geneva station just after noon on a sweltering Sunday, I am captivated by the glorious views of Lac Léman (also known as Lake Geneva). I am bound for Lausanne, 45 minutes along the train line, for a conference and despite the heat, I can't stop gaping at the clear, turquoise waters of the lake, bordered by rolling green hills and mountains.

The Caffeine Chronicles: Second Shot Coffee, Edgware Road (CLOSED)

UPDATE: Second Shot has now permanently closed.

I first visited the original Second Shot — Julius Ibrahim's coffee shop and social enterprise in Bethnal Green — during its launch event three years ago and have been back a number of times since then. It's been great to watch Second Shot, which aims to bring people together to tackle homelessness 'one espresso at a time', grow from strength to strength.

And now there's a second Second Shot, which has just opened on Church Street near Edgware Road, funded in part by a crowdfunding campaign. I was out of the country during the pre-launch event, but I was in the Marylebone area on Saturday, their first full day, and so I was glad to be able to stop by and say hi to Julius and his team.

Long-term readers will know I lived in Marylebone for three years before I moved to Bermondsey, and my old flat is only five minutes' walk from Second Shot. There weren't any speciality coffee shops in the neighbourhood when I left, in 2012, but I did used to enjoy visiting the busy market on Church Street, where Second Shot is based. The market was bustling when I arrived and a steady stream of local residents, shoppers and coffee lovers alike had found their way to the new coffee shop.

The social enterprise element of Second Shot works in several ways. They train and hire people who have been affected by homelessness and then help them to find longer term jobs. There is also a 'pay it forward' system, where customers can pre-pay for a coffee or a meal, which people in need can then receive free of charge. I pre-paid for a meal when I paid for my lunch and coffee, although was a little embarrassed by my drawing skills when I added it to one of the bricks on the 'pay it forward' wall. It is, of course, the thought that counts.

As for the coffee, as usual, there were several single-origin coffees from some excellent roasters available. I first tried a washed Peruvian San Ignacio coffee from Cast Iron, a Sussex-based roaster, served as a very fine macchiato. Afterwards, I sampled a Guatemalan Red de Mujeres coffee from Square Mile, which was available as a batch-brew filter coffee, and which had very nice apple and gooseberry notes. There will also be some exciting coffee coming soon, so it's definitely worth keeping an eye on what they have in their hopper.

As well as pastries and cakes, Second Shot are serving smoothie bowls and chia bowls, and several sandwiches. I had a ham sandwich on focaccia, which was tasty and very filling.

The cafe shares common design elements with the original — most notably the bricks, which here line the coffee bar and repeat in the pegboard on the back wall. In the main seating area, a handful of small tables face the bar, with teal chairs that coordinate with the coffee cups. There's another seating area in the basement, including a large communal table, helpful for those who need more space to work. There will be a second brew bar down there too in time, which will serve as a training area.

If you haven't yet had the chance to visit the original Second Shot, now you have a second shot — the new cafe is a short walk from Edgware Road and Marylebone stations, and offers a very warm welcome and coffee as good as its ethos.

Second Shot. 49 Church Street, London, NW8 (Tube: Edgware Road).

For 100+ more of my favourite coffee shops in London, please check out my speciality coffee guide.