While wandering home from Stoke Newington recently, I made a pit stop at Batch Baby, a unique and welcoming coffee shop in Haggerston that puts filter coffee — including batch brew, of course — front and centre.
Located on the ground floor of the Rose Lipman Building, a community space and creativity hub on De Beauvoir Road, Batch Baby occupies a colourful space with a relaxed vibe. There is plenty of seating, from the stools at the bar, to the tables of various sizes by the windows and a bench out front. The décor has a vintage feel, from the comfy leather dining chairs and wooden counter, to the pops of red and orange.
The bright red La Marzocco that sits on the counter was the first thing I spotted, but my eye was soon drawn to the three bags of coffee beans sitting on the counter. These were the three coffees available that day as hand-brewed filter coffee (batch brew filter coffee is, of course, not just available but encouraged, but I soon got my heart set on this trio).
All three were from Spanish roasters, which was Batch Baby's current roaster 'theme'. Regular readers might guess that I would go for the Colombian thermal shock double-fermentation anaerobic coffee from Yenny Esperanza, roasted by Seville-based Ineffable. But I've had a thermal shock coffee from the same producer before and was also enjoying a coffee with a similar profile from Danelaw at home. The coffee from Hola in Madrid sounded great too but in the end, thanks to advice from the helpful barista, I took the (relatively) rare opportunity to try the Sidra coffee variety. Roasted by Three Marks in Barcelona, this semi-washed La Chorora was from Ecuador.
Although I'd only just had brunch, I found room for some pistachio cake. They have a great selection of cakes, as well as toasties, if you're in the mood for something larger and/or more savoury. I took a seat at one of the tables by the window while I waited for my pourover to be brewed. This gave me a great view of the retail section of the cafe — a fridge and a shelf filled with interesting drinks and comestibles, and another shelf with one of the best selections of retail beans I've seen in a coffee shop for some time.
Like those on the bar, these all featured Spanish roasters during my visit, including another great-sounding coffee from Three Marks, this one from Wilton Benitez, who was also the producer of my Danelaw coffee. The array could be a little overwhelming, but the baristas were always on hand to help out any customers who needed a bit more guidance.
Before long, my filter coffee arrived, served in a Kinto server with orange glassware on a matching tray. The barista had advised that the Sidra would be particularly sweet and they were not wrong: it was very drinkable with plum and cherry notes that became even more delicious as the coffee cooled. It paired very well with my pistachio cake and my only regret was that I'd already reached my coffee limit for the day and couldn't go back to order another one. That just means I'll have to return again soon!
Batch Baby. Rose Lipman Building, 43 De Beauvoir Road, London, N1 5SF (Haggerston Overground). Website.
For 140+ more of my favourite coffee shops in London, you can also check out my London speciality coffee guide.
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