Grant T.
Yelp
I'm always on the lookout for good coffee. It's in my genes. My parents have sold coffee since before I was born, and they love to tell stories about how I would eat the coffee beans off the floor when I was young. In 1990, when I was barely 14, my dad taught me how to make espresso drinks, and to this date people still tell him that they preferred my mochas to his.
Any time I go to a new place, I think to myself, "I hope I can find some good coffee". It's a sickness I know, but I can only handle so much of the mediocrity that is Starbucks, Costa, and Nero. Thank goodness Edinburgh has Artisan Roast.
I came in here early on a Saturday morning after leaving the other half sleeping in bed. It's his thing. He likes to sleep. I can only handle so much sleep. Since we were here meeting up with people for a Stag Do, I knew my only chance to see anything that didn't involve drinking was in the morning. I looked at the sprawling board, and ordered a double cappuccino. My espresso drinking habits have moved significantly down the milk scale, and I'm still flabbergasted when people order Venti lattes at Starbucks. Who can really drink all that milk? My cappuccino came to my table, and it was perfectly sized. I then noticed they did do filter coffee. Before, I noticed the flat black and flat white, and when it comes to non-milk coffee drinks, I do prefer filter. Oh well, I sat back to enjoy the cappuccino anyway.
It was heavenly. Slightly sweet, slightly bitter, full of flavor. Plus the foam was very well done, with a couple of hearts decorated on top as the Baristas today seem to like to do. The woman working was quite friendly, and we chatted about a few things. I also noticed they have a wide range of interestingly flavored hot chocolates which I asked about, and she mentioned they came from Coco Chocolates just two doors down.
Before leaving, I asked about the coffee beans they sold. I wanted to take some home to try it in my French Press, and unfortunately, they were out Sumatra (which is by far my favorite region that grows coffee). She did mention the espresso blend was 70% Sumatran, but I took her suggestion and ordered the Bolivian coffee to take home. She warned me that none of their filter coffees were that good with milk, which is fine by me as I don't use it.
This morning was the first opportunity I had to make the coffee, and I am pleased with the recommendation. The coffee is absolutely marvelous. I can definitely recommend this place to any one who is on the lookout for delicious coffee in Edinburgh. Apparently they also have a coffee van (and a VW nonetheless) at the Sunday market. I don't think I'd ever go anywhere else for coffee if I lived nearby.