When it was suggested to me that I should write a weekly blog my fear was thinking up enough content.
I am fifty two years old with one heck of a job that sees me meet all kinds of people in all kinds situations. So many of my tales have been told and whoever was ‘lucky’ enough to hear them would often blurt out “That is Classic Adams!”
Ideally for me, one of these stories would only be blogged about as a plan B. Surely something would happen to me every week that would see me furiously typing tapping away on my keyboard to ensure I made my self imposed deadline. (It’s Thursday, middday, if you’re interested.)
You are reading blog number 22 and I would say there is a mix of recent experience and far too many from that ‘back up’ folder.
This week’s idea hit me on Tuesday. I found myself enjoying a quite fabulous cortado in the best coffee shop I’ve visited in Spain.
Coffee, you will remember is one of my loves. It was one of the subjects I listed under ‘loved’ when I wrote the introduction to my Classic Adams blog.
Lyn is on that list, as are: board games (my first choice would be backgammon), my kids, (both of them – apparently they read this and are fed up with my “love one of ‘em” gag), travelling, books and music (especially Springsteen).
I was in Cartagena for the day and the cafe I am talking about is called Coffee Lab. It has everything I look for in a good coffee shop. Firstly, the quirky name (for me that is always a good start) and it is slightly off the main street so no tourists. Behind the counter is a very knowledgable barista and we sat at table made out of an old espresso machine.
We! Yes, Lyn had joined me for this contract and was opposite me because we were playing backgammon. Yep, three ticks for this day so far. But it gets better. Lyn is meticulous when she plays backgammon (I would say slow but she proofs this blog) so in the minutes I have between my throws of the dice I was reading my book, Discover Me From Nowhere, a thoroughly enjoyable account from Warren Zanes about the making of Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska.
So many ticks….OK, 5.
I found Coffee Lab in 2019 but when I was here last in 2022 it was shut and I feared the worse. All too often a favourite coffee shop of mine has gone under between my visits leaving me to wander the city looking for an alternative source for coffee.
So here’s the point of this blog – a definitive top ten Classic Adams coffee shops stops.
And a sentence as to why.
You get the name, if I know it, the city, for sure, and the rest is down to you. All I ask is one thing, should you end up in one of these coffee shops and see a grumpy bald, bearded man walk in make sure there is somewhere for him to sit.
- Caffè del Doge, Venice.
Home to and named after my favourite coffee bean! From the ship to Caffè del Doge I must pass a hundred other caffès but this is ALWAYS my first stop.
- Cafe Diplomatico, Toronto.
This place has two huge qualities. One, it is in Toronto and two, if you’re stopping here for a macchiato then you must be heading to California Sandwich for lunch!
- Caffè Gambrinus, Naples.
Home of the ‘Caffè Suspeso’. A suspended coffee: you enjoy one but pay for two, leaving one for a stranger. It’s a beautifully simple idea that started in the 40’s and has had a resurgence in recent times.
- Any caffe in Naples.
- History Coffee, Punta Arenas.
Maybe not the best coffee but the location! Wow! It’s south, south Chile which means, Drakes Passage, Antarctica and/or Torres del Paine!
- De Bono, Malta.
First found when my original favourite Maltease coffee haunt had closed down. This one is hidden in plain sight most would skip past it. Oh, and the staff always recognise me.
- Laboratorio Espresso, Glasgow.
Often the best coffee shop is found by accident. I was bored in traffic on an airport shuttle bus so I jumped off and all but bumped into this gem. Wonderful service, top coffee.
- Coffee Lab, Cartagena.
So many reasons to love Coffee Lab but for the benefit of a one sentence review…it’s home to Spain’s best prepared and presented cortado.
- The one in the other Cartagena, Colombia.
Recommended to me by a taxi driver I’d booked for a day of touring. The only downside is that it was our last stop. Had I been told of this spot earlier I’d have spent the day here.
- The Old Compass, Ho Chi Minh City.
This place is really hard to find, up an alleyway that will fill you with doubt or fear. Maybe both. Do not give up. Oh, it’s on the very top floor.
- Teeston Farmer’s Farm Shop, Teeston.
It’s become our local, so I have to give it a mention. The flat white from that machine is surprisingly good. Charming.
- The Pier by Ocean, Sihanoukville.
Home to a great iced latte which is exactly what you crave after an hour or two in the heat. View to die for and a very comfortable chair.
- The Hungry Guest, West Malling.
The coffee shop where I met the love of my life for our first date. (I added this one. That’ll teach you to mock my backgammon playing style – Lyn)
- Any espresso enjoyed while watching a sunrise.
I have the cushiest job in the world. To be up on deck with my book and a fresh coffee while the sun rises is my absolute favourite part of it.
- The Nest, Guildford.
They serve Caffè del Doge.
- The Gentleman’s Baristas, London.
If you pass the ‘greatest coffee shop in London’ you wil actually enjoy the city’s best espresso. Made with love and care.
- The one just up from Flinders Station, on the left. It’s in an alley full of graffiti, Melbourne.
Run by homeless people on Hosier Lane and offering you the chance to pay it forward is another where I head for my first coffee. Oh, and the street art.
- Ground Control, Sydney.
Awake at three in the morning because of jet lag I wandered from the airport hotel to Circular Quay and this place was just opening. I am their favourite regular and that has everything to do with my returning there with a small crowd I’d spotted lining up for their cofffee at Hungry Jacks.
- House of Machines, Cape Town.
Every one of their regulars favourite coffee is written in chalk on a huge wall as you walk in. The coffee was fab but this idea won them a place on my list.
- Bar Italia, London.
Suggs, front man from the iconic British band Madness, wrote about his favourite coffee shop in London. He didn’t name it but gave directions to it which I duly followed to Bar Italia. A coffee shop I have since frequented for decades.
- Nomad, Edinburgh.
A day in Edinburgh started with a coffee served from an old phone box in Haymarket Station. Across the street was easyCoffee, sister company to easyJet airlines. Their door had a sign pointing to the door you should use but it inadvertatly led my eyes to Nomad Coffee across the street.
- Fieldwork Coffee, Melbourne.
Desperate for a coffee we dived in here ready for whatever we’d get. Perfect. There is a lot of pressure associated with that word but they nailed it.
Fine, twenty two….