North Brighton

Home to one of the best bakeries in Brighton, The Flour Pot are always looking to improve their artisanal offering, including their coffee selection. 

This culminated early on in 2018 when the bakery began roasting their own coffee at Small Batch’s Wellington House. Moving on from their previous coffee supplier, Caravan Coffee Roasters, The Flour Pot’s house blend now offers a sweet aroma with cherry flavours and a silky mouthfeel. Once cooled it comes to life, creating notes of nuts and especially caramel. It is a sweet espresso which perfectly matches their focus on pastries and their baked offering. 

As the company continues to expand, with the addition of a new seafront-based shop in 2018 and their Potland Road store in 2019, as well as further plans for 2020, it is exciting to see the direction The Flour Pot are heading in.

With an already large following across the city it is very encouraging to see that speciality coffee is still at the forefront for players as big as The Flour Pot.

Moksha is a true family run, independent cafe and, since first opening its doors in 2007, has had numerous transformations in becoming what it is today. 

Although the food may be taking a more prominent role than the coffee, the coffee offering is still of a high standard. A range of hand brewed options are available, and the V60 we tried was everything a hand brew should be: light, delicate, and delicious.

The filter coffees complement the usual espresso options, which are made with beans roasted in nearby Littlehampton.

Dough Lover is more than just a place you’re not allowed to bring your laptop. The food is expertly crafted, with a focus on the finer details. They have their own milk making machine, which they use to create their own organic nut milk.

The coffee they serve is worth trying, with or without nut milk. Their house blend is from Taylor Street Baristas, and they often have a “Wild” guest roast option. Ask what is currently available on offer, just don’t ask what the Wi-Fi code is.

…And Then There Were Three.

Much like the Genesis album of 1978, the new Pelicano on Queens Road has a different feel to what’s come before from their back catalogue. The Sydney Street shop, and first Pelicano to open, is renowned for its wide selection of cakes and treats, while their second shop, opened in February of this year, offers the opportunity to grab a takeaway caffeine fix or sip fine coffee while hanging out at The Level.

However, the new Pelicano on Queens Road, in the same premises as the former Taylor St Baristas, has taken all the best bits from their previous coffee shops and made a total coffee shop in every sense.

As you enter you can’t miss the strikingly swank Synesso Cyncra espresso machine, restored specifically for the shop by The Coffee Doctor. Once inside, wooden floorboards run the length of the room, with exposed brickwork visible on their feature walls, as well as many plants keeping the shop feeling fresh and balanced.

Out back, the garden is a sun-trap and, with hand-made benches from wall to wall, there is plenty of seating to soak up the sun and chat away the hours with friends.

On the coffee front, Pelicano offer their classic Smokey Bird blend on their Synesso, which creates notes of dark chocolate with a coating mouthfeel before giving way to stone fruits and vanilla flavours as it cools. They also offer a range of single origin beans on their brew bar, which faces onto Queens Road, providing the perfect example of speciality coffee to the busy streets of Brighton.

Although it may have taken them five years to open a second shop, it has only taken them five months to open their third, and with this latest opening, they have got it spot on.

Anyone who’s walked down the busy Kensington Gardens street in the North Laine will know that sometimes you just need a small respite from the crowds. Luckily, Jolliffes offers this.

If you decide to duck inside, you’ll be greeted by a surprisingly spacious location. Set out over two floors, Joliffees brings Scandinavian sensibilities to mind but not the sleek functionality of modern IKEA furniture, but a warmer feeling. Classic wooden furniture and boarding, chalet styled, with woollen decorations. The walls are also adorned with art for sale. It reminds of Tove Jansson’s Moomins, or Bergen in Norway if you’re lucky enough to have been.

Fortunately, Scandinavia and coffee go hand in hand. Jolliffes serve Red Roaster, a smooth offering that works well as a black coffee. The cakes available are what will catch the eye, with a number of fantastic options available. A coffee and a cake from Jolliffes is the perfect cure when those weekend crowds prove too much.

The latest Brighton coffee shop to spread its wings and add yet another venue is the Trading Post Coffee Roasters, who have opened a new location in the north lanes.

Just like their roastery on Ship Street, this Trading Post offers five different blends, including the Mono Loco blend which we tried, made up of Latin American beans. The espresso had a rich dark chocolate flavour, which made way for a pleasantly tart aftertaste.

From a design perspective, Trading Post have done a great job creating a warm and inviting atmosphere in such a small amount of time. The brown, black, and blue colour palette works nicely with the bare-brick walls. Upstairs, there is a beautiful and cosy space leading to a roof terrace, which is set to open in mid-March 2019, and offers gorgeous views over the hustle and bustle of Kensington Gardens. Outside are a number of seats, offering a great opportunity to people watching on one of Brighton’s busiest lanes.

As well as coffee, Trading Post offers a range of cakes and pastries as well as a hot food kitchen, serving a number of brunch-like options. They also have an alcohol license and serve a number of beers and wines, as well as a number of coffee-based cocktails, such as their espresso martini and Baileys frappe.

A wonderful addition in a definitive part of the town, once the summer months roll around, this new spot will be the place to kick back and enjoy good coffee in the sun’s rays.

On Jubilee Street, located on the ground floor of MyHotel, is Small Batch’s flagship store. With a fully glass front, it is bright and busy with an obvious buzz within.

Looking in, the four-seater brew bar is what is most eye catching, with four Hario syphon filters often bubbling away. V60 pour overs are also available, offering single origin coffee, and the baristas will do their very best to answer any questions you may have about the current bean or brewing method.

As with all the Small Batch stores, on their espresso machine they offer their house blend, Goldstone Espresso which, like the single origins on offer, changes with the seasons. On batch brew is the Blue Note filter blend, a great option to take-away as there’s no waiting around for it, just pay, fill up a cup, and go.

Cool in summer and warm in winter, with wide-stretching windows covering the entire front of the café, it is the perfect spot to sit down and watch the world go by.

Pelicano’s attention to detail is incredible, from the logo that slowly reveals itself in the cup as you drink, to the decor, the food that’s beautifully displayed, and the wooden boards your drinks are served on, everything adds up to a wonderful experience.

The coffee is the real star though, roasted locally by Pelicano themselves, with their espresso blend boasting dark chocolate notes with a hint of vanilla; whether paired with milk, or black, it is well rounded.

Everything about Pelicano is warm and welcoming, there are only so many ways of saying it’s a lovely experience, but it truly is.

In the last year we’ve seen a considerable step up in quality as well as quantity when it comes to the local coffee scene. Not only have we seen a continued push for quality, as more and more speciality shops look at roasting their own beans as well as offering a more well-rounded third wave coffee experience, we have also seen an increase in speciality coffee shops opening across the city.

On top of this, the dust is only now beginning to settle on the expansion of Blend & Brew, on Trafalgar Street in Brighton. Formerly a one-stop pitstop for coffee on the go, this little kiosk-like setup has now hopped across the road to the opposite corner, offering an expansive option of seating as well as food and coffee.

The new design is a step up in style too, as the expansion now allows a grandiose interior, depicted by the flower murals, exposed brickwork and its aesthetically pleasing furnishings.

In a town dominated by lightly roasted offerings, Blend & Brew’s beans are roasted by the owner in his native Italy, bringing more of a traditional Italian style to the south coast. The coffee is rich and smooth, with a slightly smokey edge which works really well with the full body of the espresso.

So, whether you’re in a rush for the train, or just wish to simply sit in the impressive surroundings and enjoy your coffee, Blend & Brew now has you covered.

Black Mocha, unsurprisingly, is the place to go if you have a love of chocolate. Their range of hot chocolate rivals the selection of coffee options at many specialty coffee houses. Almost everything on the menu, both for food and drink, is vegan friendly; the highlight being their vegan hot chocolate.

If tea is more your thing, there is a choice of seventeen loose leaf teas to choose from. And, of course, there is obviously coffee available, both as espresso or hand poured filter.

Unsurprisingly, the coffee itself, from Cast Iron Roasters, has notes of dark chocolate, as well as a hazelnut and caramel quality. It’s hard not to think of chocolate when in Black Mocha, but their coffee is as rich and flavourful as their treats.

The venue itself is light and airy, with white walls and skylights making the most of an intimate environment. Whether upstairs or downstairs, Black Mocha is a quiet haven from the often overwhelming Brighton Lanes.