July 2015 – From Coffee With Love

So, it’s the holiday season again , yay! Time to explore new cities, experience new food, explore history, learn a new language, soak up another culture and of course check out new cafes. So, if you’re off to England and the most visited city in the World, London, and it gets a bit hectic and hot – then I recommend you pop over to one of the most traditional and historic cities in England, Oxford. Famous for its World Class university and cappuccino brown traditional buildings, Oxford is about a 40 minute train ride or 1.5 hours bus ride away from London, with buses running almost every 15 minutes from Victoria Station, you can easily visit Oxford in a day.

Zappis Bike Cafe

So, after you’ve soaked up the Oxford sites, and want to relax your feet, then it’s time for a great cup of coffee to finish off the experience. Lucky for you, I’ve done some research and I start with the best, just a stone throw away from the bus station, Zappi’s, which is actually located on the first floor of a bike shop with the same name on 28-32 St Michael’s St, Oxford.

It’s not posh looking but the owner (I forgot his name) was very welcoming. He doesn’t confine himself to one roaster and when I visited, he had just got a batch of coffee from Caravan in London, which was eager to try out. He focuses on getting the best from each coffee and wants customers to have a tasteful experience when they visit. They’ve got a la marzocco Linea and I had to get a flat white, see pic above, yummy. There are cakes, sandwiches and some chairs to relax and of course bikes to ogle at.

The Missing Bean

It prides itself as the first independent antipodean cafe in Oxford, so it’s soaked in Oxford independent caffe culture tradition. Located not to far from Zappis, on 14 Turl Street, Oxford, The Missing Bean also roasts their own coffee and have opened a second shop in Oxford city too. Check out their website www.themissingbean.co.uk for more info. As for me, I visited for my milk free espresso experience on the way to catch the bus back to London, a double espresso.

It was a bit quiet and low key but I can imagine this cafe being the “it” spot with students during term time. They’ve got the gadgets and from what I saw of the menu, food and treats to get you by and accompany your caffeine shot.

So, there, two places to have tasteful coffee if and when you visit Oxford.

That’s it from me, as I’m off to Dubai tomorrow, God willing, for sun, relaxation, great hotels, great food and coffee, yes, coffee – see my post on Tom&Serg, who now have a new place, The Sum of Us, which I pray to try when there and of course blog about.