On the search for black gold

Coffee is winning. Coffee is sexy. Coffee is that moment when you smell her hair and fall in love again. A good coffee in a good café can lessen the deepest sorrows and give a whoosh to the sweetest delights.

It is such a part of my everyday existence that I would chase up and down London town for the best, so here’s a few tips for coffee lovers new – and maybe not so new – to London’s amazing coffee scene.

I’ll start this piece off with a paean to a friend who is lost and gone. My favourite coffee shop in the whole of London used to be the wonderful Taste of Bitter Love on Hackney road in East London. It was perfection in 10 square metres, the coffee and the décor, the cakes and the tiny chairs outside, the charming Aussie staff who magically came together to produce something beyond mere words; for me, no one’s beaten ToBL yet. The rumours are they’re opening up new premises soon and I’ll be there on day one.

Wiping the tears of remembrance away, we can stagger into the blinding light of the present day to find it’s not the apocalypse we had feared but an interesting and stimulating vista of verdant green.

Within minutes of Northampton square we have three of the best places to down an espresso in the city. A hop, skip and a jump down St. John’s Street brings you to J&A Café, a secret oasis that feels like you’ve been transported to the best village café in all of England. There’s barely a chalkboard on Great Sutton Street to attract weary wanderers but if you do spot it and risk the journey down that narrow alley you’ll be rewarded with a treat. Whether you sit in the gorgeous interior or the relaxed courtyard outside, it’s fantastic: it’s almost the perfect daytime first date. I like it so much I almost didn’t put it in this guide to keep it a secret from you all. Guilt broke down my resolve.

Keep heading south towards Smithfields market and you’ll find Dose Espresso, a red and white affair with delicious, ethically-sourced coffee served alongside some intriguing cakes and sweets. It does get rammed with suited City-types at lunch though.

Head west towards Chancery Lane and you may be lucky enough to stop into Prufrock. Owned by a former World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies and serving just 4 choices – Espresso, Espresso with 4oz/6oz/8oz milk – Prufrock may just serve the best tasting cup of coffee in London. Its decoration is strikingly minimalist to the point of being east German, but Prufrock sits smack in the middle of the coffee community in London. It hosts training events and sources some incredible beans from all over the world there. I had a Norwegian espresso there once that tasted of jam.

For the rest of London it’s worth checking out the brilliant Fleet River Bakery in Holborn – go down the stairs to the cavernous other rooms – and the perennial Flat White in central London, a fine place to observe Soho-ites go about their deviant ways.

Tina, We Salute You in Dalston warrants a visit for the art gallery that surrounds the coffee bar as much as anything and, finally, Borough Market on a Sunday has the Monmouth Coffee Company which is better than most else south of the river.

Happy drinking!

J&A Café: 4 Sutton Lane, EC1M 5PU

Dose Espresso: 69 Long Lane, EC1A 9EJ

Prufrock: 23-25 Leather Lane, EC1N 7TE

Fleet River Bakery: 71 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2A 3JF

Flat White: 17 Berwick Street, W1F 0PT

Tina, We Salute You!: 47 King Henry’s Walk, N1 4NH

Monmouth: 2 Park Street, SE1 9AB