Monmouth Coffee, London

Coffee is on everybody’s lips.

When I first visited London, I discovered that if the locals talked about coffee, inevitably the name Monmouth would come up. This old café initially started in Covent Garden in 1978. In addition to serving and selling coffee, Monmouth also roasted their own beans.

As the business got better over the years, the owners opened another branch near Borough Market. The roastery was then moved to Maltby Street in Bermondsey.

The first Monmouth café I tried visiting was the original shop at Covent Garden. The plan was to head there for afternoon tea but after seeing the long lines snaking out of the entrance, I pretty much gave up on that idea. Darn.

My next attempt was on a weekend, an early morning trip to the Bermondsey roastery. On most days, this shop functions as their office and isn’t open to the public. On Saturdays however, folks are welcome to drop by in the morning for a cup of coffee.

I ordered a cup of hand-brewed, single origin Guatemala. A full-bodied aroma but very bold, far too bitter for my taste, unfortunately.

Next I headed to the Borough Market outlet. Already the queue was daunting but why not join them since I’m already here, eh? A cappuccino first: smooth foam and tasty enough though no real surprises here. A chocolate croissant to complete my breakfast and my Monmouth experience, and I’m done.

來到倫敦，如果和當地人聊起咖啡，
一定少不了Monmouth這家老牌咖啡館。
Monmouth早於1978年就已經開始在柯芬園(Covent Garden)營業，
除了售賣咖啡，還自家進行豆子烘焙。
由於生意越來越好，前幾年還在Borough Market附近開了另一家分店，
而豆子的烘焙更搬到了Maltby Street那。
我最早接觸的Monmouth是柯芬園那的老店。
原本打算到那和下午茶，可是看到門口那排隊的人龍后，我就投降放棄了。

後來我找了個週末，一大清早的就先去拜訪Maltby Street的烘焙店。
這家烘焙店平時是辦公室，并不開放給公眾，
只於每個週六上午九點至中午一點半才讓人來喝咖啡。
我在那點了一杯單品手沖Guatemala。
香氣十足，不過卻濃、厚、苦；不是我喜歡的那種口味。
離開這后，我接著來到Borough Market那的分店。
從老遠的就已經看到了排隊的人潮。
不過既然都已經來了，就跟著大夥排隊唄。
先是點了一杯卡布奇諾，然後在拿了一份chocolate croissant。
綿密的奶泡夠順滑可口，雖然沒有什麽意外驚喜，卻也喝的開心滿足。