Ozone Coffee Roasters, London

Coffee is saying goodbye.

It’s the last weekend before I head home. Time to inspect the list of London cafés that Kenny drew up for me yet again. There are far too many coffee bars that I’d love to visit but there are only that many hours in a day.

In the end it boils down to a shortlist of cafés that are central and easily accessible. I’m a tourist, after all. Better yet, a café with other great cafés nearby would leapfrog to the top of my list.

Finally I decide on Ozone Coffee Roasters and ask a friend who is currently studying in Birmingham to join me. (He’s but a train ride away, hooray.)

I arrive early in the morning before the crowds storm in and choose a window seat, the better to watch the world pass us by. (Okay, it’s really for the natural sunlight for my photography.)

Coffee? Ordered. French toast? Ordered. Now for a little café décor scanning while waiting for my friend.

Wooden chairs and unadorned brick walls offer a taste of what the original place must have looked like. There doesn’t need to be more to attract my eye.

The winter sun outside the window streams in lazily, bringing with it the slightest tendrils of warmth. The usual smells of a coffeeshop drift about; it’s a quiet and happy place.

Ah! My coffee arrives. Though it’s a Kenya Gatomboya AB (rather than AA), there are still the acidity and winey flavours I so love. My French toast is served with a soft, ripe pear poached in ginger syrup and topped with mascarpone.

The subtle aroma of pear, the soft doughy toast – can you blame me for finishing every mouthful before my friend had even arrived? How do I greet him?

Coffee is about saying hello too, I guess.

在回國前的最後一個週末，再看了看馬少給我的倫敦咖啡館名單;
裡頭想去的咖啡館太多了，而時間總是太少。
只好挑一些靠近市中心，交通方便；
而且最好步行距離內還有其他咖啡館的，那就可以一次過拜訪幾家。
最後我選了Ozone，并約了一位在英國留學的朋友一起去。
大清早的，人潮不多，我挑了一個靠窗的位置，
點了咖啡和吐司，邊瀏覽店內的裝潢，邊等待朋友的到來。

木質桌椅和不加修飾磚墻給人一種原始的味道，
無需多餘的佈置，就已然吸引著我的目光。
而冬天的陽光從窗戶外懶洋洋的灑進來，帶來絲絲溫暖。
加上店裡飄散著的咖啡香；有種寧靜而快樂的氛圍。
先送上來的是咖啡，雖然是AB的豆子，
不過肯亞的那酸和醇依然是我所喜愛的。
而這的法式吐司是配著煮得熟軟的梨、薑糖漿和mascarpone一起來的，
淡淡的梨香，柔柔鬆軟的吐司，
一口一口的，在朋友抵達前就已經吃完了。