Coffee at Glow, Clapham South

In need of a coffee and a chance to get out of the wind we nipped into Glow near Clapham South station. On a Sunday morning it was buzzing with 20 somethings catching up with their social lives – Macbooks out, Newspapers spread, gossip even more so.

Whilst Cowie was chatting on the phone I decided to nip inside and take a seat at their bar. Whilst enjoying a very robust coffee I was impressed by the quality of their backbar and the amount of Courvoisier they sell. The Australian girl behind the bar was good fun. Constantly making smoothies from sachets of frozen fruit she kept on giving me little samples! They were so busy she had to multi task by managing the bar, taking orders, blending smoothies, entertaining me and phone up all her contacts to see if they would be willing to come in immediately to help out with the Sunday rush.

I absorbed the Observer supplements, another coffee and some sample smoothies and left thinking that Glow is awesome. The breakfasts and brunches look brilliant, the staff are really friendly and efficient. They’ve got wifi and the right newspaper. The perfect place on a Sunday? Or any day of the week perhaps.

Radiator Mug

Wow. I simply have to get my hands on one of these puppies. Awesome.

From Charles and Marie

“Ahhh, finally, is all we can say! We first met Stephen Reed at 100% Design in London last year where he sold the first prototype of his ingenious mug at the Super Design Mart, but it took 15 months to get it produced and it is perfect! Read on and see for yourself:

Anyone who has ever opened a PC or worked on an engine will see a resemblance to the fins that are used to cool specific parts that shouldn’t get to hot. Well, the same applies here. Those fins – called heat sinks if you really want to know – cover the entire base of the mug, this way you can hold it without burning your fingers. Pretty nifty if you ask us… But don’t be fooled by the temperature of your favorite beverage, whilst you may be able to hold the mug, it does not imply that it’s ready to be enjoyed.

Next to the fact that it is a very cool idea, it is also a very elegant and good looking one and at 3.5″ (9 cm) wide and 4.5″ (11,5 cm) high, impeccably proportioned…”

Coffee in a Camper Van

When we were in Whitstable Cowie and I had a great time exploring the market on the harbour. Having guzzled some oysters and studied the Crab and Winkles’ menu for that evening we were in desperate need of a coffee.

We stumbled across a bloke selling organic, freshly ground coffee next to his VW camper van with an array of up to date newspapers and magazines scatterd across the parcel shelf.

Cowie had a super fair trade tea whilst I polished off two double espresssos whilst lounging around in the back of a camper van. This was bliss. Out of the wind drinking delicious coffee and reading all the good bits of the paper. This is the quintessential experience of what drinking tea or coffee should be… literally transporting you away from the drudgery of everyday life to a life more charming… a better place.

Have a look at Volks Coffee’s website to see where they’ll turn up next!

Scrunched up coffee cups

I have been trying to find a company that supplies these scrunched up coffee cups to the UK for almost a year now… and here they are. And they only cost about 4 quid each… brilliant.

Willy Wonka Coffee Shop

I saw this on The Wandering Eater:

It got me really excited. It reminds me about my idea to have a chain of trendy, young, funky Tea Salons.

Roasting Plant: New York.