Baker and Spice- Maida Vale

At the insistence of my friend I decided to try the coffee here as the coffee shop we were at couldn't make our coffee as their machine had blown up.

Walking in: you can't help but be drawn to the cookies, meringues and assortment of cakes and savoury items. The decor is warm and inviting, however this time it is a quick in and out with a cappuccino and a couple of cookies.

The coffee: burnt and the milk scalding hot. I can't even tell you whether I liked the flavour of the bean! Urrrrggghhhh......Please hire someone drinks the coffee they make!

The vibe: warm, inviting, somewhere to wile away rainy days
The coffee: will try this place once more and see if I can get a true indication of the coffee

Daniela's Lounge - Shirland Rd, London

I walked past this place this morning. It looked so enticing with its bi-fold doors and warm inviting interior. Somewhere I could sit and read the paper or chat to a friend for hours. so I went in and ordered a cappuccino.

The chocolate....ukkkk, it's bitter. Come on people if I didn't want the secret sweetness of the chocolate on top of a cappuccino I would have ordered a latte! The chocolate is like having a marshmallow surprise.

The coffee - average. The milk outways the flavour of the coffee. The bean is too bitter and the milk sloppy. It tastes like no care and attention has been given to this cup. Do they drink the coffee they make. Is it bad enough to walk away without drinking....nearly, but it is my first coffee of the day and I am desperate.....sad to say it almost reminds me of instant. As I take a couple of sips I get used to the flavour, ok maybe I was a bit premature about the instant coffee remark, but this definitely won't be a repeat.

The vibe: cool and funky 

The coffee: if you like a bitter bean and a milky coffee this is the place for you

It all started here

About nine years ago was the first time I tasted 'real' coffee, not that instant stuff that I drank in uni to keep me awake all night so I could cram for exams. 

It was 2000 and I worked in a lab in Brisbane. My colleagues would down tools and head to Merlos for an 11am coffee. Orders would start about half an hour before so that they were ready to leave dead on time. I was new and wanted to take part in this ritual, but my dislike of coffee was well defined and I wasn't willing to bend for anyone.

A couple of months passed and everyday I would join them for tea, but I would drink something other than coffee. One day one of my colleagues bought me a coffee and insisted I try it. I turned my nose up, but didn't want to appear rude so I took it, promptly sat down and took my first sip. 

Whoa........what had I been missing all of those years, it was warm and smooth, milky but not too milky. A delight to the pallet. I had always loved the smell of coffee, but it had never tasted like this. There began my foray into the world of coffee.......

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