After too many months of instant coffee from a jar you found at the back of a cupboard, you’re undoubtedly yearning for something proper again, like you used to grab daily on that distant memory ‘the commute’.
They refer to isolation driving you ‘stir crazy’, and presumably this is reference to the action of swilling a teaspoon round a mugful of dirty water quaintly called Nescafé. But no more, it’s time to get serious about your daily coffee and here are ten people who can help you… it’s a matter of life and decaff.
Over Under
This one is close to our hearts because we are at Over Under every morning for our coffee in ‘normal times’ (they’ve a kiosk opposite Handbook HQ!). When your local disappears, it can be a wrench, which is why Over Under should be renamed Over & Above because that’s what they’ve gone to bring the Over Under experience right to our homes.
Over Under should be renamed Over & Above because that's what they've gone
Order in freshly ground coffee straight from Over Under, along with their original granola, branded cups and bottles as well as gift cards. You might be in lockdown, but you can still recreate the morning just-hits-the-spot commute coffee high.
From £9.50 a bag
www.overundercoffee.com
Perky Blenders
Freshly ground coffee delivered to your door and the gritty 1920s Brummy gangster scene Venns as it puns, briefly and beautifully, if otherwise ambiguously, in the form of Perky Blinders.
The London coffee chain also offer coffee by mail, with their bags designed to be posted and fit straight through a letterbox (worst-case-scenario and it splits then the postman’s van’s and your whole street’s mail is going to smell incredible).
Perky Blenders also offer a coffee club subscription that’s worth exploring for any real aficionados.
Prices from £7.50 a bag
www.perkyblenders.com
Independent Coffee Box
Fancy a selection of coffees from a range of different roasters, all sent to you in a monthly box? Course you do! This subscription service is a curated selection of some great small-batch roasters from across the country.
Support independent business and stay caffeinated all at once. Or decaffeinated.
From £18.99 a month
www.indycoffeebox.co.uk
Pact Coffee
Pact Coffee have been in the game for about as long as anyone and in these uncertain times it’s nice to have some experts managing your daily cuppa.
Majoring on ethical sourcing of beans, they work on a subscription model (a word they shun in favour of different ‘plans’ (ie subscriptions) or you can buy bags individually.
From £6.95 per bag (£7.95 on a plan)
www.pactcoffee.com
Solo Coffee
Lockdown has seen many businesses moving from supplying trade clients and making the switch to supplying consumers direct. With so many cafes and bars temporarily out of action it’s a smart move, and one that Solo Coffee has made with their ready-made coffee.
Having previously supplied the likes of Kiln, citizenM and Blok London they’ve pivoted to supply their three-litre coffee boxes for the general public. Pop one of these bad boys in your fridge enjoy single origin coffee from the farms of Brazil’s Minasul cooperative, perfect for a cocktail or enjoyed straight, and always served cold.
One box for £19.95
www.solocoffee.co.uk
Grind
‘Grind’, it pretty much sums up the daily reality of lockdown life. Thankfully coffeeshop chain Grind have an ‘at home’ solution, and even better it all comes a very on-trend dusty pinks.
Available in either whole bean, ground or recyclable Nespresso pod form, Grind brings the taste and style of Shoreditch to your lockdown coffee cup.
Prices from £9 for ground coffee and whole bean coffee (from £10 for a tin of 21 Nespresso pods)
www.grind.co.uk
Minor Figures
Walthamstow, London’s seat of actual cool (step aside Shoreditch) is home to Minor Figures, a cold brew coffee and oat m*lk startup who supply the coffeeshop trade. And, coz corona, now you.
As well as shipping ground coffee from guest roasters, they also specialise in oat milk, organic oat milk. Oh and CBD. Ideal for vegans, nut-allergists and anyone else who likes to keep things healthy.
Prices from £7 for bags of coffee
www.minorfigures.com
Dog and Hat
Frankly, who doesn’t adore animals wearing clothes? Which is exactly why Dog and Hat are our cup of tea. Er, coffee.
Aside from their natty dog wearing a top hat and sporting a monocle logo, the monthly subscription service offers a wide and interesting variety of coffee by the bag, changing each month.
Run from a farmhouse in York, the coffee is ethically sourced and Dog and Hat also support different charities each year, because that’s what a hat-wearing dog would do.
From £17 per month
www.dogandhat.co.uk
Kiss The Hippo
A coffeeshop based in Fitzrovia and Richmond, the curiously named Kiss The Hippo (the last thing any bride wants to hear the vicar say on their wedding day) is also a monthly subscription service.
Roasted weekly in Richmond and posted out within 24-48 hours, the beans are organically farmed and there are a range of different subscription options.
Prices from £9 per bag/week
www.kissthehippo.com
The Clumsy Goat
Once again the animal kingdom encroaches on the coffee world, this time in the form of goats. But unlike hippos and dogs we can at least see the tenuous link, as it’s said that mankind discovered coffee with the help of goats. Or at least it’s said by The Clumsy Goat.
And now they’re in the position of that original Ethiopian goat in introducing us to something new in the form of their roasts. Their coffee is available to order or at a discount via subscription.
Prices from £5.90 a bag
www.clumsygoat.co.uk
