A Nice Sit Down And A Cuppa… #7

The quest for the best tea & coffee in London continues… That Andy Frame: not only a top-notch Jack the Ripper guide for LW, but something of a connoisseur of coffee.
We asked him where to get the best coffee in London. Andy went back to 1887 for his answer – his coffee shop of choice was founded a year before the world had even heard of Jack the Ripper. And we were rather impressed with the tone of his reply – no messing, here-it-is, brooking no debate on the matter. A man who knows his mind. Cheers Andy!

“It's the Veluto Nero & Mocha Italia mix from the Algerian Coffee Store on Old Compton St, Soho. Buy the beans there and take them home and grind 'em up for your stove-top Bialetti. Buonissimo!”
Adam adds… I chased up Andy’s tip yesterday, and I can see where his certainty of tone comes from.
The first person to speak to me at the Algerian Coffee Store was a customer, who said, “If this is your first time, then you’ve discovered the best coffee in London.” I asked him what he was getting and his coffee of choice was the same as our Andy’s. “This is what they serve at Bibendum,” the customer told me. “The mocha just takes the edge off.”
He was having his ground at the shop – and this was the option I went for, too. Hold the mocha, though. I’m going to come back and compare the two next week.
The chap behind the counter then asked me how I’d be making the coffee – meaning filter machine, French press, Andy’s Bialetti, etc. It would seem that the density of the grind should vary for each method.
Such attention to detail is impressive.
When the beans were all ground and ready, the coffee was poured into a red bag, and then sealed with the shop’s very own vacuum-packing machine.
The vacuum packing machine is my new favourite gadget. I want one.
For the best take-home coffee in London, this will be a tough one to beat. And they do a damned fine espresso-to-go for £1.
And before Kim writes in and gets all THING again about tea, the Algerian Coffee Store has an array of loose-leaf teas that would be frankly alarming if the staff weren’t so helpful. If you have a coffee or tea recommendation of your own, email us at the usual address.
The Algerian Coffee Store is at 52 Old Compton Street W1D 4PB and their website is www.algcoffee.co.uk. Opening hours are Monday – Wednesday 9 a.m to 7 p.m, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m to 9 p.m and Saturday 9 a.m to 8 p.m.