15 February, 2018
Coaltown Coffee Pop-up Shop
As I was sitting here last night debating where I would go today for a coffee, a very exciting announcement appeared on my Instagram feed!!! Coaltown Coffee were opening a Pop-up Coffee Shop in the Edwardian Arcade in Ammanford! I knew they were up to something as there had been a few cryptic clues on their social media! Needless to say, I was on the M4 straight after the school run!
I first came across Coaltown Coffee early last year on my tour of Speciality Coffee Shops. I tried their locally roast coffee in the Ginhaus Deli, Llandeilo and The Little Man Coffee Co, Cardiff. I have since sampled their coffee at both ‘Hoogah’ and ‘The Optimist’ in Swansea. Last June I spent a morning at Coaltown Coffee Roasters learning all about coffee and acquiring some basic barista skills. It was during this morning that I really fell in love with the world of speciality coffee, and that was due largely to the enthusiasm and passion of Gordon and Scott. (See Blog Past 29.06.17 to read more about Coaltown Coffee Basic Barista Course).
So this morning, in a cozy space in the Arcade in Ammanford, Coaltown opened a Coffee Shop. I was at the front of the queue! to try a Flat White prepared using their first signature blend ‘Black Gold No 3’. This is a blend of Arabica beans from Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador, with tasting notes of rich chocolate and biscuit. They also offer guest single origin espressos from their own range. Today’s single origin was a coffee from Burundi with tasting notes of black cherry, peach and milk chocolate with an orange acidity. On drip filter there was a Kenyan coffee with tasting notes of sweet orange and white florals. I will definitely be returning very soon to sample this! There was the usual selection of hot drinks, as well as soft drinks by Fentimens and a mouth watering display of home made cakes, including carrot cake, banana loaf, coffee & walnut cake and brownies.
The coffee shop is a pre-cursor to the family’s big project! As we speak, a purpose built live Roastery with Coffee Shop and Barista School is being built in Ammanford. This will be opening later on in the year and has been an ongoing labour of love for the family. I cannot wait to visit the Roastery and see the new Roaster in action and of course try a few more coffees!
Good luck to the James family with these exciting projects. Their enthusiasm for Speciality Coffee is infectious and they are a real inspiration to wannabe coffee geeks like myself!
The Pop-up Coffee Shop is open Monday to Saturday 8am – 4:30pm
Website: www.coaltowncoffee.co.uk
Instagram: coaltowncoffee
Twitter: @CoaltownCoffee
Facebook: @CoaltownCoffeeRoasters