JUST teasing with that title. The coffee fraternity are as close-knit as the craft brewers and seem equally prolific with new ventures. Hence Caffeine and Co moving from its pop-up in the soon to be demolished Quay House into the buzzing Old Granada Studios complex and Pot Kettle Black bringing the aroma of freshly roasted beans to the Barton Arcade. Both are a real asset to the city centre.
Caffeine and Co, of course, already have two other venues in St James Square, off John Dalton Street, and Longford Park, Stretford – the latter home to its in-house bakery, which will be supplying bread to the the Old Granada Studios site (open daily 8am-5pm).
The menu there in the expanded space will also included salted caramel chocolate slices and handmade chocolate for the sweet-toothed alongside breakfast bites and slow-cooked dishes – and some trademark caffeine fixes sourced from award winning roasters Square Mile Coffee.
Expect, too, a calendar of special events, including the hugely successful ‘Meet the Roaster’ evenings, while Spinningfields Yellow Card holders can continue to enjoy their exclusive discount.
Phil Howells, of Caffeine & Co said: “We are about pairing the best coffee with serious food. Making great coffee is a path of chasing perfection and we bring the same attitude to what we put on our plates. Moving to a bigger space was a natural transition for us.”
The newest city centre indie coffee venture is inside the Barton Arcade, in the premises that used to house Kitchen restaurant. Pot Kettle Black is the brainchild of St Helens rugby players Mark Flanagan and John Wilkin. Food is sandwiches, salads and planks of cured meats and the like, but it is the carefully chosen coffee that is the real draw.
The beans come from the revered Workshop Coffee, based in London’s Clerkenwell. It’s a statement of intent to lure punters away from the over-roasted, burnt flavours of the chains and show them the delicate range of coffee flavours. Another worthy addition to the real coffee fraternity, it’s open 9am-5.30pm, Mon-Sat and 10am-4pm on Sundays.
If you are already a coffee aficionado (or even obsessive) we recommend, on November 1, the Independent Coffee Summit in Salford.
Caffeine & Co, HQ building, Old Granada Studios, Atherton Street, M3 3GS.
Pot Kettle Black, Unit 14, Barton Arcade, Deansgate, M3 2BW.