I do not spend my day looking forward for the next coffee break, and I may spend days without drinking a cup of coffee.
In fact, let's make it clear: most of the times when I say coffee, I refer to cappuccino. I rarely drink an espresso, and my real problem is to find a good cappuccino. It seems that good espressos are relatively more abundant. So I believe that the problem has its roots in the process of adding milk to the espresso... perhaps.
This does not mean that I do not appreciate coffee.
I come from a coffee producer country (although, Ecuadorean people are not coffee lovers) and I lived in Italy for a very long time. I recognise the smell of a good coffee and I enjoy my cappuccino for breakfast.
I also like filter coffee (my Italian friends are going to be horrified about this my confession!). But again, even if more common, this is not as good as I expect it should be.
UK offers a very bad coffee.
There is little to do: if you plan a coffee taste tour, leave UK aside. I have been in several cities around UK, and even if I do believe many of them would have at least one place that offers a nice-enjoyable coffee, they are not so common and you really need a insider knowledge in order to enjoy your cup of coffee. Otherwise, you might need to please yourself with a cardboard cup that keep your hands warm while walking around the city (in fact, this is one of the reasons because I still walk in a random coffee shop).
Therefore, this post is about where to find a decent coffee in Norwich.
As I said, you really need an insider knowledge in order to find a decent cup of cappuccino in UK. Well, if you happen to be in Norwich, and want to enjoy a good one, here some places (in no particular order of preference!)
- The market. The Norwich market is very famous (see here and here), it is open all year around from Monday to Saturday. Stand 52-53 in Row B offers a good coffee. The cappuccino is still on the English side - very long and in a cupboard - but good nonetheless.
- Finnie's Juice Bar (19 Lower Goat Ln). Close to the market, there is this Juice Bar. It also offers a good quality coffee from £1. The cappuccino is still from the English side, but it is smaller (if you buy the small one for £1), which makes it less long than English cappuccino and therefore, more similar to Italian ones. Good place also for milkshakes :D
- The Window. (25 Wensum St.). This coffee has received excellent reviews and apparently is the smallest coffee shop in the world! It has a very pleasant environment and it is worth to pay a visit. The coffee is good and much more from the Italian side (shorter). I would not say that it is as good as a good Italian coffee, but I think I have had worse coffees in Italy!
Unfortunately, none of these places is open on Sunday (I know! This is Norwich!!!). So if you want to drink a decent cappuccino for breakfast, wake up early on a week day (Saturday is very busy everywhere, but you still get your coffee if you really want).
Enjoy!
