The best coffee in the west! (Coffee # 1)

Member Name: steedandpeel

Product:	Coffee # 1
Date:	10/08/09 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Truely great coffee, lovely atmosphere to the shops, organic and fair trade at reasonable prices

Disadvantages: Can get a bit crowded at busy times - just shows they are popular

Coffee # 1 is a small chain of coffee shops operating in the West Country and South Wales. I have visited two of their branches in Bristol, the Bishopston shop and the shop in Clifton. Their locations and other information about the company is shown on their website http://www.coffee1.co.uk/

I am a bit of a coffee addict and I have a serious latte addiction. I often stop at coffee shops for lunch in my work which takes me all over the south of England and Wales. However, despite regularly visiting all the big 'High Street' coffee brands, Coffee # 1 beats them all hands down in terms of the taste and quality of the coffee on offer.

The shops are stylishly, but simply designed in a relatively sophisticated manner, without being too 'corporate' as you would expect for a larger brand. The Bishopston branch has a lovely rear garden which is a delightful suntrap. The shops have a notice board where local people can post notices which helps to give a community feel to the shops.

The shops I have visited are also accessible for disabled customers with disabled toilets. However, due to the relatively small size of the shops, and the fact they are often crowded, it might be a bit of a struggle to negotiate your way through in a wheelchair. I have visited with a friend and her baby during a busy Friday lunchtime. She had some problems manoeuvring the pushchair through the shop, although the friendly staff were on hand to assist her. They also provided a high chair so her baby didn't have to sit in the pushchair whilst we ate our lunch.

In terms of their operation, they are much as you would expect from a larger chain of coffee shop; there is a serving counter where you can order your coffee to take away or eat in. There is also an array of cakes and muffins to choose from and paninis and quiche if you are after a savoury meal. I've tried their lemon tart which was fantastic, although I'm less impressed by their paninis - they are slightly on the dry side (probably to encourage you to buy more coffee)! There is a large selection of types of coffee, including de-caff, in a range of sizes, similar to the selection in a larger chain. On a particularly hot summers day, I've sampled their range of smoothies, which were delicious. In terms of pricing, they are fairly reasonable; a panini and latte is around £5, which is not a bad price for a lunch.

I've always found the staff to be very friendly and courteous; unlike some coffee shops, they will serve you your coffee at the counter, but bring over your food order once it is heated up. This is far more civilised than some shops where you have to hang around at the counter whilst they warm up your panini. I have found the service to be very fast, even at busy times of the day.

In addition to coffee to drink on the premises or to take away, the shops also sell their own coffee beans which you can grind yourself to get the Coffee # 1 experience at home. I've not bought any as they are quite pricey, and my coffee grinder is rubbish!

One of the benefits of the coffee on sale is that it is organic and fairly traded. This is great if you are an ethical consumer who wants to support farmers in the developing world. So many other coffee shops do not share this commitment to ethical trading and I am impressed that Coffee # 1 can do so without charging the earth for their product.

Coffee # 1 also operate a loyalty card scheme where after 6 cups of coffee you get one free. You can pick up a card to get stamped at the till. This is similar to other loyalty schemes, but well worth doing as a free coffee is always appreciated!

So if you are into your coffee, but also consider yourself to be an ethical consumer, then Coffee # 1 might be your perfect shop! They are certainly a chain, but a small chain which hasn't developed a large 'corporate' image and which manages to retain local community roots. In my opinion their coffee is far superior to other coffee chains and despite being organic and fair trade, is competitive on price. If you are in the West Country or Wales and fancy a caffeine hit, check them out!

Summary: A small chain of coffee shops serving a superior coffee to all the others