New Zealand coffee mainstay Allpress Espresso brought its signature smooth roasted beans and laidback surfer vibe to London in 2010, when it opened a café and roastery on Redchurch Street. Lauren HepburnĪddress: Kiss the Hippo, 51 Margaret Street, Fitzrovia, London W1W 8SG Other locations: Richmond, King's Cross and Shoreditch Website: Īllpress Espresso Roastery and Café, Dalston Try the mellow Guatemalan beans if you’re a drip-coffee lover or the Colombian/Honduran George Street Blend if you’re partial to a velvety flat white. To top it all off, Kiss the Hippo’s baristas make killer coffee. Beans are sourced direct from farmers the café supports a number of charities, including Rainforest Trust UK and the National Literacy Trust, and partners with the Just a Drop clean water foundation packaging is biodegradable the food menu is locavorious (try the eggs Benedict or white-chocolate-iced cinnamon roll – customer favourites for good reason) and most impressively, its in-house roastery produces blends and single-origin options certified organic by the Soil Association and uses 80 per cent less fuel than traditional methods. Is this the world’s most conscientious coffee shop? Since opening its first location in Richmond a couple of years ago, Kiss the Hippo has gone from strength to ethical strength. Sonya BarberĪddress: Algerian Coffee Stores, 52 Old Compton Street, Soho, London W1D 4PB Website: Sadly it’s take away or standing room only but for that price, no one is complaining. For around £1, you can get a single (or double) syrupy espresso or for around £1.20, they’ll make you a strong latte or cappuccino. But aside from stocking all you need for your morning home brew, they also have a trusty Astoria coffee machine plonked neatly in the middle of the cramped shop, which serves up some of the cheapest – and best – coffee in town.

There’s also a hefty selection of loose-leaf teas, if you’re so inclined. Wooden shelves are stacked floor to ceiling with canisters of freshly roasted beans from around the world and all the coffee-making accoutrements you could wish for: shiny mocha pots of all sizes, packs of filter papers, cafetiѐres and copper Turkish coffee makers.

Although they may not have been sipping lattes back in the day, stepping inside the signature red-fronted Old Compton Street shop feels like a journey back in time – and one look at the old black and white photos on their website shows that the displays have barely changed.

Less a coffee shop, more full-blown coffee institution, this cosy Soho store has been caffeinating Londoners since it opened back in 1887.

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