Reading Roars!

PR whiz, local resident and fellow “coffee freak” Drew Benvie recommended that I check out new coffeeshop Workhouse Coffee on Oxford Road.  In his words: 

it serves what has to be the best coffee I have ever tasted. The owner, Greg, is a massive coffee connoisseur and really knows his stuff (I also love coffee but don’t know my stuff unfortunately).

Early this afternoon I made the short trek from the town centre to see what it was like.  My first impression was positive.  Simple, airy and clutter-free, it seemed a far cry from the in-your-face chains within the IDR.

The Reading Evening Post and several press clippings rested on a table on the left-hand side.  The counter was on the right, manned by a confident barista who looked older than your average Starbucks server.  A menu on the wall displayed basic, rather than sophisticated, options such as Espresso, Cortado (a Spanish concept, this is an espresso with a dash of milk) and even Coffee if you want, well, a bog standard cup of coffee.  

Already Workhouse Coffee reminded me strongly of a coffeeshop I once visited in Rome’s historical centre, a coffeeshop that was so incredibly simple in style yet offered damn good coffee (even if I did ask for the wrong one, as my Italian was rather shambolic). 

But what was the coffee like?  I ordered an espresso, an inexpensive £0.60, and what looked like a home-made mincepie, which was £2.40.  The espresso was nice and nutty.  The mincepie, with a dark brown texture, was fruity, wholesome and went superbly with the caffeine shot. 

The barista/owner, after I thanked him, told me that Workhouse Coffee opened about three months previously and that he was aiming for incremental growth.  In terms of marketing activities, there were none.  Instead, people are discovering their coffee through word of mouth. 

So there you have it: if you like coffee in a relaxing environment with few distractions, I suggest you give Workhouse Coffee a try!