London’s been having plenty of new coffee shops popping up, though it’s questionable if they’re all actually good. There is a bit of a pattern – either they come with a fancy New York City name, or they’re one of those super bougie ones with a flower wall and charging some seriously overpriced coffee. I don’t know about you, but it hurts when you’ve paid more than usual and the coffee turns out to be mediocre-at-best or even poor (*cough* Elan Cafe *cough)! So when I first heard the news about yet another NYC-based coffee shop, Blank Street Coffee opening in London, I didn’t pay much attention to it assuming it was just going to be one of those cafes.
Eventually, what has drawn me to visit Blank Street Coffee is their Pistachio Latte offering. I do love a good pistachio latte so that certainly caught my eye. It is also centrally located in the lovely area of Fitzrovia, so it ticked the box for convenience as well. But as I researched more about Blank Street Coffee, I got more attracted to the concept behind the shop and really grew to like the brand!
Blank Street: the untapped affordable coffee to beat the chains
I don’t have much love for any coffee shop chain in the UK. At chains, you literally get some of the cheapest-tasting coffees priced at a whooping £3+. If you think about it, it’s sort of ridiculous. That’s where Blank Street got me on their side.
Blank Street prides itself in serving high-quality speciality coffee with prices to beat the likes of Pret & Costa. They vowed to cap their regular coffee prices below the £3 mark, proving that it is in fact possible to enjoy quality coffee at cheaper prices in London. Instead of £3.20 at Pret for a mediocre-at-best cappuccino, you can just pop into Blank Street to spend £2.90 for the same but much better quality. Moreover, the aesthetics of Blank Street is way better too!
How is that feasible? Their secret to keeping their cost down is with their super-automatic Eversys espresso machine. Eversys is a well-regarded name in the world of speciality coffee but has still yet to crack the market, hence the low cost. Additionally, Blank Street Coffee also picks locations with tiny footprints and uses trucks (the idea of coffee carts) as well to reduce any rental costs.
What We Ordered
Pistachio Latte (£4.40)
I think when I say Pistachio Latte, a lot of people immediately think of Jolt’s signature Pistachio cream latte. Let me lead with this – it’s not the sweet type of pistachio cream latte at Blank Street. Instead, expect a properly brewed strong cup of iced latte that’s laced with a subtly nutty edge of flavour. The coffee was strong and rich to taste, offering an instant silky hit at first sip and fragrant flavours. I certainly rate this as one of the top iced coffees in London, but for the pistachio latte specifically, the pistachio didn’t necessarily wow or left a huge impression.
Hot Chocolate (£3.20)
The hot chocolate was for the other half since he’s not a coffee drinker. I took a few sips and was surprised by how nice it was! It was velvety to taste and got just the right amount of sweetness. The chocolate flavour could be a little richer but, overall, it’s a fairly satisfactory cup better than the other coffee chains.
Review Summary
Blank Street Coffee is what we really need for the London coffee scene and a highly welcomed concept to hopefully change things up. I’m sure that everyone can agree with me that good coffee at affordable prices is something that we’d all appreciate and want. With plans to continue expanding, I can’t wait to find Blank Street Coffee popping up at more locations all across London with that iconic green everywhere!
Looking for other speciality coffee shops in London? Check these out too:
- Watch House
- % Arabica London
- Omotesando Koffee London
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Drinks
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Value for Money
Website: https://www.blankstreet.com/
Instagram: blankstreet
Nearest station: Goodge Street
