Early morning, before tourists hit the streets and even before office folk goes about their morning routine of grabbing a to-go cup coffee at random coffee shops, the famous Portobello Road in Notting Hill is a lonely place. On our own search for a good cup of coffee

we walked passed shop owners preparing for opening hours and saw municipality workers beautifying the streets of this tourist hot spot, before we found a coffee place of our liking. Talkhouse Coffee, located on 275 Portobello Road, is such a place. A small, bright yet cosy coffee shop of modern interior design. A bar and counter in the center of the room, a beautiful La Marzocco espresso machine and a few talkhouse2high tables and chairs along the exposed-brick wall and the front window.

Right when walking in we spotted the award trophy on the counter, baristas at Talkhouse reached 3rd place at the 2013 World Latte Art Championship. Respect! But the team is not resting on their laurels, they are aiming higher we have learned. “Our aim is to be one of the best coffee shops in London” it says on their menu, which lists a nice selection of espresso based coffees, aeropress filter coffees, hot chocolates and soft drinks.

 

Without hesitation I ordered single origin coffee from Bolivia, roasted in the English south-west by James Gourmet Coffee. As a brewing method I opted for aeropress. A balanced fast of ripe fruit, sweet notes, little acidity. What a good choice for an enjoyable morning cup! The small bottle with warm milk that came with the coffee I didn’t touch to not compromise the beautiful taste. talkhouse7

Talkhouse coffee definitely is a great place for both, a quick morning cappuccino for take-away and also for enjoying a great cup of single origin coffee. It’s a pleasure to experience the baristas of this coffee shop cultivating, the global increasingly popular, coffee culture in Notting Hill.