Association Coffee

November 6, 2012 by murraycsblake 4 Comments

No. 10/12 Creechurch Lane, EC3A 5AY
Open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Nearest tube: Aldgate
http://www.associationcoffee.com/

I think I may have spotted a niche in the heavily saturated London blogging world: coffee.  I am going to do a few reviews of independent London coffee shops – please let me know if you find these useful.  I have taken some inspiration from the blogs of London Tastin and fromcoffeewithlove, but I will focus on the assessment of one particular kind of coffee: a flat white.  This an antipodean invention consisting of 1 or 2 shots of espresso topped with a layer of milk foam or microfoam.  Flat whites are stronger than your average café latte or white coffee and are a good barometer of the quality of a cafe because they require careful treatment of the milk (it can be easily burned during the foaming process) and they also highlight the quality of the espresso used because it is not diluted with lots of milk.

My first review took me to Association coffee which has been open since the spring and is in a great location a stone’s throw away from the Gherkin.  The clientele seem more Shoreditch than City however – when I visited there was not a single pinstripe suit in sight. The interior is all bare brick walls and Scandinavian furniture and it has a stripped down cool similar to longer running establishments like Tapped and Packed and Shoreditch Grind.  The main source of their beans is Square Mile Coffee but they also use Has Bean.  The staff seem knowledgeable and passionate – they will be willing to talk about coffee for a long time if prompted (they are real coffee geeks).


I was pretty impressed with my flat white – the milk treatment was good with a nice consistency and integration with the coffee.  The quality of coffee was fine although it was a tad weak for my taste.  I also had a brownie which was fresh and melt in the mouth, though maybe lacking a bit of crunch.  They also offer a wide range of filter coffees if you want to try something a bit more exotic.

Verdict
Recommended.
Coffee score 3/5
Atmosphere 4/5