World’s smallest coffee shop
When I was in Norwich, courtesy of the lovely people at the Norwich tourist board, I came across the most gorgeous hidden gem in the form of The Window Coffee. Run by Hayley Draper (she came 5th in this year’s UK Barista Championships), it’s reputed to be the world’s smallest coffee shop. But what it may lack in space, the Window Coffee certainly makes up for in flavour. Those in the know when it comes to coffee flock here to squeeze themselves around the one table that seats around six people.
I met a guy who was a barista in Nottingham who had travelled to Norwich for the day to check it out. And what’s great about this café is that it’s an incredibly sociable experience – there isn’t room for it not to be. The enthusiasm of the barista Jay is infectious too. He talked us through the different varieties of coffee bean (they stock around seven) including Nicuragua Limancillo, which he explained had notes of toffee apple, caramel and sweet green apple (who knew!) and although I couldn’t detect the finer subtleties I could definitely taste its fuller flavour.
The Window Coffee Shop is only open from 8am-3pm, Tues-Fri and 9am-3pm Sat, so if you’re only in Norwich for a short time you’ll need to plan a visit. But if you can’t get a seat there’s always the option to grab a coffee and take it away. Plus they sell a selection of pastries and muffins if you’re feeling peckish, making this place the ideal pick me up.
I too am a fan of Norfolk and the Visit Norwich people told me about your blog. Really liked your piece.
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Hi Chloe,
Thanks so much for your comment and glad you like my blog! Norwich has got lots of great restaurants and shops – it’s hard to choose which ones to feature – I’m planning another post on Norwich in a few weeks. And you can always subscribe to it to keep updated on my latest posts.
Thats actually really interesting. My younger sister Lucy owns a little indi-cafe and will be interested in this. She and her partner are really into their coffees. Thank you for sharing.
PS. You are officially the first person I’ve subscribed to on our reader.
That is something I need to find more information about, appreciate the blog post.
What a nice surprise to see a story about Norwich when I woke up this morning. I live in Philadelphia and spent some time at UEA. These gems of places reinforce the unique and special qualities of Norwich.
Wonderful. I have put it on a my list of “must do’s” for when I am back in Norwich later this year.
I am currently in New Zealand which seems to have at least 2 coffee shops on each street corner but the quality varies considerably unlike the food which is nearly all tray bakes and muffins with some weird panini fillings peculiar to this country.