It wasn’t until a recent Instagram hole I got myself into where I came across Lawn Coffee. I immediately became obsessed and had to try it for myself because
they looked like they knew what they were on about. So I made it my quest to find this place and test them out with a hot cup of Joe.
Turns out this place is the very definition of a hidden gem. Lawn lives in the corner of The Princess Street Hotel which it is affiliated with, but it is its own thing. This coffee shop is a quiet little oasis of calm with no queue, no struggling to find somewhere to sit and no baristas screaming a pronunciation of my name I have never heard before. Just people sat quietly, sipping coffee, reading the paper and minding their own business.
I must say, this was a welcome change on my rushed walk to work. As I stopped for a coffee, for a brief moment, I was de-stressed, calm, relaxed and not 45 minutes late as usual. So as for the space and the general vibe, top marks so far, but the real test was in the cup of coffee.
Now I like my coffee black as midnight on a moonless night, and I don’t want sugar anywhere near it, so there isn’t anything to hide behind when it comes to pleasing me. I went for a V60, which is a way of making coffee using a paper filter- which is sometimes called a ‘pour over’. A barista has to know what they are doing when it comes to making a V60, and it is safe to say that I was considerably impressed. Just what I needed to coax me out my morning coma.
I was so impressed that I popped back later in the week at tea-time for a cup of their loose leaf tea. Their collection is impressive – form Japanese Sencha, Hibiscus and Rosehip and Yunnan Green Tea. I went for the green, and it was just what I needed. Clean, slightly bitter and very very fresh.
Honestly, I am almost a little reluctant to write this as Lawn Coffee is one of Manchester’s best-kept secrets- but go and see for yourselves my Hipster brethren and I hope you find it as brewtuiful as I do.
Lawn Coffee, The Princess Street Hotel, 18-24 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 4LG
