Small Batch Coffee Company, Wilbury Road, Hove

I've known about this place for a long time and had been meaning to pop along and check them out, with a great web presence and an ethical product I was really looking forward to this one.  As ever its the Venue, Service and Coffee that I'm reviewing.




The venue: 3

I wanted so badly to like this place more, it was modern and funky but with an eye on style. With a good mahogany wooden floor and dark slate grey walls with touches of gold here and there, stylistically it was working but the floor was dirty and the whole place needed a good dusting. Not that this was putting any of the other customers off; the place seems to be doing a roaring trade. The clientèle are an even mix of office types having a break, thirty-something mums and ladies who lunch with a smattering of well to do gay guys. It is situated a mere step from busy Church Road but in a quiet oasis of peace and calm and with quality outdoor seating on a raised veranda is an idea place to soak up the sunshine and watch the world go by. The large windows however mean that the interior gets a little warm and there is no aircon. I was there at 4pm on a day when the top temperature was 18 degrees and it felt more like 25 inside. The place is roomy with about 25 covers inside and the same outside, it would be an ideal place to come for a coffee and a long chat, outside, while you bask in afternoon sunlight.

The Service: 3

Good solid service but nothing much of note. The guys behind the counter in tee shirts and jeans had a relaxed air, they were polite but the service didn't amount to much more than "what can I get ya?" and "where are ya sittin I'll bring this right over". No small chat and not much in the way of eye contact either, though the place was busy and they were working hard to keep up with the orders. Things slowed quite a bit during my stay but I didn't note any change in the service. Some very nice sweet treats on the menu and a small selcetion of lunchtime savories that were unfortunately long gone by the time I arrived.

The Coffee: 3

I was majorly disappointed with the coffee in this place as I had been expecting it to be the best in town by a country mile, however in terms of presentation and taste it really failed to deliver. This was entirely down to the barista who I doubt has ever tasted cappuccino, the froth was wafer thin and was gone by my third sip and the coffee was lost in a veritable ocean of milk, what I ended up with was a cross between a latte and a flat white. Fine if I'd ordered either but a poor show as a cappuccino. Chocolate was neither offered nor available. That said the coffee itself is a nicely put together light house blend, smooth and choclatey and there was flavour in there amongst the milk. On the plus side this place is serious about speciality coffee and about producing it in an ethical manner.  Working with a specialist importer to buy direct from the grower they ensure that more of the profits go to the communities producing the coffee and they carry a good, ever changing, range of single source beans. You're guaranteed freshness as they roast their own beans in a speciality roastery just up the road and are involved in the drop4drop scheme that provides clean water to communities in the developing world, this is coffee with a conscience. All in all it's is a great place to come and buy an excellent quality coffee, unless it's the chat you're after I'd just take the beans away and make the coffee at home.

Overall score: 9 out of 15