One thing I would like to do more often is to sit in coffee shops and read the newspaper. The fact that I only do this very rarely, though, is probably on account of my great roommates, who gave me the glorious AeroPress Coffee Maker for my birthday (only to be recommended, see www.aeropress.com). Fortunately, I am writing a blog that gives me the opportunity to try out some of the local cafés for a blog post.
The Missing Bean
The Missing Bean is a chain of coffee shops in Oxford. One is even located inside the law faculty. While the latter is rather ugly, the one on Turl Street is very popular among students and actually offers a nice and relaxed atmosphere. However, as I am totally into filter coffee (and always have been, even before it became hip), I find their Americano way to lush. Everything else seems to be great though.
(credits to http://www.lucentimagery.com/)
The Quarter-Horse
This one is located in Cowley and is quite cozy. They have a wide variety of different coffees and their cake is just delicious. However, it can be crowded at times. So don’t even bother visiting on a Saturday afternoon. It is worth going though, since you can tell these guys just love coffee.
The Handle Bar (Formerly Zappi’s Cafe)
I ran in here by accident because I needed a coffee for my International Law seminar. A week after, someone wanted to sell it to me as a secret treasure. The coffee is good and the place itself is very special: It is located inside of a bike shop.
However, even on a regular week day, this place is really crowded:
Starbucks
Well, sorry for including this one, but I happen to like Starbucks coffee. Sometimes, their stores are nicely located, offer you superb views on whatever might be interesting and a cozy atmosphere. The (central) Oxford one not so much. It’s totally generic and likely to be crowded by tourists anyway.