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Best Speciality Coffee Shops in Manchester
The best speciality coffee shops in Manchester show just why it's (in my opinion at least) the most exciting city in the UK. From the achingly cool converted warehouses of the Ancoats district, to the vibrant Northern Quarter, there's so much to discover here.
Here's our rundown of the top cafés in Manchester for enjoying a cup of specialty coffee.
1. Just Between Friends, Tib Street
Just Between Friend's tasteful grey exterior is emblazoned with one word: COFFEE. It's good to know where their priority lies.
This focus continues inside, with a careful selection of roasters. Their go-to roaster is Assembly, but you'll often find guest coffees from other top roasters such as Obadiah, La Cabra, and Lot61.
When I visited, the Assembly Colombia semi-washed that I had from batch was outstanding. Funky and complex with great acidity.
You can find their Tib Street shop here and be sure to check out their other location in the Ancoats neighbourhood too.
2. Idle Hands Coffee, Dale Street
Idle Hands, situated in the heart of the Northern Quarter, is heaven for those with a sweet tooth. Their selection of home made pies and cakes will have you drooling.
Of course, to make a place on this list, the coffee has to stack up too and thankfully it does. You'll find an ever changing choice of at least two or three different coffees on espresso and up to 6 on filter.
Not only do they have great pies and coffee, but it's also a beautiful space with tons of natural light and plants. And it's laptop friendly. Aaand they have a terrace out on the street if you manage to visit on a rain-free day.
3. Ancoats Coffee Co., Redhill Street
Ancoats Coffee is situated in a beautiful old warehouse building right next to Rochdale canal and its beautiful exposed brick walls lend a natural industrial feel.
The focus here is on their in-house roasted coffees. In fact, if you arrive at the right time you'll be able to see the roaster in action. You'll find multiple options for espresso or pourover and there's always something interesting on batch brew. On my last visit it was a 91 point Colombia honey Gesha. Not too shabby.
Their canalside location on Redhill street is one of my favourite spots in the city to work from but you can also find them conveniently situated next to Piccadilly station.
4. TROVE - Ancoats, Murray Street
Staying in the Ancoats neighbourhood, just around the corner you'll find TROVE. There's more emphasis on food here and it's a great place for brunch, lunch, or a pastry. The level of baking skill is exceptional and I can particularly recommend the Palmier biscuit if you feel like a little sweet treat with your coffee.
The coffee from Allpress is solid, it not quite at the level of some of the other places we've already mentioned. Still, it's well worth a visit. You can find them in Ancoats, in Bloc on Marble street and further out of the city in Levenshulme.
5. Takk, Tariff Street
Takk somehow manages to straddle a full brunch and lunch offering, whilst also being laptop friendly. It's not always an easy task to balance the needs of these different types of customers but they do it very well.
In terms of coffee, their house espresso is El Salvador Finca Miravalle but you'll find an ever changing selection of guest roasts on both espresso and filter.
You can find their location on Tariff street in the Northern Quarter on Kava here, but they also have locations at University Green and their espresso bar with a more limited food menu at Hatch.
It's up to You
Don’t agree with this top 5? It’s up to you to start rating your coffees on Kava specialty coffee app and make sure your favorites move up the rankings.
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