There’s another three-person window-bar at the front, a four-person table in the middle of the room, and a low, four-person coffee table with a bench and two stools against the back wall. There’s more (but not much more) seating in the second room to the right, accessed through a large opening towards the back of the party wall. There’s a three-person window-bar to the left, while the left-hand wall is given over to bookshelves, which also house a small selection of stationery and coffee-making equipment.
The layout here is simple, with the counter, a lovely, tiled affair, at the back, running the full width of the room. The door is between the windows, leading into the room on the left, next to the dividing wall. It looks to me like it was originally a house and, judging by the date on the down pipe next to the sign, it’s at least 200 years old.īlueprint occupies the two ground floor rooms, both facing onto Oxford Street, each with its own large, projecting window, with a bench under the one on the right. Open until 10am on weekday mornings, this is where it all started in 2013, Blueprint taking on the business from the previous owners.īack on Oxford Street, Blueprint, which opened in October 2016, is on the ground floor of a lovely, three-storey building on the corner with Middle Wall. About a 10-minute walk from the seafront, it’s a similar distance from the station, where you’ll find Blueprint’s coffee van. You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.īlueprint Coffee & Books is at the northern end of Oxford Street, on the left-hand side heading into Whitstable. If coffee’s not your thing, then there’s Blendsmiths hot chocolate, Jing Tea and soft drinks, while if you’re hungry, Blueprint has a small selection of cakes. You can choose from the house coffee, a guest or decaf, while for filter coffee, the options are V60 or Aeropress, each with its own single-origin, Blueprint also offering a Chemex for two. There’s a concise espresso-based menu, the coffee served in three sizes: 4, 6 and 8oz, either with or without milk. Spread across two rooms, it’s a small bookshop with a select range of titles, while the coffee all comes from London’s Alchemy. The loss, naturally, is all mine.īlueprint Coffee & Books does exactly what the name suggests. Not that I can claim anything in the way of moral superiority, having only heard of it a couple of years ago when Luke, who I knew from Water Lane Coffee in Canterbury, took over as manager. When it comes to bragging rights, however, Blueprint wins hands down, having started in 2013, with the shop opening in 2016.
Mike and Andrew will be discussing their coffee adventures for around an hour, while graciously sharing some decadent brews and sending you home with a bag of your own! You can sign up on this website and reserve your spot for 30 dollars, which covers the class and coffee.Blueprint Coffee & Books, in Whitstable, is at the northern end of Oxford Street, a stone’s throw from Oxford Street’s other speciality coffee shop, Garage Coffee. Educating us on the extremely important, yet often overlooked, life the bean has before the flame. This is Blueprints passion, and we are honored to have them share this intricate process with us. Traveling alongside Mike is Blueprints roaster and green buyer Andrew Timko to educate us on the fine details that goes into transporting the coffee from these farms to the US. Mike will be with us this Tuesday September 13th at 6:30 to teach a class about roasting. From funding tarps for a cooperative in Ethiopia to educating farmers in Columbia on the proper care of soil, Blueprint cares for the harvest from sprout to mug. Desiring to cultivate long lasting relationships with the farms in order to benefit the industry from seed to cup. Blueprint opened on September 2nd 2013 as a roastry, kitchen, and coffee bar with an intense focus on personalizing the way coffee is sourced.Īlthough, quality is of high priority and each coffee they serve scores 84 points or above, Blueprint only purchases coffee from farms they can develop a “mutually beneficial relationship” with. Mike got his start in this caffeine ridden industry at Kaldi’s Coffee, where the service oriented attitude and underestimated complexity of coffee convinced Mike to turn this “temporary job” into his career. This week we gained a new admiration for this little roastery as I got to speak with one of the six owners Mike Marquard. We appreciate them for consistently developing friendly yet unique coffee that is desired by the wide variety of coffee seekers who come through our doors. Louis, Missouri they are roasting some of the finest coffee around. Blueprint Coffee is near and dear to our hearts, only a state away in St.