If (like most students at Freshers week) you’re new to the city, then you won’t know much at all about the strong and exciting independent coffee culture of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
Coffee culture in Newcastle began around 1750, with the opening of shops such as Pumphrey’s Coffee in Gateshead and in the Grainger Market. 270 years later the coffee scene is still brewing in the city and in light of this, we have shared with you 10 of the top coffee spots in Newcastle. Here's what makes them so unique:
Ouseburn Coffee Co. (OCC) is a local independent supplier with its own roastery in the heart of Ouseburn. It sells strong, smooth and rich coffee in three locations across the city: Fenwick’s Food Hall - perfect to pass on the way to Uni - Jesmond’s Harvest Canteen - the best and most relaxing setting to grab an OCC coffee - and in Ouseburn Valley where you can visit the Roastery and meet the brothers behind the business.
Flat Caps used to be situated down Ridley place and has always been a top spot for students to crack on with assignments, but recently has moved to a bigger, better and more independent location down Carliol Square. The owner, Joe Meagher, is known well for his initiative to bring siphon coffee to the city (a scientific method of brewing which happens at your table!). Meager also recently had the initiative to spark a yearly Newcastle Coffee Festival which features his own coffee shop.
Image Credit: Andrew Curtis - licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Pumphrey’s Coffee is the oldest independent coffee brewer in Newcastle and still sits in a small unit at the Grainger Market. Notably, Pumphrey’s black coffee is a strong favourite at BBC Radio Newcastle with its fresh and invigorating flavour rooted within the history of the city. The coffee shop also has a stall where coffee-lovers can buy all things coffee related: aero presses, coffee syphons, filters and more.
Laneway and Co. regularly buy from a range of different independent coffee providers such as OCC, The Barn and Bonnie Coffee Tokyo. Up until recently the coffee shop could only be found on High Bridge Street but has just opened a new store in Jesmond. This coffee shop is perfect for Jesmond students who need a break from flatmates, somewhere to work and somewhere with a quiet and calm environment.
Quilliam Brothers Teahouse, strictly speaking, supplies tea, not coffee. The campus teahouse currently serves over 100 different flavours and blends of tea, but serves a mighty fine flat white too! Oh, and did we mention that it has its own cinema downstairs?
Though we’ve only covered these five coffee shops in detail, there are certainly more to tickle your tastebuds throughout the city. Notable mentions go to Hatch, Pink Lane Coffee, BLK Coffee, The Arch Sixteen Café and Les Petits Choux.
Victoria Young