One of our all-time favourite cafes is starting the New Year with a great buzz around coffee and food! Southsea Coffee sits on Osbourne Road and has wowed us with its coffee menu for the last 7 years producing guest coffee roasters throughout the year from the ever-growing businesses we have across the UK. They have also enticed us with amazing baking delights like the famous cinnamon bun that has always been vegan and has as much of a reputation as the coffee served there.
Having been affected by COVID and having to resort to takeaway only options over periods of 2020 and 2021, it is nice to see their new menu and allow guests to sit in and enjoy some top-notch food. Working with guest coffee roaster Girls Who Grind Coffee (which you will be able to taste from January) just shows the support for the independent coffee industry that this cafe has. Did you know that the coffee industry grew by 5 percent over the past five years and specialty coffee remains the fastest-growing sector? I love how an established coffee shop that is well thought of in the industry doesn't sit on its laurels but works hard to keep supporting others in the coffee community. Girls Who Grind Coffee are a fab indie company based in the South West that is an all-female specialty coffee roastery that sources coffee specifically and exclusively from women producers. By doing this they are creating a wonderful vibe in the coffee world for women and pushing for a balanced gender working environment. Having great slogans like 'Babes Brew It Better' also helps as well as their fab statement of;
This coffee is for you.
The female coffee farmers.
The badass barista babes.
The kickass coffee lovers.
Grind it. Make it.
All this makes me want to go to Southsea Coffee even more and experience some decent caffeine because of all the thought and care that has gone on behind the scenes before your brew has even been poured. From being a living wage employer to caring about where the coffee and ingredients are sourced from means this coffee shop takes its work seriously. There is great value in drinking at an independent coffee venue over a mainstream place because the owners have the choice to decide who they are going to work with, which brands, and also which coffee roasters they want to take onbaord.
With all this in mind, it is great to see some kind of normality amongst our independent community. Being able to go and sit inside your favourite coffee stop makes all the difference, doesn't it? Speaking to Tara who shares ownership with her hubby Martyn said “Since Covid arrived we’ve been fully closed, open for take-out, working with restrictions, basically constantly reinventing and adapting. This year we’ve got everything crossed that no matter what comes our way we can start to bring back some of our favourite things with regularity. YES to Monday coffees, monthly supper clubs, and hopefully the return of coffee cuppings so please watch this space.”
Veganuary has become a huge thing for January over the last few years and so it is a perfect time to introduce a new menu with very appealing options like Raw Pad Thai salad with spiced cashews, and a seriously tasty vegan breakfast and brunch choice which leaves this on a note of thinking it isn't a matter of if you drop by to Osbourne Road, it is a matter of when.
Check out their new menu here and look out for their sell-out Supper clubs where everything is made to perfection and offers a wonderful evening atmosphere.
Photo Credit to Nathan Fuscia
