Umber House Espresso
Our year-round blend: dark cocoa, dried fig and a soft finish that survives milk without turning bitter.
3.20
Counter · Roastery · Working room
A counter built for long mornings.
We roast three coffees at a time, bake what the morning needs, and keep one quiet room at the back for people who came to work rather than talk.
Counter 07:30 – 17:00 Filter rotates weekly Quiet hours 14:00 – 16:00
Today at the counter
The shape of a normal day.
Nothing here is a special event. It is simply how the room moves, so you can pick the hour that suits what you came to do.
- Mon – Thu07:30 – 17:00
- Friday07:30 – 18:00
- Saturday08:00 – 18:00
- Sunday09:00 – 15:00
07:30
First grind
The espresso is dialled in on the bar in front of you. Early cups are poured short and strong while the room is still empty.
09:00
Pastry drop
The second bake comes out of the back kitchen. This is the only hour the cardamom buns are reliably still warm.
11:30
Lunch counter opens
Plates start alongside coffee. Tables turn faster between twelve and half past one, so single seats are easiest at the bar.
14:00
Quiet hours
Music down, grinder runs on the hour only. Laptops welcome at every table until four.
16:30
Last pour
Filter batch is finished rather than re-brewed. If it has run out we will tell you before you queue.
Coffee index
Three roasts, honestly described.
We keep the list short so the bar staff actually know every cup on it. Ask for a taste of the filter before you commit — that is what the sample cups are for.
Ruriko Washed
This week’s filter. Clean and floral, closer to stone fruit than to chocolate. Brewed as batch, or by hand if you have ten minutes.
4.10
Night Shift Decaf
Sugarcane decaffeinated, roasted a shade lighter than the house blend so it still tastes like coffee at four in the afternoon.
3.20
Cascara Soda
Coffee cherry steeped overnight, lengthened with soda and a strip of lemon peel. Caffeinated, but lightly.
3.80
Retail bags, 250g
Whatever is on the bar that week, roasted upstairs and dated on the label. We grind to your brewer at the counter.
12.00
Oat, whole and semi-skimmed milk are all poured at the same price. If you are choosing between the house blend and the filter: milk drinks take the blend, black cups take the filter.
The kitchen
A short all-day list.
Six plates, cooked in a kitchen the size of a corridor. Everything below is available from opening until half an hour before close.
Cardamom bun
3.60
Laminated overnight, baked twice a morning. Ask if there is one warm before you pick a cold one.
Seeded toast & cultured butter V
4.20
Thick cut from the rye loaf, salt on top. Add soft egg or honeycomb for a little more.
Braised bean plate VG
9.50
Slow beans, tomato and smoked paprika under toast. The one thing on the list that eats like lunch at nine in the morning.
Studio sandwich
8.80
Changes twice a week and is written on the small board by the till. Always pressed, always wrapped if you are taking it out.
Soup of the day VG
7.40
From eleven thirty, with bread. When it runs out we do not make a second pot.
Olive oil cake V
4.40
One tin a day, cut into wide slices. Keeps well enough to be the reason people come back after four.
The room
Three things worth knowing about us.
We are a small operation, and most of what makes the coffee good is unglamorous.
A drum upstairs, not a factory
Roasting happens above the counter on a twelve kilo drum, usually on Tuesday and Thursday. We hold three coffees at a time because that is what we can taste properly every week.
Bags are dated the day they come off the drum. If a bag on the shelf is older than three weeks, we will point you at a fresher one instead.
Two bakes, then it is gone
The kitchen makes one dough and bakes it twice, at seven and at nine. We would rather sell out by mid-afternoon than hold pastries under a lamp until closing.
A back room that stays quiet
The studio room seats ten around one long table. During the week it is open seating for anyone working alone; it can also be taken for a single group, which is the one thing here worth arranging in advance.
Good to know
The questions we answer most.
Practical answers, so you know what you are walking into before you arrive.
Can I work here on a laptop?
Yes, at any table except between twelve and half past one, when we keep the main room for people eating. The studio room at the back is open for laptops all day, and quiet hours from two to four are specifically for working.
Do you take bookings?
Not for the main room — those tables are walk-in only, and turning up before nine or after two is the easiest. The studio room is the exception: it can be reserved for a group, and any table over six people needs arranging with us first.
How do you handle allergens?
Tell the person taking your order. The kitchen handles gluten, nuts, dairy and sesame in one small space, so we will be honest about what we can and cannot keep separate rather than guess. Plates marked V are vegetarian and VG are vegan as served.
Can I bring my own cup?
Please do, and there is a small discount for it. We also run a returnable cup at the counter: leave a deposit, bring the cup back whenever, get the deposit back. There are no disposable lids on the bar for drinking in.
Are dogs and children welcome?
Dogs, yes, on the floor by the window tables where there is room to pass. Children, yes, all day — there are two low chairs, a step at the sink and a short warm-milk list that is not on the main index.
What can I pay with?
Card and contactless, including on the smallest cup. We do not take cash, which keeps the queue moving and means nobody is counting a till during service.
Studio room
Ask about the long table.
Send the date and roughly how many of you there are. We reply with what the room can do that day, what it costs, and whether the kitchen can feed you at that hour.
- SeatsTen around one table, or six comfortably with laptops and papers out.
- Comes withFilter coffee on the table, water, and the plate list ordered in one go.
- NoticeTwo days is usually enough. Weekend mornings fill first.