Five roasteries, single-origin obsessives, and one entirely self-inflicted caffeine marathon
I Did a Proper Coffee Roastery Tasting Tour Across East London and My Nerves Are Fried
East London’s coffee scene has genuinely exploded with independent roasteries over recent years, and I finally decided to stop just casually ordering flat whites and actually put together a proper tasting tour, visiting five different roasteries in a single, increasingly caffeinated day.
Roastery One: The Single-Origin Specialists
Started at a place obsessed with single-origin beans and traceability, complete with a genuinely passionate staff member explaining the exact farm my coffee came from. Educational start to the day, if slightly overwhelming this early on.
Roastery Two: The Experimental Processing Methods
This spot leaned heavily into unusual fermentation and processing techniques, producing flavour profiles I genuinely wasn’t expecting from coffee, distinctly fruity notes that felt more like tasting wine than my usual morning brew.
Roastery Three: The No-Frills Purist Approach
Complete change of pace here, minimal branding, no elaborate tasting notes, just genuinely excellent coffee served without any pretension whatsoever. Sometimes the simplest approach really is the most effective one.
Roastery Four: The Community Hub Vibe
Less about the coffee itself and more about the genuinely welcoming atmosphere, regulars clearly treating the place like a proper community hub. The coffee was good, but the vibe was genuinely the standout feature here.
Roastery Five: The Ambitious Finale
By this point my hands were shaking slightly, but I pushed through to the final stop, which turned out to be doing genuinely ambitious things with barrel-aged beans that I’m still thinking about days later.
The Aftermath of This Entirely Self-Inflicted Caffeine Marathon
I did not sleep properly that night, my heart rate remained elevated for several hours, and I have absolutely no regrets about any single cup consumed along the way.
Full tasting notes from all five roasteries, plus my genuinely overcaffeinated final rankings, are up now on ditchpitch.uk if you fancy attempting your own East London coffee marathon. I’ve also started spacing these tours out considerably more sensibly going forward, since attempting five roasteries in a single day is genuinely not something I’d recommend to anyone hoping to sleep at a reasonable hour that same evening. None of this required any special coffee expertise either, just genuine curiosity and a willingness to ask questions, since every single roastery staff member I spoke to seemed genuinely thrilled to explain their process. Already planning a considerably more sensible version of this tour, spread across an entire week rather than crammed into one increasingly jittery day. Worth it, every single overcaffeinated moment. Genuinely one of the more chaotic but rewarding days I’ve had exploring this city’s food and drink scene, jitters and all, and I’d absolutely do it again given the chance to properly space it out next time.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/