Café society

A round up of the latest caffeine fixes all over the city

THE COFFEE SCENE in Edinburgh is a rapidly expanding and changing one. This is particularly true in the south of the city at present, where several excellent new places have popped up-or are about to. The number of great places to enjoy high quality specialty coffee in the city is continuing to grow.

It’s all change at Machina Espresso, one of Edinburgh’s specialty coffee vanguard. Their original branch on Brougham Place recently closed. There, over eight years, they cemented their position as one of Edinburgh’s elite coffee places and also sold a classy range of coffee making equipment.

Machina have now re-emerged in Marchmont (32-38 Marchmont Road, at the junction with Warrender Park Road). Currently operating as a snug “pop up” takeaway, they will be opening a large cafe, designed by Splintr Design, in the coming months.

Fortitude, one of the highest rated coffee houses in Edinburgh are on the verge of opening their third venue. Their York Place café was joined by their stylish Stockbridge branch in February last year. This larger venue allowed them to add food to their offering, alongside their consistently superb coffee. Their new branch on Newington Road is likely to be a very popular spot in this busy student area. They recently installed the coffee machine and the branch should be opening soon.

Just around the corner at 116 Causewayside, Kate’s has opened serving high coffee alongside a lovely range of tempting baking. The light and spacious interior makes Kate’s a lovely relaxing place - an excellent new addition. Their flavoursome coffee is supplied by Santu (who source their beans from Brazil), who recently opened their open cafe on the Canongate.

On North Bridge, Black Sheep

Coffee, an ‘indy chain’, have opened a branch - taking over the shop from Patisserie Valerie. Black Sheep serve strong and rich coffees, with an Italian influence. Their rich and velvety piccolo coffees are particularly good. Black Sheep is of a similar size and character as the familiar big coffee chains but with a better standard of coffee. The place is already a hit with students and those working on their laptops. Unlike most cafés in the city, they open until 7pm, catering to those who enjoy a post-work coffee.

In Morningside, Detour Espresso have added to their existing café in Marchmont (39 Argyle Place). At 348 Morningside Road (opposite the old Morningside Post office), Detour have opened an elegant café serving coffee by Machina and Fortitude. Despite a large number of cafés in the area, Detour is already a popular spot for coffee and lunch.

The long march of speciality coffee continues in Edinburgh.