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Sweet vegan

Sweet vegan

Modern Standard open first café in Edinburgh

Modern Standard Coffee (www.modernstandardcoffee.co.uk/cafe/), which claims to be the fastest growing speciality roaster in the UK, opened its first café in Edinburgh’s Bruntsfield towards the end of last year.

The Scottish brand, which has been supplying coffee to the likes of Five Guys, Amazon’s UK headquarters, Locke Aparthotels, Ole and Steen, as well as Sainsbury’s since 2015, is the brainchild of founder Lynsey Harley (pictured), one of the leading women in the UK coffee industry today, having been involved in the country’s booming speciality coffee industry since its inception, and gaining some of its top accolades along the way.

Lynsey Harley says that she founded Modern Standard Coffee with a vision to make great coffee for everyone and it is this ethos which is driving the launch of her first café, which opened at 49 Barclay Place overlooking Bruntsfield Links.

The café serves coffee sourced directly from farmer partners in origin countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala. These coffees are ethically sourced speciality coffees - the highest grade coffee in the world selected for its flavour, complexity, and aroma. The coffees are then roasted, ground and brewed to an exceptional standard, qualities will help set it apart from most commercial coffee which is bought and roasted in bulk with less attention given to detail, feel Modern Standard.

The café serves its award-winning Momentum Espresso as the house coffee, as well as rotating single origins from Bolivia, Colombia, Kenya, Ethiopia or Guatemala where Lynsey Harley travels to source her beans from. There is decaf available and Lynsey Harley says that she is also planning to introduce a naturally low caffeine option, something that is relatively new to the UK coffee shop scene, but more popular in Europe.

Creams Café comes to Cardiff

UK dessert café brand, Creams Café, is continuing its nationwide expansion with the launch of its ninety first site, and the only one in Wales.

Opening on Cardiff’s Queen Street, the company-owned store is initially offering takeaway and delivery only via Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats, then opening for dine-in when restrictions allow.

The 3108 square foot site, designed by Nest Studios, features 56 covers spread across two floors plus an additional 18 covers outside. The new café interior is inspired by skateboard culture and utilises raw materials and modular design techniques with BMX bikes, skateboards neon signage and graffiti creating a fun and vibrant space that reflects the brand’s flamboyant desserts.

Open daily from 11am to 11pm, the menu will feature all of Creams’ signature serves, from sundaes made with gelato from the brand’s own factory in East London, as well as waffles, cookie dough desserts and crepes. Creams’ brand-new doughnut range is available (delivery only), alongside a selection of vegan and gluten-free choices.

Adam Mani, CEO of Creams said: “We’re really excited to bring our fabulously flamboyant desserts to the people of Wales. Despite the challenges of 2020, I am immensely proud that the brand has been able to continue with its expansion plans. I’d like to thank every single Creams Café employee for their continual hard work and dedication.”

Creams successfully pivoted its business in 2020 through the introduction of a seamless online experience for delivery and Click & Collect. In October, the Group reported a record-breaking October with sales of over £4M across the estate. The brand has also opened three new stores since March 2020 with another five to six planned for the first quarter of 2021.

Known for its flamboyant desserts, Creams was founded in 2008 by Balal Aqil and Adam Mani and employs more than 1,400 employees and works with a variety of franchise partners across the UK.

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