Dose coffeeshop

For anyone with a bit of a passion for coffee, sometimes one of the mainstream chains with their overly frothed milk and that slightly too bitter coffee just don’t match up to expectations.  For years there was no alternative and then a whole community of little independent coffee shops started opening their doors around the city.

Often these tend to be in slightly odd locations where the rent is cheap as the don’t have the finances behind them of a Starbucks or a Nero, so it’s fairly unusual then to find one slap bang in the middle of the city.  Opened in the past year, Dose has given me and everyone in my office quite a serious coffee habit.  Owner, James, claims to have spent more than seven years ‘pulling shots’ in Sydney and London in what is effectively training for opening his own coffee establishment.  Here is his mission statement: With his passion, the beautiful La Marzocco FB-80 espresso machine, Square Mile Roasters’ fresh, dynamic blends and an ever changing menu of guest coffees, James aspires to create the most beautiful coffee in The City.

The shop itself is absolutely tiny so if you’re thinking you can pop over for a quiet lunch with the paper, unless you go at ten in the morning you’re likely to be out of luck. The coffee is supplied by Square Mile Roasters, “ethically sourced, carefully roasted and delivered in reusable buckets” (you get a conscience with your coffee nowadays), the milk is organic and Dose contributes money to improving the lives of people living in coffee producing countries.  The shop also serves a selection of delicious cakes (I love the ‘Blondie’) made by Bea’s of Bloomsbury and a fine selection of sandwiches, salad and soup, including toast with vegemite, not something that you could request down the road in Starbies (www.dailydosecoffee.com).