Established

Established has been on my list for a while. I discovered it thanks to Haptik and as you know from my post about Haptik, the fact that Northern Ireland now has a growing number of independant coffee bars that pride themelves in crafting top quality coffee makes me very happy indeed.

Established sits in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter in Belfast, an area that I am yet to explore fully (see posts later in the year!) I love the feel of this place, bright, airy, creative, the sort of place you just want to hang out for a while and drink coffee. That’s what I did. (albeit with my brother and 2 year old nephew in tow but hey they were happy to oblige!)I did my usual test of how good a coffee place is and ordered a cappuccino. It passed the test – rich and full of flavour.

The selection of cakes were very appealing and as usual I couldnt resist. I went for the white chocolate and raspberry loaf which had a fantastic fresh raspberry flavour.

My brother chose to have the Carmelita (Bolivia) filter coffee. I really liked the way it was served.

A brief post I know but there you have it. A great place to hang out, serving fantastic coffee, slap bang in the centre of Belfast. I’ll be back and next time I’m ordering brunch – just take a look at their instagram page and you will understand why!

Lost and Found

When we spoke to Johnny at Haptik about places to try on the Causeway Coast, one of the places he said we must visit is Lost and Found. It’s in Coleraine, in the main shopping area. I have to confess, I don’t go to Coleraine much, there’s not much there. However this place makes Coleraine worth a visit.

We went with our friends Dave and Becky who until recently lived back home in Coleraine. Mr Frivolitea sampled the brew bar and I did my usual taste test and had a cappuccino. It’s a great place. I love the decor and feel of the room (you can always tell it’s a place that serves great coffee by the hipster lighting it seems). The highlight for me however was the Swedish almond cake, modelled here exquisitely by Dave.

We also bumped in to George from Babushka whilst enjoying our coffee. When the owner of another local coffee bar (an amazing one at that) chooses to visit on his day off for coffee you know it’s the place to be. Oh and they use Ursa Minor Bakehouse bread. What’s not to like.

Haptik

Newtownards has a proper coffee bar. I repeat Newtownards has a proper coffee bar. Many of you will think I’ve gone mad, but if you have ever lived in Newtownards you would realise this is significant.

Haptik, opened by Johnny and Rachel last year, was influenced by their travels in Melbourne. There’s a fantastic buzz and their focus on encouraging contemporary art gives a vibrancy to the place. It’s very nicely designed: copper, exposed brick work, wood, but it is definitely not style over substance.

Coffee is the main event and it is coffee worth writing about! Square mile coffee, a small but exciting menu and a coffee bar that opens to late. What’s not to like? When visiting home, Mr Frivolitea and I now plan evening walks around a trip to Haptik.

The coffee scene (is there such a thing?) in Northern Ireland is getting really exciting. Johnny gave us a list of coffee bars to visit and I plan to work my way through them all.

Haptik are opening an upstairs art space and they host supper clubs once a month. Here’s hoping my next visit home coincides with one.