Strangers Norwich Roastery - Mr White's Coffee Contrast

Caffeine in Norwich is never in scant supply -- the streets of the Fine City burgeon with a smorgasbord of both titans of the double grande supremo lite whipped pumpkin spice cheese & onion soya monkeyccino (or whatever the hipsters are drinking these days), as well as the plucky independents honing the coffeehouse craft in avenues, lanes and thoroughfares galore.



Ah, my little compadre... you finally accepted my invitation to understand the quality that can be produced when the labour of love is put into an art form over something as simple as a coffee bean!

Alex Sargent and his band of merry coffee baristas have created a wonderful establishment just a moment away from the beating heart of Norwich. The coffee shop situated in Pottergate, opposite the ever-so-popular Grovesnor Fish Bar (which has a review to come I might add), serves a complete range of speciality coffee!

In short, competition for your coffee-cash is as high as your energy levels after imbibing just such lavish libations, and as such, it's tricky to fathom which establishment best befits your fine attention. The Teege™ heartily advocates the magnificent mochas and peerless percolations of Strangers, situated in the quaint Norwich Lanes. Indeed, said hub of happy beverages teems with custom at all hours, and the method behind such madness is simple -- the coffee is artfully crafted, meticulously roasted, tuned to your individual palate. In short, it's a business model evocative of the fact that the goliath chains consistently forget -- customers care about your business when your business cares about them.

Strangers, like many independent coffeehouses in Norwich and beyond, proudly sells a variety of specialised coffee blends in bags, allowing the customer the privilege of savouring the flavour at home. Yet this year, Strangers opened its roastery in a discreet backstreet close to its well-established bustle, and it is within this hallowed hall that coffee craftsmen conduct their fine works. Beans hailing from every corner of the world arrive in bulbous sacks of hessian hope, and from such beautiful brown bounty an array of aromas, flavours and sensations are conjured by experts equipped with a dazzling cornucopia of contrivances, contraptions and craftsmanship.

Yet even as a beating heart of industry, Strangers' new roastery retains warmth in its soul -- patrons are free to enter from the street to purchase coffee to go, as they would in any other establishment, and in quieter times the masters of the machine are known to cheerfully proffer free samples of the latest creations to curious visitors.

This is a place you must see to believe. Right in front of your very eyes, you get to see all the masters at work, from the procuring of such beans to the flavours that are to come. The knowledge-base centred here brings the coffee to life! If you have never tried coffee in its purest form, spend 10 minutes in here -- talk to the Dave behind the counter. He will open your eyes to what you could never imagine! 

Through such means, your humble White and Mason each were introduced to two fine flavours, concocted by Strangers in just this very roastery, diverse and delicious in very different ways. These were the Rocko Mountain beans from Ethiopia, and the Colombian crowning glory that is Augustino Forest. At £8.50 per bag o' purest percolating brilliance, both Rocko Mountain and Augustino Forest lean towards the premium end of Strangers' in-house spectrum, yet the flavours evoked by both are well worth the investment. Let's be honest -- you'll be lucky if you live on this planet a century. Life is short. So why waste time on lousy coffee?

Me gusta mucho.

Your humble writer's latest purchase from Strangers' hotbed of java jollities was, indeed, Augustino Forest, and said bean is enjoyable for its crisp, almost tart finish. Though a fine, smooth, rich and luxuriant coffee can be conscripted from the beans, each sip crescendoes on the palate with a saccharine, yet not overbearing, flavour of citrus-like zeal, flecked with the notion of orange chocolate. Sublime.

Equivocally, the Colombian delight is perfect for an autumnal afternoon with a book. It warms you with its gentle brilliance -- flavours that don't smother your mouth with a bitterness. The little hints of citrus sweetness complements the sharp. invigorating beans.

Yet for today's Coffee Contrast? The victor is undoubtedly Strangers' Rocko Mountain  -- simply for the fact that it alters significantly depending on how long it's been in the cup. Immediately after pouring? Earthy. Rich. Lustrous. Left for a few minutes? Hints of berries, notes of darkness, a tastebud tapestry that lingers in the throat and teases down the gullet. Whilst your humble writer knew that coffee could be diverse in flavour depending on origin -- even if the forays to Strangers' roastery have compounded such a fact in manners both stunning and enlightening -- I have never before the Rocko Mountain blend tasted a coffee that evolves.

I too have tempted my palate with the delights of these two very fine beans, and I must say I back my companion on this one. The Rocko mountain just nudges a nose ahead of the Augustino Forest, though this is not besmirching the delight from Colombia at all.

The Rocko Mountain's strong and vibrant dark tones harmonise well with the lustful fruity captivation. If you want a cup of a beautiful perfection-making morning-juice, then this is the bean for you. Don't stand around reading this! Go! Now! Find Strangers! Drink the black gold they have created and thank us later! ...Okay, maybe read the rest of this review give us a like and a share, but GO GO GO!

Ergo, betwixt both beverages, it's a resounding recommendation indeed for the Rocko Mountain. Hale, hearty and heaped with surprises, it also packs a powerful kick that will keep you buzzing beyond the norm. Nevertheless! There's plenty more caffeine to be had -- trust me, I'm a writer -- so rest assured that The Teege™ and I will continue to quest for the finest beans known to man. If you've recommendations of your own for Coffee Contrast, don't hesitate to get in touch... presuming we've not dashed across town, abjectly wired, to go stare in fascination at some tables.

(...You'd had to have been there....)