The Best Coffee in London

"If you want the best coffee in London," she said, "we're going to have to take a short bus ride."

This one simple statement from my friend/tour guide in London earlier this week began an adventure to a coffee shop that many of us only dream about.

We walked 2 blocks from my hotel and waited for bus number 19 that would take us through Piccadilly Circus and down some streets which I can't remember the name of. After the 10 minute bus ride we walked about 2 more blocks, got a little lost and then finally found the mysterious coffee shop she was taking me to.

Upon walking up to Monmouth Coffee Co. I was a little caught off guard. The line started outside of the shop and everyone was ordering at a tiny register near the front door. If you look inside, the people who had ordered were all lined up against a wall and there was barely any room to walk inside as it was so congested.

Generally speaking, the shop itself was probably about the size of some people's walk in closets. Following the lead of my friend/tour guide we leaned our heads in the door and placed our order: 1 filtered coffee (black coffee) and 1 cafe au lait (coffee with steamed milk). Then we waited in the line against the wall.

The woman who took our order, without missing a beat said the order out loud to the employees (look in the upper right corner of the picture above) who were making all of the drinks. Behind the register was a display of a variety of coffee beans that are all available for sale by the pound.

Dumbfounded by this extremely unusual arrangement, I walked in front of everyone in line to the back left corner of the restaurant to get a better view of the coffee magic that was unfolding.

It really was amazing. Traditionally speaking, when people have to wait longer than 30 seconds for their coffee they get irritated. Everyone in line at Monmouth however seemed completely content, you could even say they looked excited. They all knew there were about to receive amazing coffee and it would be worth the wait.

Slowly the Monmouth employees passed the coffee drinks over the counter in the back to the person in line. Below the counter was a small station where you could add brown or liquid sugar to your coffee. Instead of stir sticks, Monmouth offered wooden spoons for customers to stir their coffee (very cool).

My anticipation finally ended and they handed me my cafe au lait. I walked over to the mixing station and stirred brown sugar into my coffee.

Unlike most American coffee that we order at Stabucks, Dunkin Donuts or McDonald's, the coffee from Monmouth was full of love.

After my initial sip, it became clear to me why my friend/tour guide insisted that we travel over 20 minutes to get to Monmouth. The flavor was bold, distinct and smooth. Every single sip was a passionate and fulfilling experience. From the coffee itself to the employees and atmosphere, Monmouth Coffee Co is exploding with character.

You know that coffee house that you always dream of? The place that is authentic, non-corporate, cozy and original? Monmouth is that place....it may be the only true coffee house on earth. Every Starbucks in the world wishes they were Monmouth and to be honest, they're not even close.

Is it worth a trip to London to get a taste of Monmouth? Simply said, yes. Monmouth might not just be the best coffee in London, it may be the best coffee in the world.