A tall order from Urban Espress owners, Donovan McLagan and Warren Steele, but they certainly delivered at last Thursday's Crawl. My single origin Brazilian Americano was, without question, THE BEST CUP OF COFFEE I'VE HAD IN PE!!! I imagine that got your attention!!!
Urban Espress, located at the corner of Villiers Rd. and 6th Ave. in Walmer, opened for business on August 4. In my conversation with Donovan and Warren they stated that they wanted the shop to be "all about the coffee." Thus, they have limited the menu to six excellent sandwiches, made on-site, fresh to order, and an assortment of baked goods provided by Pastry Works, their business neighbor. The remainder of the menu is an extensive list of Donovan's special Full City Roast Ethiopian/Guatemalan blend as well as some single origin coffee beverages along with a variety of teas.
Upon entering Urban Espress patrons are treated to an upbeat and casual coffee shop setting with vintage wooden plank tables, subtle wall hangings, and the wonderfully delicious aroma of freshly roasted coffee. The monster coffee machine is definitely a showpiece, though not overwhelming as it blends in beautifully with the shop's logo and decor. The logo, by the way, is genius. I have to say, Donovan and Warren... you guys really did your homework!
The Urban Espress Coffee Co. owners, Donovan and Warren have an impressive list of credentials as baristas, barista trainers, and barista championship winners. As a matter of fact, Donovan just participated in the World Cup Tasters Championship, 2012, held in Vienna, Austria this past June. He came in fifth among coffee tasters from all over the world. Check out the site at www.worldcuptasters.org
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| Meet the Owners Warren Steele and Donovan McLagan |
The rest of the staff that we met on Thursday included three very personable young men, our waiter, Lonwabo aka Lloyd, our talented barista (look for him soon at a barista competition near you!), Tichaona aka Joseph, and the main counter guy, Rhys. You guys are all top notch!
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| Meet our Waiter Lonwabo aka Lloyd |
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| Meet the Counter Guy Rhys |
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| Meet the Barista Tichaona aka Joseph |
PE coffee lovers.... I'm sure that Urban Espress has already become one of your favorite haunts, but if you haven't experienced this new coffee shop in town yet, check it out Mon-Fri, 7:00-3:30, Sat, 7:30-2:30. You will not be disappointed.
Rightly so, talk at the table centered mostly on how much we all loved Urban Espress and their amazing coffee. I spent a good deal of time speaking with our very welcoming hosts, Donovan and Warren, and ended up missing some of the conversation with Thursday's Crawlers, Gail Darne, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Leanne Waller, June Nash, Fran de Beer, Colleen LeRoux, Beth Vieira, and Fr. Joslan Goji. However, I did catch the very end of Colleen filling everyone in on her upcoming trip to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. This led to a brief discussion of what vaccines and meds are necessary when visiting Zimbabwe and Zambia. Well, there's definitely a need for malaria pills, plus both countries just got added to the yellow fever list. That vaccine really did me in... glad I won't need a booster for another ten years.
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| This Week's Crawlers Leanne, Gail, Beryl, Beth, Stella, Fran, Fr. Joslan, June not pictured- Colleen |
Thursday's Crawl visit to Urban Espress Coffee Co. started early, continued through a hectic mid-morning rush, and ended just short of noon. On my way home I circled back around and returned to the shop to purchase a package of Donovan's special blend beans.,,, already "changed Forever and coming back for more."
~Thank you to Donovan, Warren and the Urban Espress staff... superb shop...I'll definitely be back!
~Happy birthday to my nephew, Joey - Sept 2
~Congratulations to Sandy and Ray on the birth of their new grandson, Oliver
Until next week,
Ellen