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Back Buzz - December 22, 2013

Green City Coffee, Unit 1 Kelham Square, Kelham Island, Sheffield

A few months ago we attended the Down By The River Festival at Sheffield's Kelham Island Museum. As we made our way past the Fat Cat and behind the Kelham Island Brewery Shop to the Museum, we noticed a new cafe, all bright and shiny, set back from the road. As we were more interested in beer at that moment than coffee we decided we'd have to investigate the cafe at a later date.

More recently we learned from our friend Mike the Merry Quipster that he was the chef at the cafe, so we decided to give the place a try the next day for breakfast.

It's a simple square of a cafe, with plenty of light streaming through the windows. On the back wall next to a stack of games is a big cabinet with diagonal crossed shelves, creating diamonds of book stacks. One could easily get a crick in one's neck browsing the titles. The ceiling is black with big white suspended circles, which for some reason pleased me very much and made me feel as if I were in an environment designed especially for me. The front wall features simple art along with a large lava lamp and some newspapers -- just what one wants in a cafe.

One might think Green City was named for Sheffield, the greenest city in England with 61% of its total area being green space. Coincidentally the owner happens to be named Jimmy Green. And coincidentally he also owns a suspended ceiling company.

Although the Fairtrade coffee used to be from Grumpy Mule it's now provided by Pollard's. Victoria's and Mike's lattes had nice heart rosettas. Andrew's and my double macchiatos had no rosettas but pleasant little mounds of milk foam which made me think of Peak District tors covered with snow. The coffee seemed a bit overroasted and it could have been hotter. I give marks for good presentation, though.

For lunch I ordered an excellent smoked cheddar and onion jacket -- potato, that is, as I didn't intend to wear it, although considering how accident-prone I'd been lately one never knows. While Victoria had the veggie breakfast, Andrew and Mike had jacket potatoes as well, and they were all very good, with the potatoes cooked perfectly.

As we sipped and dined we chatted about coffee, becoming more animated as we became more caffeinated, as the barista sat in the corner strumming a guitar. Green City offers free wifi, barbecues outside in the summer months, live acoustic music the last Saturday afternoon of the month, and a regular workshop called Scribble, where writers come and read their works to an audience. Jimmy Green has plans to expand the kitchen with a much bigger dining area and an expanded menu, so we shall definitely have to check it out when that happens.

Related Links

• Sheffield's Green Flag Awards, proving it is the greenest city in the region (BBC)
• Wikipedia's even longer list of titles for people