2323 Coffee / The Ultimate Quantity of Eggs

CoffeeBeer >> Double Shot Buzz >> 2323

This past summer, as I was walking down Norfolk Row to my job, I noticed a tiny coffee place that had just opened on the corner. At first I couldn’t tell what the place actually was, or even what its name was, but I finally figured out it was called 2323, and it was selling coffee drinks. Why it’s called 2323 I really don’t know, because the address of the place is 20 Norfolk Row.

Anyway, I finally stopped in one day to get a cortado to take to work. On that first visit I had a choice of two espresso roasts from La Cabra. I chose the Santo Antonio from Brazil, described on the menu as possessing dark chocolate, pecan, and maple overtones, and it was quite pleasant--not as robust as I usually prefer my espresso, but very enjoyable. The other espresso choice of the day, suggestive of sweet toffee and mandarin, was La Roca from Costa Rica, and there was also a batch brew choice for the day, La Celia, and a hand brew, Potosi, with both beans grown in Colombia.

A couple of weeks later I stopped in again and went for a cortado made with a Columbian coffee, El Jaragual, from Zennor, which was described as apricot, mango, and passionfruit. I think I liked this a bit better than the initial La Cabra coffee I’d had. And on my most recent visit I went for Espresso Number 1, Suukala from Columbia, brewed with washed Caturra & Castillo beans and described as cherry, toffee, and dark chocolate.

2323 is owned by Joe Anderton and Lauren Briggs, who learned about coffee down in Cornwall while they were both at university and working at a specialty coffee shop there. As Lauren is from Barnsley, the two of them eventually moved up to Sheffield and opened their own cafe. They furnished the tiny cafe with chairs from Amsterdam, and the wall art is dominated by a simple graphic painting of a bright orange bull standing under a bright orange sun, and the bull sports a full-body tattoo that says “TELL ME ABOUT DESTINY”. I have to admit I do like it, even though I really don’t know what it’s supposed to mean. I mean, if I sat in the cafe for a few hours and drank several quadruple Espresso Number 2s, in a flash of caffeinated frenzy I might suddenly understand. But that could ultimately mar my appreciation for what to me is a wonderfully bright and ambiguous piece of art. But that’s art interpretation for ya...

The setting of 2323, the pedestrian Norfolk Row, has quite an interesting history. Named after the Duke of Norfolk, it was built around 1780 and runs from Norfolk Street by the Crucible Theatre to the never-ending construction zone of Fargate. The Fargate end was once the gardens of the Lord’s House, which was built in 1707 for Henry Howard, the Duke of Norfolk, but is currently the gaping scar of land that used to be a Next clothing shop. And just opposite the coffee cafe is St Marie's, a Gothic Revival cathedral opened in 1850 which often reminds passers-by of its existence with the deafening ringing of its bells.

Personally, I love the loud, rampant tolling of actual church bells, even though I'm not a Christian. I mean, there is a church just down the road from where I live in Sheffield that rings out for religious holidays and weddings; but it still transports me somewhere far away, as if I'm across the sea on a romantic European holiday. I mean, there just weren't any Gothic cathedrals in suburban Long Beach...

As to the name of the cafe, I guess it will remain a mystery. I did read that 2323 is considered an angel number, which is a repeating sequence of numbers that some people believe are messages from the universe. The number 2323 is said to represent balance, creativity, growth, and self-expression. It is also said to be a sign that you are on the right path to happiness. And I suppose a decent coffee can definitely lead a person to happiness.

Speaking of happiness reminds me of an extremely recent WhatsApp conversation about eggs:

I dreamt that my friends' cat was eating my egg on toast. To be fair it was the last of three, so it was probably for the best. Hey, I can think of worse things to dream about. I was really annoyed, but then I thought I wasn’t sure I should have three fried eggs on toast. I can only manage one egg at a time--or 1.5, if I make a three-egg omelette for two people, which I used to do occasionally. I could not and would not ever do three eggs!

I recall a breakfast place in Long Beach that advertised 4-egg omelettes for breakfast, with the whole hash browns and toast bit. And even though I was young and could eat more, I would get so angry when I’d drive past this place with friends when we were heading out to a reasonable breakfast. Even in my twenties I wanted only one egg, with hash browns, toast, coffee, and orange juice. I mean, that was plenty to tide me over till lunch. But if I was (and still am) served two eggs, in the interest of not wasting a good cooked egg, I’d probably eat half of the extra egg. But there’s that 1.5-egg maximum thing again. You know, it’s much more fun talking about eggs than it is doing my job.

I can eat two eggs, but it depends what I’m having. Two eggs and two slices of toast: yes, please. Full fry-up: one egg, please. By the way, I made soup today.

Yeah, but soup isn’t eggs! Now I really want eggs for tea.

Bollocks to soup! I might have eggs myself!

Have both! Go wild!