• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

  • Food
  • Fitness
  • Organization
  • Productivity
  • Etc.

A Guide to Oxford’s Coffee Shops

February 27, 2017 by Taylor 1 Comment

A Guide to Oxford's Coffee Shops - Espresso and Ambition

Being the caffeine addict and coffee snob that I am, I made it a personal mission to test out as many Oxford coffee shops as I could during my time here. While pretty much every café and restaurant sells coffee of some sort, there are a number of places dedicated specifically to coffee. For anyone headed to Oxford in the near future (or just dreaming of going), I’m giving my thoughts on these coffee shops – based not only on the coffee itself, but on the environments and food as well. They’re all great little coffee nooks, but they’re all a little different. Depending on your mood or personal preferences, some may sound better than others; my coffee shop of changes pretty much daily based on what I want to drink and what kind of study environment I’m looking for.

(I’m putting these in alphabetical order, so don’t interpret the order listed as some sort of overall ranking!)

 

Brew

A Guide to Oxford's Coffee Shops - Espresso and Ambition

This particular coffee shop is a little bit away from city centre, closer to the Park Town area; however, this is advantageous for me, because it’s within walking distance from where I’m staying. This place is tiny – and when I say tiny, I mean there’s maybe six table total. Luckily, since they’re not in city centre, they’re usually not too crowded, so I’ve never gotten there and not found a place to sit. Coffee-wise, they’re probably my second favorite (but only slightly behind my #1), and I’m obsessed with their flat whites. They also serve their coffee in these beautifully decorated cups, which just makes you feel fancy and put-together, even if you’re simultaneously trying to write an essay 5 hours before it’s due

 

Combibos Coffee

A Guide to Oxford's Coffee Shops - Espresso and Ambition

If you’re looking for the more sugary side of coffee, this is your go-to place. As represented by the picture I chose for this place, they offer a nice selection of seasonal drinks – like this café crème brulee they served for Valentine’s Day. It’s situated right next to the main bus station, and has quite a bit of seating, including a giant sectional that pretty much sucks you in, so it’s an ideal spot to hang out while you’re waiting to catch a bus. Also, they have amazing pancakes.

 

George Street Social

A Guide to Oxford's Coffee Shops - Espresso and Ambition

What they lack in latte art, they make up for in basically everything else. First of all, the food is fantastic. I’ve had vegan chocolate cake, superfood salad, pancakes, and poached eggs on toast, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. This makes it an ideal spot for an extended study session, because you can snack while you work instead of just consuming copious amounts of caffeine. Also, it turns into a bar at night, if you fancy a cheeky pint later on in the evening. The environment is pretty great in general – it’s kind of a hipster place if you know what I mean, and the walls are decorated with art, the bookshelves are filled with old board games, and they have the single best staircase I have ever seen.

 

Jericho Coffee Traders

A Guide to Oxford's Coffee Shops - Espresso and Ambition

Situated out on High Street, I actually only stumbled upon this place on accident. I’m very happy I did, however, because it’s such an awesome little shop. Here, I discovered something called bonbon coffee, which is essentially a shot of espresso and a shot of sweetened condensed milk. It’s sweet and smooth, and it’s a great pick-me-up when you just need a little extra boost. I also really love the view from this place – if you sit at the window up front, you can see the entire street and it’s really quite picturesque. The only downside is that you get a cold breeze every time someone opens the door. I’m sure that’s quite lovely any other time of year, but since I’m here in the coldest months, it’s definitely a bit of a pain.

 

The Missing Bean

A Guide to Oxford's Coffee Shops - Espresso and Ambition

There’s so many downsides to this particular coffee shop, but the coffee 100% makes up for it. I think, if forced to choose, this place would be my favorite. The espresso is PHENOMENAL. I’m not normally the type to drink espresso black, but I’ve done it a couple times here because their espresso is just that smooth. However, it’s incredibly cramped, and given its location right in city centre, it’s also generally pretty crowded. I recommend getting there early in the morning if you’re going to go. Also, depending on your ability to get work done with noise, Missing Bean may not be ideal for you, as the small space and high volume of people means that there’s quite a bit of ambient noise. But the coffee, people. The coffee.

 

Society Café

A Guide to Oxford's Coffee Shops - Espresso and Ambition

This was the first coffee shop I visited at Oxford. If you’re looking for Instagram-worthy vibes, this place has them. It’s all very modern and geometric looking, and the latte art is definitely something to be admired. The coffee itself isn’t my favorite, but it’s got decent seating (read: multiple corners where I can essentially isolate myself and crank out some writing) and they whip up a pretty dang good mocha, so overall it’s pretty satisfying.

Related Posts

Filed Under: Etc., Study Abroad, Travel

Comments

  1. Ann Morgan says

    February 27, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    Loved it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow

Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

Instagram

tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
.
you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
.
1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
.
2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
.
3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
.
4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
.
throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
.
👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
.
also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
.
1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
.
2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
.
3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
.
4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
.
5️⃣ 12 commandos
.
6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
.
repeat 4x total!!
.
👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
.
anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
.
#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
.
do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
.
1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
.
2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
.
3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
.
4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
.
5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
.
6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
.
repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
.
👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
.
circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
.
circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
.
circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
.
👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
Load More... Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Search


Disclosure

Some of the links featured in my posts may be affiliate links. The links and the products they lead to come at no additional cost to you but help this gal continue to make Espresso and Ambition happen. Your support means the world to me! <3

Pages

  • About
  • Contact
  • Espresso and Ambition
  • Subscribe
  • Disclosures and Privacy Policy

Blog Design by TinselPop