# Hands Coffee Kingston



## NickR (Jul 1, 2011)

I love Local Hero in Kingston but its too crowded, noisy, and small. Today I tried Hands Coffee, nice large cafe with plenty of seating. Its part of Hands music shop just behind Valerie's off the market square. I had a flat white and my wife had a latte. Both had beautiful latte art and had obviously been made with care and skill. I can't remember where the coffee was roasted but can say its very good. They have an interesting set of grinders a EK43 and a Mythos and a very flash looking Simonelli Machine. Definetely recommended. The Cakes are good too.


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

Agreed, LH is small and pretty much always crowded, also the quality sometimes goes down, depending on who's pulling the shots. They have potential but seem to be stuck slightly imho.

Will try HC next time I'm in Kingston, thanks for the info.

T.


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## NickR (Jul 1, 2011)

Another visit and the coffee only gets better. They have a good selection of magazines to read to, including private Eye.


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

Agreed coffee was good last time I was there (cakes not so much).

Rgds,

T.


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## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Just found this place after the Hotmetalette suggested we go for a day out in Kingston. Day started well with a fantastic mixed grill wrap from the Moroccan guys in the square, and then I stumbled upon Hands tucked away in the griffin centre.

Their house blend is Ozone Empire and I had a lovely flat white in an Acme cup, spro grinder is a Mythos and the spro is made on a 'WBC' NS Aurelia II. They have an EK43 for V60/Aeropress and for people buying ground coffee in bags. Got chatting to the guy who was having a play with some Yirgacheffe cold brew. It was only 4h in but he said he was going to just check how it was doing and offered me a glass. Although it probably needed another few hours it was really nice so I'm going to try it with some of Foundry's Rocko mountain. Not sure if I can grind coarse enough on the 65E though - he had the EK wide open - "goes up to 11" as spinal tap would say. It's a lovely little place that I'll definitely go back to. Might pick up some ozone beans next time too.

Went to Local Hero later in the day and it was pleasantly uncrowded. Only one hipster with a mac book and a young family. Had an 8oz Climpson's cappuccino in an Inker cup, which was certainly up to scratch but I actually preferred the taste of the Hands coffee, and the ambience (until some little kid found the electric keyboard in the corner!). I also decided I'm more of an Acme person than an 'Inkerphile' so I might pop over to caravan tomorrow and see if i can pick up a couple.


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