I love coffee. A strong, flavoursome, lovingly crafted cup of perfectly hot coffee – with carefully thickened froth – can make my day. A weak, over-heated, dull-in-flavour and lacking the necessary craftpersonship latte can break my day.
I know I’m not alone. Everyone in Frome seems to share a love of good coffee. And that’s why wonderful independent coffee shops like The Little Red Cafe on Catherine Hill manage to remain in full swing through the continuing economic crisis. There are some luxuries that one must forgo but coffee is not one such luxury – because, for some of us, it is actually necessity.
In a rare lunch-break away from Rook Lane (it is normally spent gobbling my sandwich whilst typing with my spare hand) I strolled up Rook Lane, through the little alley with the bright striped door and down Sheppard’s Barton – delighting (as I do each day I walk this way home) in the quaint paving stones and idyllic cottages – to my destination: The Little Red Cafe.
The coffee is the best I can remember having had the pleasure of drinking for a LONG while. The staff are smiley, welcoming and helpful. The background music is folky and often something from the 60s (my fave musical era) and the interior is clean, comfortable and stylish. The chairs are like retro school chairs – dark wood with small red leather cushions – and there’s a selection of papers – local and national – to peruse whilst you sip.
I spent 20 minutes reading the Guardian, drinking my perfect coffee and making notes in my notebook before walking back out into the bright sunshine and bumping into John Payne – with whom I had a nice conversation as we walked down Catherine Hill together – parting at the bottom as I went up Bath Street to return to work.
The Little Red Cafe coffee = 10/10
