Fresh from the streets of New York City, a new caffeine vendor has arrived in London. Blank Street Coffee may have seemingly arrived on our streets out of the blue, but they’re quickly making a name for themselves as a destination for thirsty Londoners.
The café brand first launched in Brooklyn back in 2020, with a reimagining of what a coffee store could look like. Focusing on smaller stores, sometimes even just a coffee cart, they were able to funnel money into sourcing “top of the range specialty graded coffees from around the world”. On top of that, they focus on serving fresh, locally sourced food, and pay their staff above the market average wages.
They opened up their first location in London in the summer of 2022, and now their green-and-white-fronted stores can be found all over London at 17 different locations.
Cold Brew or espresso?
A striking feature of Blank Street’s offering is the way they’ve decided to approach iced coffees. Most coffee shops split their offerings into Cold Brew drinks, and iced espresso drinks (such as an iced latte, iced mocha, etc.). In these instances, shots of espresso are poured over ice, milk, and flavourings. Cold Brew fans, meanwhile, typically get a longer drink that they can top up with a splash of milk or flavourings.
But Blank Street is doing things a little differently. They’ve launched a full-on Cold Brew menu that attempts to merge the two worlds of drinks into icy, caffeine-fuelled beverages to delight us all. The secret is what they’re termed a ‘Cold Brew Shot.’ This concentrated shot of caffeine replaces the espresso so that the drinking experience remains familiar but with a super-smooth flavour and even more kick.
This Cold Brew Shot now forms the basis of Blank Street’s Cold Brew Menu. You can keep it classic with the Original Cold Brew, or grab a Cortado Cold Brew with your choice of milk. It’s akin to an iced latte, but without having to drink a whole pint of milk to get your caffeine kick!
Fans of a particular iced and shaken espresso drink with brown sugar will fall head over heels for Blank Street’s Shaken Brown Sugar Cold Brew. Topped off with a sprinkling of cinnamon, it’s a sweet, but not overwhelming, coffee treat. And it even comes without any of the shame of supporting a particular Seattle-born, siren-fronted, coffee-bean-burning, (and union-busting) coffee chain that popularized the drink.
Blank Street also has a Shaken Chai Cold Brew, and a Grapefruit Cold Brew Spritz for the more adventurous coffee drinkers.
Grab a free Blank Street Cold Brew
All this talk of icy-cold coffee drinks got you thirsting for a Cold Brew fix? Well, luckily for you, Blank Street is giving out tons of free Cold Brew all across our city to celebrate their new menu. Blank Street Cold Brew Carts are popping up to give away free drinks, and there’s even a Cold Brew Hotline for those faced with a coffee crisis. Just call up (020 8058 8000) any time between July 17 – 28 and leave a voicemail to be in with the chance of receiving fresh Cold Brew on your doorstep for free.
If you stumble across one of the brand’s Cold Brew Carts, you can choose from three of Blank Street’s new Cold Brew menu items: the Traditional Cold Brew, the Cortado Cold Brew, or the Shaken Brown Sugar Cold Brew. Here’s where you can expect to find the pop-up carts and vans in the coming days:
- Canary Wharf – Adams Plaza (July 20)
- Seven Dials Market – Earlham Street (July 21)
- Shoreditch – Boxpark (July 22)
- St Paul’s – One New Change Centre (July 24)
- Ealing Broadway (July 26)
- Portobello Road Market (July 29)
- Southbank (July 30)
Head on down, find the cart, and net yourself a free drink!
More than just Cold Brew
Lest we suggest that Blank Street Coffee only serve one type of coffee, we should probably let you know about their other offerings too. Because not only do they serve up all the classic coffeehouse drinks (from cortados to flat whites, americanos, and beyond), but they also have a variety of teas and flavoured options. Their Peach Iced Tea, for example, is an ultimate summer refresher, and their Chai Latte is delightfully spiced. And their signature drinks, with options such as the Blueberry Matcha and the Pistachio Lattes (both available hot or iced), show their skill at making delicately flavoured sippers too.
Oh, and by the way, prices start at just £1.90 for a cup of hot joe. They’ll also happily add oat milk and ice to any drink, at no extra charge.
On top of all that, they’re conscious of food waste, and have partnered with Too Good To Go so that surplus food and products end up in ‘Magic Bags’ of Blank Street goodies. If you fancy showing your love of the brand, they’ve got you sorted too, with merch that ranges from tees to totes, socks, and caps, so that you can dress (almost) head to toe in coffee paraphernalia.
Blank Street has a number of locations around London. Find out where your nearest location is at their website.