Algerian Coffee Stores
Coffee store · Soho
52 Old Compton St, London W1D 4QE
Highlights
Global coffees & teas, old-school charm, takeaway coffee & beans
Global coffees & teas, old-school charm, takeaway coffee & beans
"Trading since 1887, this shop stocks an ever-growing range of speciality teas and coffees sourced from around the world. A bustling shop, it retains many original features and has an intoxicating aroma. Oh, and it also serves coffee." - Hyperkit
"Algerian Coffee Stores is an old-school brew haven that runs on £1.50 coffee, Jamaican Blue Mountain beans, and endearing chaos. Instead of dedicating any space to something as benign as seating, they’ve made the bold, brilliant choice to fill any nook and cranny with coffee beans instead. The look is Victorian sweet shop and it has the kind of prices that are rarely seen this side of the millennium, plus the staff will happily play brew matchmaker for you. Blank Street could never." - heidi lauth beasley
"The red and white striped awning and curling gold script makes Algerian Coffee Stores look like an olde sweet shop—and it is, if you replace children with adults and gobstoppers with Jamaican Blue Mountain beans. Tell the staff what flavours you like, how you brew, and they’ll recommend some speciality beans, like the unprocessed Kopi Luwak, like a sommelier pairing wine. Or just get one of the Soho spot’s excellent, £1.50 freshly brewed coffees to go." - sinead cranna, rianne shlebak
"The red and white striped awning and curling gold script signage make Algerian Coffee Stores look like an olde sweet shop—and it is, if you replace children with adults and gobstoppers with Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans. The floor-to-ceiling shelves at this Soho spot are packed with jars of all sizes containing speciality beans from all over the world, things like Indian Cherry AA and unprocessed Kopi Luwak, as well as exclusive house blends. Tell the staff what flavours you like, your preferred brew method, and they’ll pluck something from the shelves like a sommelier pairing wine. Or just get one of their excellent—£1.50—hot brews to go. Just know that the shop is endearingly chaotic—there’s no seating and most of the space is given up to coffee beans. Expect queues and make sure to look at the wooden board before you reach the front so you don’t waste time when ordering. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch" - Sinéad Cranna
"In Soho, a district more noted for its neon-lit nightlife and modernity, a red storefront houses a coffee store chock full of old-school charm, from the original 19th-century wooden counter to the oodles of jars lining the shelves. The shop, Algerian Coffee Stores (yes, it’s plural), was opened in 1887 by a merchant from Algeria named “Mr. Hassan.” It is a testament to his keen eye for business that the shop he founded has somehow managed to survive the Blitz, numerous financial crises, and 21st-century gentrification. Today, you can find a wide array of beans that overwhelm with their enticing aromas from distant lands such as Ethiopia, Cuba, Kenya, Colombia, Java, and more. The coffees range from Kona, a rare variety from the volcanic soils of Hawaiʻi’s Big Island, to the precious, pricey Jamaican Blue Mountain. If you are more of a tea person, there are also hundreds of varieties, from Japanese Genmaicha green tea to Indian Nilgiri Pekoe tea to good, old Argentinian mate. If you can’t wait to take your leaves or beans home and need to satisfy your caffeine fix immediately, the shop also makes espresso and cappuccino. While there is no sit-down area, the drinks—at £1 and £1.20 respectively—are some of the cheapest you’ll find in the city." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
