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Jolt Coffee will open in Fitzrovia this March. The coffee brand, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which has another location in Marbella, Spain, will open at 40–41 Great Castle Street, near Oxford Street.
The announcement, which does not mention the country of origin, promises coffee roasted by Nude in east London. Nude was one of the forerunners in London’s speciality coffee landscape when it started roasting in 2008, but has since fallen behind the likes of Square Mile, Workshop, and Cornish imports Origin in the quality stakes.
Specialist drinks include ‘Spanish lattes’ marbled with condensed milk — cafe canario, or cafe bombon — and a pistachio latte. Another signature is ‘black ice,’ an iced coffee made by pouring hot milk over coffee ice cubes — visually arresting and technically sound, avoiding the unpleasant dilution that can sometimes occur with espresso + milk + ice drinks. The increasingly popular cold brew and tonic will be on the menu, and food promises “refined ingredients” and “distinctive flavours.” Those refined and distinctive things including dates, pine nuts, rose harissa, and miso.
Jolt’s Instagram for the Riyadh cafe reveals a few common features: drinks marbled with lurid colours; black-gloved staff; chocolate-dipped ices, and cereal milk soft-serve, à la Christina Tosi’s Milk Bar.
Fitzrovia, meanwhile, is emerging as a minor nexus of London’s coffee scene. Omotesando Koffee opened on Rathbone Square late 2018, while Kaffeine, Workshop, Curators Coffee, Coffee Works Project, and Alex Coffee have all been established in the area for a year or more. At the same time, coffee shops openly placing appealing visuals, design, and theatre at the forefront of their operation are on the rise too: rapidly expanding, extremely Instagrammable mini-chain Elan, London Bridge’s Roasting Plant, and upcoming % Arabica all value #lifestyle or scientific visuals as much, or more than, what’s in the cup.
Open 7a.m. — 7p.m. Monday - Friday, 10a.m. — 7p.m. Saturday