Durham's best coffee operates out of a market unit. The bean retail is the backbone; the drinks counter is the entry point.

The filter coffee is the thing to order, served from a ground-floor space in a medieval Saddler Street building. The flat white is made properly, which the name at least owes you.

The flat white is done properly here, which is rarer in Durham than it should be. The baked goods are a serious reason to stay.

Freshly made bakes lead every review, and the coffee backs them up. On the Riverwalk, central Durham.

The flat whites earn the walk. Fowler's Yard earns the second cup.

FIKA beans from County Durham and staff who know what they're serving. The most considered cup on Old Elvet.

The scones are exceptional and rightly the reason most people come. The coffee is honest, which is exactly what a plate of scones requires.

Coffee holds up, prices are honest, and the food menu is good enough that people who came in for a flat white end up staying for lunch.