Ulterior Motives
19 MayJune 2026 in London (… and the ulterior coffee motive)
London's June is a calendar of things that don't happen otherwise: a hundred locked gardens opened for one weekend at the start of the month, the King's…
"The London branch of Colonna Coffee, where Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood's three UK Barista Championships translate into three rotating single-origin filters and a separate espresso track. The barista will help you choose; order the Pulsar-brewed filter."
96a Leather Ln, London EC1N 7TX, UK
Depending on the week, the filter board is La Cabra, Tim Wendelboe, or Coffee Collective. A guest espresso slot runs alongside the house programme, with baristas who know both well enough to make the case for either.
A Japanese-influenced Clerkenwell bar where a Bao-alumni pastry chef's matcha canelé is on the counter and the espresso comes in ceramics. The coffee earns its company.
Ray hand-brews Yunnan single-origins and has run cupping sessions for customers who want to know what they're drinking. Not a walk-in; a destination on Leather Lane.