Ithaka Coffee, Digbeth, Birmingham
New month, new blog post. This month is the wonderful Ithaka Coffee in Digbeth, Birmingham. Located in the old custard factory on Gibbs Street, it's a cool spot for a coffee shop, and not just a coffee shop but the World Barista Champion Dale Harris Coffee Shop.
Let's jump in!!!!
The Coffee
This was not a planned visit but a welcomed surprise. I was recommended this by the people at Pause in Kings Heath when I was there. I grabbed a flat white, the standard order; it was perfect. The milk quality was excellent, and the latte art was well done.
The coffee, Filadelfia from Guatemala, was a washed process and had notes of sweet fruit, brown sugar, and milk chocolate.
The coffee was truly excellent even though I only had the one; I will be planning a trip back to try more coffees from them.
Ithaka History
Ithaka's history is a new one due to the shop being so new. It's primarily a roastery that produces some excellent coffees and will feature on roast records in the future.
Taken from their website – Ithaka is a coffee roastery being built by World Barista Champion Dale Harris. We’re moving slowly and building a business based on quality, service, sustainability, human connection and attention to the small details. We’ll never be the biggest roastery, but we can be one that makes a fresh positive impact within our community.
Ithaka's history really starts with Dale Harris, as he is the 2017 world barista champion and UK barista champion. A man that's been competing in barista competitions for a long time and has worked with some amazing coffee companies, recently being an ambassador for Timemore UK and Mahlkönig UK.
Fashionable furnishings
The layout was simple, as was the decor, with a cool view of the roastery and plenty of seating. The bar was the clear focal point, as it was in front of the door. The bar had some clean tiling and pub-like stools.
Not a lot of natural light due to the cafe being in an old factory, but this gave it a cosy feel. Unfortunately the focus was mainly on the roastery, which I do understand, but I would have liked to have seen some decoration, as the cafe space was very open – maybe some hanging plants.
Overall, the cafe space was clean, tidy, and well-organised.
Value for money
With bags of coffee ranging between £12 and £25 for 200g and my flat white costing me only £3.85, I believe Ithaka is well worth the price, as you are getting the best quality for a very good price considering it is located in such a fashionable area.
Flat whites in the local area can range between £3.00 and £5.00. Ithaka's price point is excellent; most commercial coffee shops charge more.
The Verdict
Ithaka is an amazing, unique coffee shop that produces some of the best coffee I have tried, but the cafe brings the overall score down.
As I said previously, some extra decorations would massively improve the space. The excessive noise from the roasting machines does get annoying, but that's the trade-off for a cafe located in a roastery.
If you're walking the surrounding area, pop by; Ithaka is 100% worth the visit.
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