Blank Street Coffee

The new wave of coffee shops, do they work?

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

I’m not a huge coffee fan. Let’s get it out there from jump street. I’m rarely ever ordering a coffee because so many taste too bitter or burnt to me. I was introduced to the world of coffee through Mochas and Frapps. So this review will only be of the funkier flavours and matcha rather than just a normal flat white. Maybe I’ll do a collaboration with

Jessie Herbert

to cover actual coffee lovers’ coffee. With that preface out there, I’ve been intrigued by the Blank Street brand since I watched a TikTok about it.

Vibes

Unlike Starbucks, Costa, Pret etc they don’t want their customers to spend hours/days/weeks in their shops just chilling. They don’t spend much on decor and there’s been no seating available at any of the branches I’ve visited. They spend their money on logistics and the coffee. Even the branding is super minimalist as per below. Lets see however if the drinks are as basic as the branding.

Drink 1 - Blueberry Matcha

By far the best drink I’ve had at a coffee shop not in Seattle. It was the impetus behind me even going to Blank Street, after my sister had recommended it. She knows I hate Matcha but she was adamant that even I, true hater extraordinaire, would be into it.¹ It’s got the perfect balance of sweet blueberry with the Matcha’s flavour. Only note I have is to mix the drink with your straw otherwise you’ll drink all the blueberry first but honestly I didn’t even mind just drinking the Matcha by itself. Super refreshing and tasty.

Price £3.90 for a small

Rating 9.7/10

Drink 2 - Shaken Brown Sugar Cold Brew

This is where my coffee distaste comes through…it was fine. My girlfriend ordered this drink and she loved it. For me it was too strong and gave me a real strong caffeine high and didn’t have enough brown sugar. But for the seasoned coffee drinkers, I think y’all will love this drink.²

Price £4.40 for a small

Rating 7.5/10

Drink 3 - Pistachio Ice Latte

This was the most disappointing of the drinks we had. There was no hint of pistachio and it just tasted like a weak coffee, probably because of the ice. The barista said it was their most popular drink, so I wondered if tons of people were being finessed like us or if we just got a dud batch.

Price £3.90 for a small

Rating 2/10

Drink 3 - Chai Latte

The chai latte, the closest I’ll come to just ordering a pure coffee. The first sip was definitely my cup of chai, full of warming cinnamon and subtle cardamom. Unfortunately once you get past that first sip, you realize it’s actually quite a watery cup and if I was focussing on the latte component, it’s severely lacking.

Price £3.50 for a small

Rating 5.5/10

Overall Rating: 6.1/10

Conclusion

Go to Blank Street Coffee. Get the Blueberry Matcha. Order something else if you want…I guess. The rest of the drinks didnt exactly shine. So if y’all do get something else, let me know. But I’m all for this, get in and get out style of coffee shop.³

1. I’ve tried matcha everywhere, local coffee shops, chain shops and even matcha from Japan. I just don’t vibe with it.

2. For the rating, I combined my girlfriend’s rating and mine because I know it’s not fair if we just go with my basic ass taste

3. All of these drinks were ordered with ice because they were super hot days but they’re also available warm, aside from the Cold Brew obvi.