This was a very pleasant event at a
fantastic venue. Foundation Coffee House
is situated in Sevendale House on Lever St., Manchester, on the corner of
Stevenage Sq., and is a prime location for rush hour commuters passing through.
It has only been open since around the beginning of June, but I think it will
soon be a hotspot for many as the place looks great and offers such an amazing
variety of coffees, teas, smoothies, cakes and other foods.
From the outside, peering in through
the large windows, you can see how open the coffee house is and such big space filled
with natural light! The aesthetics of the Coffee House was inspired by the
cofounder’s (Adam Chapman’s) family
background as he comes from a long line of engineers, and working with
designers No Chintz, presents a
space that is minimalist in design, and has a strong barebones engineering
theme running throughout with steel columns and a cemented floor.
On arrival, as usual we were greeted
by Jonny and had chance to mingle with others within the Manchester Yelp Elite before partaking in the evening events, which
would consist of a passionate talk from Adam, sampling any and all products
that Foundation has to other (and I mean all! Cakes! Coffee! Smoothies! Award winning Hot Chocolate!You name it!), and ending
the evening with another passionate talk from the designers about the finer
details of the Coffee House. Not to mention, we were served bottled beer and
wine, which is always welcome at these events! But before all of that, we were
offered Espresso Martinis to
kickstart the night. Not sure how these would go down with non-coffee drinkers,
but I thought they were tasty!
During Adam’s presentation, you could
instantly tell how passionate he was about his new venture, giving us an
insight to the origins. He used to be a police officer in in Manchester before
turning his attention to opening a gym named QDos Fitness, and whilst meeting with the designers during numerous
meetings in coffee shops to bring his concept to life it sparked a new idea
about setting up a no franchise coffeeshop. Adam really knows his coffee, and
even declared himself as a “coffee geek”. He careful chose the coffee himself
after visiting a roasters in Cornwall and creating a brilliant menu of
different coffee drink, mixing it up with different nutrients; you can have coffee
for energy to last the whole day (for real!). The coffees on offer a more than just
a “caffeine kick”, and you understand that this has been a big journey for Adam
and the whole Foundation team.
Some of the coffees highlighted in
the presentation and recommended by Adam are the Bulletproof, which is a mixture of coffee with ghee, and a Kevlar, which is butter and coconut oil
missed with an American coffee.
I sampled the latte, which was
exceptional! I am a convert. When I am in the area, this will be where I’ll be
getting my coffee! And I will definitely sample the rest of the menu.
The pricerange is great! I’d say it
was mid-range when it came to some of the franchised coffeeshops, but the quality
is far greater. A lot of care has gone into the establishing the menu and the
servers a really knowledgeable about all the items. Foundation does not mess
around with several sizes; you get a to-the-point cupsized coffee, which I find
to be brilliant. People just want a coffee! They don’t want to be burdened with
choosing a size or forced to give their names to ensure they receive their
orders.
Cakes and sandwiches come from a caterer
so there is no need to cook on the premises and using local good quality
caterers and bakery. Very simple! Why have a good range of cakes, both healthy
and vegan. Probably the most vegan ranged cakes for a non-vegan specialised
eatery. I sampled the carrot cake and it was delicious! I am a big fan of
coffee and cake, and Foundation provides a great combo!
Overall, it was a great event, and I
spent some time chatting to Adam, who is a very nice guy and passionate about Foundation
Coffee House. It is likely you would see him when you visit, and I look forward
to stopping by soon for a coffee, and maybe some cake!
There is on final thing to mention:
the toilets are remarkable! I think most people find toilets in most places to
be avoided, but not here! Adam made a point to mention that these were
constructed with the same quality throughout the Coffee House and endeavours to
uphold the high standard for maintaining them. The pictures on the doors indicating
the “gents” and “ladies” are Adam’s grandparents, which is a really nice personal
touch.
Thanks
to Jonny, Adam and all the staff at Foundation Coffee House. See you soon!
