Four Rivers Coffee Co. - Birch Green

https://fourriverscoffee.co.uk/
19 Birch Green, Birch Green, Hertford SG14 2LR
The shameful trudge to acquire my vice of choice. Usually I’m away over the fields staring at the Red Kites that circle overhead or counting butterflies in the woodland beyond the dual carriageway by now. Today, however, I lope up the single straight road towards the next village along from where my office is situated because today is my first opportunity to try the new independent coffee shop that has opened there. The smell of hot tarmac coming from the freshly laid road surface evokes images of my soft rubber soles melting into the pavement as I stare upward blissfully unaware, it’s the kind of warm day where a hot drink is not really called for but I can’t help myself, imbued with the knowledge that this establishment is now open.
Four Rivers coffee is roasted in Hertford Heath, its name a nod to the four rivers that converge on the flood plain of a town that is Hertford itself. I only became aware of them by noticing their van being parked up in the local Sainsbury’s car park and, making a note of their website, ordered a bag of their Rwandan beans to my door. Now, opening up a sort of project space, their flagship coffee shop sits in the village of Birch Green and has grand plans to become a community centre-come-meeting place for the locals with eggs, milk and other basic essentials (and not so basic luxuries) sourced from the surrounding areas to show-off the best of what East Herts has to offer.
The local scene in and around Hertford seems to be taking off with local indie shops and roasters popping up with a fair regularity recently. The Herts Coffee Lab is slowly building into a chain of reasonable proportions with locations in Hitchin, Hertford, Ware and Welwyn Garden City, whilst Sustain Coffee’s flagship store, roastery and community centre in Hatfield serves up rare coffees and provides high-end training for others in the region. Four River’s addition to this mix only serves to strengthen this enclave of caffeine that is slowly building in this corner of the Home Counties and staking a claim as a region of coffee excellence.
In what was the village shop, Four Rivers has set up, initially only opening on Fridays and the weekends, and so my foray has to be timed with my lunchtime stroll from work at the end of the week. Upon approach, I can already see clusters of people sitting outside, only too happy to settle into the cafe lifestyle this new opportunity presents them. It’s only been officially open for a week and people lounge about with the certainty of regulars who have been coming here for half a lifetime, dogs in tow and massed little groups who have decided this is the perfect meeting spot. That’s just from the few tables outside, with inside offering a few more tables and a bar to congregate at. 
It remains a little sparse at the moment but the blue tiling and fresh coat of paint gives it a clean and optimistic outlook with a couple of the aforementioned local products on display. There’s only a small selection of coffees available at the moment but the standards are there and I opt for my regular beverage of choice, the oat latte - with a couple of oat milk options to choose from too. They’re serving up their Costa Rican single origin which claims notes of blood orange, chocolate and pomegranate molasses, and it certainly captures a syrupy sweetness that pierces through the oat milk with a dense intensity and coating mouthfeel that gives it the essence of a sort of dessert drink, something you’d gladly quaff down at the end of the night. 
I have a conversation with the barista serving me, who recognises me from previous orders, social media interactions, and this very blog. It’s nice to be recognised for such things and I guess the whole idea of building a community feel centres around little interactions like this, where you can feel like part of something in the small moments of just buying a coffee. I hope it thrives and continues to build on what it really has because it’s a glorious little space serving up some wonderful coffee, and it’s placement makes it a great stop-off for the swarm of cyclists that traverse from North London to Herts every weekend, or those just drifting on by. 
I try to take a photo for this review and spill some coffee down myself in my awkward fumble to orientate my phone. Sighing, I stumble off back in the direction of the office swirling the sweet drink around my tongue a little to really pull out the dark-sugary tones. Dangerous indeed to have something this good so close-by to the office.