Formative Coffee, Victoria

4 Butler Pl, London SW1H 0RH

I’ve made straight for Formative Coffee from the tube stop, having looked up where serves iced coffee and hoping, not in vain, that it might have air-con. The sign outside merely says ‘Coffee’, as if this statement of beverage is enough to entice you in and no more is needed. Fit out in a minimalist style, it’s a place for coffee purists with no brunch menu,  and a sparse few bakes to couple with your coffee choices. I am served my iced oat latte in something resembling a dessert bowl where a tiramisu or luxurious chocolate cake might feel more appropriate. It is almost too ostentatious and grand for me to be slurping down a cooling caffeine boost but I am desperate in the late summer heat and welcome the flat, earthy taste in its refreshing form. Smooth but not sweet, there’s something intriguing about having this particular brew with so much oat milk, it feels as though it should be sweeter against the creaminess of the milk alternative and so each sip comes as, a not unpleasant, surprise. Everything inside gleams with a little bit of well-conditioned perfection that makes me a sweaty juxtaposition against the simple shininess. I too shine, but not in a clean and fresh manner.