Long & Short, Walthamstow

https://longshortlondon.com/
35 ST JAMES STREET, WALTHAMSTOW, LONDON E17 7FY
I don’t know how I’ve lived this long in Walthastow without googling where to get the best coffee, but it occurs to me that maybe there are cafes I’ve missed in the parts of town I don’t frequent so much. When I plug this search term in, it doesn’t surprise me too much when several strong results point me down St James Street.

Here, by the train station, is a collective of shops, restaurants and cafes housed inside old shipping containers known as CRATE. A little like the Box Park phenom but on a smaller scale, I hadn’t actually bothered to venture this side of the station until the revelation that Long&Short coffee resides here, and so I’m only too happy to seek out this station side caffeine hawker to see if it truly lives up to its tag as best in Walthamstow.

A sleek, chic affair, Long&Short roast their own beans under the name Peng, and it’s these they serve in sensational fashion when I amble up to ask for an oat flat white. 

I’m struck by how fruity they are, punching you in the nose with their very berryness that really isn’t quite like anything else. It’d do redcurrant-esque that I feel I should have had it black to get the full, fruity sensation but still it tingles on my tongue like a sparking soda.

I can’t quite believe what I’m tasting and I know I have tried something special here. I’m going to have to go again to see if they can repeat the magic or if it was just a wonderful one off!