25a Bootham, York, YO30 7BW
​https://www.northsouthyork.co.uk/
A free range kitchen known as a brilliant brunch spot, I’m simply stopping off for a coffee while wandering past on a stag do - others boozing while I seek out a caffeine hit. 

I stand by the door as my keep-cup is filled and take in the laid-back, hip vibes that I imagine make it immensely popular. I’m slightly shocked to see my drink come up as pricier than my local in North East London but
A crisp cup of coffee from an indie roaster probably in the heart of York city probably justifies the cost.

 It serves me well with sharp and sugary vibes that tingle on the tip of the tongue, awakening my senses in exactly the way I had hoped. Bring on the day, and night, of activities.

41 Fossgate, York YO1 9TF
Little more than a wood panelled room, this is truly speciality coffee at its greatest, a space to sell coffee. Not an events space that happens to sell coffee nor a quirky space that has a great atmosphere that would suit coffee, but rather a space in which coffee can be sold from. Coffee is the subject here and a space is needed from whence to sell it. 
Kiosk excels in this with its seating areas barely big enough for the cluster of people queuing to pay. Two people stand behind the till, which must offer its own challenges as movement is limited to your role of either taking payment and serving pastries, or baristaing said orders with minimal arm movements. So small is the shop itself that I actually missed it, nestled to the side of Merchants Hall in York, and it was only when my friend, a resident of the city, pointed it out as his favourite coffee spot that I took on board that it was a separate establishment in and of itself.
A group of us have been skittering from pub to pub and I’ve managed to break up the bars with a stop at this minute cafe that is sequestered away in a historic spot. I briefly consider the vegan brownies on display in a glass case next to the espresso machine but having just eaten elsewhere, I stick with the coffee for now.
I’m unsurprised to find them serving up Darkwoods coffee, a Yorkshire roaster from West of the Pennines that has a name for quality, but what does surprise is just how vibrant my oat latte ends up being. An undeniably light and sweet experience, it’s a Kenyan coffee that has a stinging bite of sharp stone fruit and it is a revelation to someone like myself who is so often looking for more confectionery tastes in his coffee rather than the fruity ones. 
On a frosty day in York this is coffee perfection, with the almost cherry-like zing piercing through the oat milk of my latte. A small but mighty find that marks itself out well in the land of tea and public houses.