LIFESTYLE | Visiting Bean & Cole

Hello my lovelies, I hope you're well and are having a good week. I recently ran a poll on Twitter asking what you guys wanna see this summer in terms of posts and it was a close call until the very end but as you guys can clearly see this post came out on top. But don't worry, if this wasn't the post you were hoping for, all of the other's that were mentioned in the poll will make their way onto my blog very soon. 

Anyway, let's get talking about Bean & Cole. If you guys have looked at the photo then you will have noticed that Bean & Cole is a coffee house and you guys know by now how obsessed I am with my daily dose of iced coffee, especially in this current heatwave that is sweeping the UK.

Recently in Chester there has been a lot of new cafe places opening or set to open during this summer, which is funny how they're all opening at the same time. But I suppose it will generate lots of business with lots of people out and about as the weather gets warmer and with there being more independent coffee shops it means people will wanna go and try them all out to see if they beat the likes of trusty Costa and Starbucks. And if you're someone who loves coffee like me then of course, gotta try them all out. 

Bean & Cole have been open now for a week or just over, so they are very new to the scene. The location of this coffee shop is actually quite tactically placed I think as for people who live in my direction in Chester; (slightly out of the town) when I walk into town I have to go past it, so if you're someone who fancies a coffee in the morning on the way to work or want a bite to eat and a beverage it's right there when you walk into town. It's not directly close to the big rivals like Costa or Starbucks. You have to go further into town to get to those places. So they've already ticked the box of convenience. 

I think the outside of the shop looks really eye catching and different compared to everything else around it. It might be because it's new whereas everything else in the area has been there since I started uni. But I think the colour green really stands out, especially in the sunshine, which draws you to it and makes you want to see what it is and what is inside. I also adore those big stickers that read 'coffee house' on. Really different to anything I've seen before. 

 It is not the biggest cafe ever, but it consists of one long table, a bench that goes all along the inside wall (from the right side window in the first picture all the way to the counter), a long bar top (the second inside photo), and 3 wooden tables along the bench with some metal stools, and they had comfy pillows to sit on! I actually really like the set up of this cafe because although it's not massive, in the process of converting it, they've used the space effectively. 

The whole vibe inside the cafe is rustic boho in my opinion which I really love. I think it's really different to the perfect white counters and marble work tops that you see in every modern coffee shop these days all over Instagram. 

Now of course when I visited for the first time I asked my other coffee addict half, Katie, to come along with me. We've gone on many coffee dates together and we thoroughly enjoyed this one! You can see behind us that gorgeous brick wall (I've got a thing about inside brick walls at the minute, I keep using them in households on the Sims 4 at the minute too) which we took full advantage of when it came to taking candid photos. We both really enjoyed the whole vibe and look of this place - we felt really at ease just spending time in here. 

When it came to ordering it was really tough as we were both tempted by the food but we were good and just had a coffee. As you can see I had an iced coffee and Katie treated herself to a latte. I love the coffee art in Katie's coffee, it's really pretty and was a lovely added touch. I really enjoyed my iced coffee, but it was just a bit small for me personally, especially when I paid slightly more in here than I would in Costa. And the ones in Costa consist of more. 

But with that said, next time I popped in (only 2 days later) I did treat myself to a bite to eat. I had a cappuccino with a salted caramel brownie. And let me tell you this might honestly be the best brownie I have ever had. Bold statement I know. It was so soft and moist to bite into and then the caramel on top just gave it something else. I can still taste it now. And my cappuccino was delicious, again I adore the coffee art, I did put quite a bit of sugar in as it was quite strong but worth it. 

When Katie and I visited the first time we noticed how they put different drinks into different mugs and I love that. So a latte goes in a yellow mug whilst a cappuccino goes into a brown. I think that is such a nice little added feature. One thing I would love to try in here next is a hot chocolate (who even am I, I used to hate hot chocolate) because I bloody love a hot chocolate these days, especially a Costa one. So I'd be intrigued to see what the difference is with that as with hot coffee it tastes quite similar the majority of the time whereas a hot chocolate is dependent on how much chocolate powder you put in etc. But it might be too hot for a hot chocolate at the moment. What do you guys reckon, is it too hot for a hot chocolate? 

In terms of the price, it is a little bit more expensive than your standard Costa or Starbucks, however, cafe's like this you do not go to all the time, it's more of a treat. I feel for the hot drinks and the food that I have had it has been worth the price because you pay for the experience in a cafe like this. What I mean by that is the vibe of the cafe and the friendliness of the staff, the extra effort of making the coffee look beautiful (the coffee art), and the effort of making the food look really presentable and delicious. So for example, in Costa a cappuccino is £2.65 whereas in here it was £2.80. Not a massive price bracket difference but that extra 15p I paid gave me something more appealing to look at which is a nice treat from time to time. But I wouldn't go to an independent coffee shop every week because (and we all know I go out for a Costa every week at some point) the price does rack up.  But of course the major difference is the fact that Costa is a chain and not an independent coffee shop like Bean & Cole.  

Another thing I just wanna add, you guys know how obsessed I am with cactus' and succulents so the fact that they had a cute little pot on every table was giving me life. 

So what's the overall verdict of Bean & Cole? The coffee is delicious, the place is gorgeous, the food is divine, and the candid photo's Katie and I got here were worth the trip as you can evidently see. But, I don't think this trip would've been as lovely and welcoming if it wasn't for the staff. The people that run this place and work there are honestly some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I have ever met. From the minute we walked in right up until we left they asked us about our day, what we were up to, we spoke about uni to them, and even when we left they said thank you for coming and goodbye. As a customer this gets massive ticks in my book. You could go into the most beautiful shop in the world but if the people working there aren't friendly you don't have the same experience. 

Is it worth it? 100% yes. It is really nice to switch it up every so often and try out new things and new places. If any of you live in Chester or near to Chester I would highly recommend checking Bean & Cole out because it's not every day you get to go to a coffee shop like this one. If you don't mind treating yourself once in a while and paying that little bit extra for an experience as well as the actual food and drink itself then you will really enjoy this place.

I'd love to try out more independent coffee shops over the summer, let me know down below some of your favourite independent cafes/ coffee shops. 

If you guys would like to know more about Bean & Cole then check out their Instagram here. They're always posting on social media since their big opening which I am very much enjoying. If you love coffee, then you will too so give them a follow! 

Also loves, if you wanna check out my girl Katie's Instagram post from our visit then click here. 

And that is it for this post my lovelies. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Follow me on all of my social media so you can keep up to date with everything I am doing! You can follow me on Twitter @katielouj0hnson, Instagram @katiej0hnson, Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson. 

I will speak to you all very soon. 

Love,

Katie