The best places to get your caffeine fix that are not coffee shops

As much a café as a salon: Nashwhite hairdressers in Warwick has an in-house barista - Tom Bird

As my friend and I skip through the door of the tattoo parlour we’re greeted by the smell of freshly ground coffee. Rather than battered couches and a dark, dingy backdrop, there’s pretty seating and a sleek coffee bar at the back of the room. At The Brew & Tattoo in Newquay, Cornwall, the drinks are as important as the inks and its “Pinterest-worthy lounge” is the perfect place to chill out before or after the addition of a new design – which is exactly what I do while waiting for my friend, sipping on an oat flat white as I chat to the barista.

I might have come for a butterfly but I stayed for the beans – and I’m not alone in looking beyond cafés to get my caffeine fix.

Given Britons’ love of coffee, it makes sense that more businesses are embracing it, and not just those in the hospitality sector. According to the British Coffee Association, we drink approximately 98 million cups a day in the UK, contributing £9.1bn to the economy. And while 80 per cent of households – particularly those aged 65 and older – buy instant coffee for at-home consumption, café culture is booming, with 80 per cent of people who visit coffee shops doing so at least once a week, and 16 per cent on a daily basis.

At The Brew & Tattoo in Newquay, Cornwall you can get a tattoo with your coffee

The proliferation of great coffee means we expect it wherever we go and won’t tolerate substandard grains any more. Gone are the days of a grey cup of instant at the hairdressers. We want barista-style beans everywhere and businesses are cottoning on, from garages and tattoo parlours to soft-play venues, gyms and more.

At Miltech Auto Performance in Three Legged Cross, Dorset (a workshop which specialises in Porsche and performance cars), coffee is as high octane as the engines thanks to its on-site coffee van, Torque & Grind. “Because a great garage should feel like a place you actually want to visit,” states its website. In Warwick, meanwhile, visitors to Nashwhite hairdressers are greeted by a full-scale coffee bar when they walk in, complete with a barista and a groaning display of homemade cakes to be enjoyed in a lounge area that feels as much café as salon.

Then there’s The Diamond Setter in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, whose co-founder, Gavin Marsh, initially invested in a bean-to-cup machine for his jewellery shop so he (a self-confessed “coffee connoisseur”) and his wife and staff could enjoy a quality cup.

But Marsh also offers it complimentary to customers as they browse or attend consultations, recognising that it adds to their experience. “I generally buy speciality coffee like Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona, not normal beans you’d find on the high street,” he says. “Yes, it’s more expensive, but there’s only three of us who work in the shop and probably two or three customers who might want a coffee, so I can afford to give it to them for free.”

Coffee and jewels at The Diamond Setter in Tunbridge Wells

As well as talking them through their diamond options, Marsh enjoys explaining to customers what they’re drinking. “When they taste it they often comment on how nice it is, so I do think they appreciate it.”

The rise in demand for good-quality coffee in all sorts of settings is something that has been witnessed first-hand by speciality coffee roasters Origin Coffee, whose customers extend far beyond cafés. Wholesale manager Jesse Dodkins says the company, which provides equipment and training as well as the coffee itself, supplies a range of businesses, including those in the wellness space. “We work with a group of gyms in the north called HiiClub,” he explains. “They all have incredible coffee, completely spec’d up equipment, high-quality beans and well-trained baristas. Coffee is central to what they do.”

Caffeine and cars: Torque & Grind coffee van outside Miltech Auto Performance workshop

Dodkins attributes the rise in coffee-crucial ventures to Britain’s growing enthusiasm for wellness: “Run clubs, yoga, pilates... [we’re increasingly] early to bed, early to rise. People are drinking [alcohol] less than ever and a lot of their engagement with hospitality businesses is happening in the morning” – it’s a no-brainer for fitness companies to tap into this.

At SeaSpace near Newquay in Cornwall, the health club, pool and Padel club surround a café that serves good food and, notably, “really good coffee”, says Dodkins. Origin has started working with a gym in Truro, Cornwall, which is adding free, quality coffee for its members in a bid to offer them more value from their memberships – and keep them on site. “It’s good coffee they’re providing, really high-quality, single-origin coffee brewed really, really well. They see it as something that is valued by the average gym-goer.”

K2 gym in Newquay, Cornwall, invested in a quality coffee machine a few years ago - Mike Searle

For many businesses it’s a personal passion that turns into a perk for customers. “We’ve always tried things based on what we like as staff, and given most of us are coffee drinkers, we wanted to offer coffee,” says Mate Tabb, the manager of K2 gym in Newquay, Cornwall, which invested in a quality machine a few years ago. “We did our market research and found a local company that did a tasting with us and set us up with our own machine, coffee, branded cups and training.”

Helpfully, Tabb himself used to work for Starbucks so added his own expertise into the mix. It’s proved a hit: “Some members will come in even when they’re not training, just so they can grab a coffee, and we have some people who aren’t members – dog walkers for example – who pop in for a drink.”

Quality brews, cakes and matcha are served up to parents entertaining their children at Tots and Dots Play Cafe

And for the most sleep-deprived members of the population? Praise be, the world of soft play has embraced the concept of great coffee. At Tots & Dots play café in Stony Stratford near Milton Keynes, quality brews, cakes and matcha are served up to parents entertaining their children.

While father of one, Jake Malbasa, was thrilled to find that his local venue, Naked Bakes Playroom in Wythall, Worcestershire, not only serves coffee – but really good coffee. “We took our little one there for soft play. Now we go for coffee and it’s a bonus that there’s a soft play.”

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