GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
You may have walked past the patinaed, Christmas-red exterior of Algerian Coffee Stores on Old Compton Street a hundred times, but only once you’ve stepped inside could you be prepared for the assaulting, alluring aroma of coffee beans. Trading since 1887, watching Soho change from bohemian haunt to bustling epicentre, Algerian Coffee has barely changed since it opened its Victorian doors.
An undeniably charming sense of organised chaos governs the space, more souk than showroom. The walls are lined with rare single origins in red tins, coffee pots of every conceivable variety, Turkish blends, brass canisters, hand labelled jars, and spilling sacks of beans.
The staff will talk you through it all without fuss. Want something smoky for a stovetop moka? Bright for filter? They'll point you in the right direction and maybe throw in a quiet opinion about what’s overrated. There’s something for everyone, whether you want a dark roast that could wake the dead or a delicate Ethiopian single origin to be brewed only at exactly 92 degrees Celsius.
The shop is also stacked with loose leaf teas and international treats — amaretti biscuits, Turkish delight, and proper Italian hot chocolate that melts in your cup. You’ll find no flat whites or latte art here, just a seriously strong espresso for £1.50 from a little red machine (classy regulars bring their own cups).
In a city that moves fast and forgets even faster, Algerian Coffee Stores is a rare holdout: intimate, unaffected, and entirely itself. –Amy Rose Holland
→ Shop: Algerian Coffee Stores (Soho) • 52 Old Compton St • Mon-Wed 10a-6p, Thu-Sat 10a-7p.