Yurt

Great cafe in a yurt in a field - Wild Strawberry Cafe at Peterley Manor Farm, Great Missenden, Bucks

Cakes and cozy atmosphere

Busy even on a rainy mid-week lunchtime

Wood burning stove and pre-booked afternoon tea

@WildStrawb_Cafe

Bunty's Blend

Bravo to Bunty's Tea Room in Lincoln who have their own blend of loose leaf tea which trumpets their brand and does away with the ubiquitous 'breakfast tea'.

A Good Drink

 ChariTea (and its sister drink LemonAid) is a socially responsible and high quality cold drink.

They also have some ways of reusing the bottles into shakers and liquid dispensers @ChariTeaUK

Hand Operated

Great to see the hand-operated espresso machines out and about at the smallest village gatherings.  Espresso martinis are another big-time trend for 2017.

Monkey Puzzle Coffee on an outing at Cookham @Monkeypuzzleco.

Seasonal Cheer

 Wasabi's festive sushi boxes

 Leon's Christmas Wrap.  Great Cafes awards its prize for seasonal cheer to Pret and its practical campaign to help the homeless help themselves - watch their great video Opening Doors

Joining the Action

As Allegra report that coffee shops will outnumber pubs by 2030, WHSmith joins the own brand coffeeshop action with Coffee House.

pictured here at Stansted

Snow Time

Christmas Tree, Reindeer and Snowman Biscuits at Carluccios

 Chocolate Pudding Cookies and Snow Mountain S'Mores Brownies at Starbucks

Rush to Rutland

 Hambleton Bakery is well worth a visit plus they have five shops in the Rutland area

 Check out the wood-fired oven, sourdough bread and delicious pastries

and their chunky chocolate brownie @HambletonBakery

Festive Favourites

 Pigs in Blankets (bacon wrapped mini-sausages) at EAT served in a pot

 plus other clever ideas

The Bread Selection Breakfast

Hambleton Hall has its own superb and separate bakery - more details in next week's blog - and it lifts the hotel breakfast to new heights of quality

The hotel also offers a take-it-away basket of their bread for £25.

Attention to Detail

 Hambleton Hall in Rutland is a Relais & Chateaux hotel (and not cheap) but gets attention to detail with fresh flowers, daily weather forecast,

 radio in the bathroom,

Garden plant of the week that shows off their beautiful gardens,

and a personalised menu when they know you are celebrating something special (Mrs Brown is very special!)

Cafe of the Year 2016

We gave our Cafe of the Year last year to a social enterprise in Norwich.  This year it is Lincoln's Rising Cafe run by charity BetelUK that gets our vote.

 See http://www.risingcafe.co.uk/ for more about how they help those with addictions

 The charity BetelUK deserve a huge vote of thanks for their work and the quality of the cafe

  Afternoon teas are their speciality with Classic, American Alliance, Over the Border, Cream and Kids

Simple items done well - hot dogs, sandwiches, light bites and salads

100% to Charity

 Fabulous Rising Cafe in Lincoln operated by Christian charity Betel UK who help folk with drug and alcohol addiction.  See http://www.risingcafe.co.uk/ for more information on their cafes in Lincoln and Coventry.

 This shows how social enterprises can make a difference and run a highly successful cafe

 Retro cost effective design and featuring those who the charity has helped