Ground Espresso Opens Its First Bangor Store- The Coffee Shop For Connoisseurs
/You may have spotted the new Ground Coffee Shop which almost sprung up overnight on the Bangor ring road beside Pure Gym. The first Bangor branch of the super successful Northern Irish chain is now open, ahead of their second store in the new Next at Bloomfields launching later in 2016.
Smix subscribes to the little boy rule of 'it's 3 degrees but no I definitely don't need my coat, mum'.
So what sets Ground Espresso apart from all the other coffee shops our seaside town already has? For coffee connoisseurs it has to be their exclusive 'Brew Bar', using expert brewing methods for the ultimate taste experience from their beans.
Hannah from Ground talked me through the three methods you can choose from, which take a little longer than usual coffee preparation, but which are most definitely worth the few minutes wait- I can confirm the difference in taste was huge.
The Kalita Wave method gives the 'cleanest' coffee I've ever tasted. The resulting coffee is recommended to be tasted without milk or sugar, to experience the true, full taste of the beans.
The Chemex is another expert barista method giving a strong, true taste from the beans used.
It brews enough coffee for two people, or two cups if you really love your java. Even after the little tester cups I could feel the caffeine, which must be a result of the more efficient brewing methods.
The final method was the Aeropress. I'd heard people talk about purchasing these for home use for Christmas, and Ground have them in stock to buy yourself.
In fact they have a selection of expert brewing accessories available to purchase.
So if you love your coffee you'll definitely want to try those methods at Ground and taste the difference. So what else is in store? Lots of local tea from Suki, Elderflower, Red Berries and Pink Grapefruit varieties.
For kids there are milkshakes. Smix had an Oreo one and you can also choose from strawberry, banana, chocolate and salted caramel brownie milkshakes.
Ground also have a selection of healthy smoothies on offer.
After our coffee tasting I was feeling a little too buzzed to drink more, I would have been up all night, so I tried their Mumbai Railway Chai- mostly because I've never known what it was, and was too scared to ask before. I always assumed it was some sort of milky tea, but it's not! It's neither tea or coffee but it's delicious. That's me hooked.
I also got to try one of their winter drinks, the orange hot chocolate, which is equally delicious.
Food wise they have healthy lunches, and terribly wonderfully majestically unhealthy traybakes!
Smix rated this the best Nutella cake he has ever tasted. All the food choices are hand finished in store.
Ground are famous for their salted caramel brownie, with portions that are definitely not skimpy.
Snickers Cake, Mars Bar Krispies and Golden Honeycomb bars are also on the menu.
The new Bangor store is a little different from the Waterstones or Next located Ground stores you may have been in. It's a stand alone branch with a bright and airy feel, lots of seating including work stations along the windows with plug sockets galore for your laptops. There is a very cute toddler area too.
So now I know what a chai latte is, and that I love it, we will be round at Ground often! Frequent visits mean it's good sense to pick up one of their reusable cups- your drink will be 10p less if you bring it with you.
Finally for offers, competitions and news you can like Ground Espresso Bangor on Facebook.
