Coffee at Coffea

Blogging has definitely upped my social life ten fold since I began a little over three weeks ago.  I've been lucky enough to get myself a few fab invites and to meet some lovely people (even if I am a little bit of a gatecrasher sometimes!)

The wonderful Kelly asked me to join her for a get together in Leeds, organised by another very wonderful lady Yuna, and obviously I jumped at the chance to tag along.

And that's exactly what I found myself doing this Saturday afternoon.

After about twenty minutes of people watching in the train station (I'm a little bit nosey!), I met Kelly and her two very own Mini - Bloggers and we headed on over to Leeds.

Our destination: Coffea.

Now, despite me going to Uni in Leeds for three years I'm terrible at finding my way around, but luckily I had Kelly on hand to take charge and lead the way, and Coffea was only a short walk away - we even arrived early and found Kelly waiting for us.  The rest of the ladies - Michelle, Yuna, Kerys and Emily  arrived very shortly after, and in we all went.

Coffea is a small yet perfectly formed coffee shop, situated very close to Leeds train station.  Coffea offer a wide selection of fresh, handmade sandwiches, salads and cakes, as well as a range of warm drinks.

Coffea's "Mission Statement" promotes customer satisfaction.  Staff are trained to provide high quality customer service and are encouraged to ensure every customer stepping through the door relaxes, enjoys and savours.

And savour we did.

After being encouraged to take over the "comfy corner" in the shop, we were all given a complementary warm drink of choice from the lovely Coffea staff - how fantastic!

Naturally, we just had to order something to satisfy our rumbling tummies to go with it too.

Coffea has a good selection of both savory and sweet treats to choose from.  From sandwiches to salads, cheesecake to cookies, there was a lot to keep everyone going - even the most sweet tooth couldn't fail to be satisfied.

Along side all the sweet goodies, Coffea also offer healthy snacks.  They stock snack bars, frusli bars and fruit and I found this made a very refreshing change.  Usually, when grabbing a snack if I'm out and about, I find it really difficult to find a place that offers a healthy alternative to the sweet stuff.  Coffea definitely tick this box and provide options for every customer, whether they be sweet toothed or a health fanatic.

Saying that though - I just couldn't resist the pull of the sugar!

I opted for a large caffeine boost in the form of a white coffee, accompanied by a huge, frosting covered slice of very yummy looking carrot cake.  I was told it tasted even better than it looked and that was it, I was sold - I just couldn't resist.

Healthy eating plan well and truly out of the window.

But I have to admit, it was worth every single little calorie.  It was absolutely gorgeous and very obviously freshly made.

The other girls food choices ranged from warm sandwiches to meatballs - and they all looked amazing.

I really wish I'd gone all out now and opted for food and cake.

Judging from the comments that were made, I'd say that the warm food tasted as good as the cake did.

Once refueled, we relaxed, had a chat and got to know each other a little better.  We were joined by Arash, and Yuna brought us all some goodies out (Yay!). 

 I've heard good things about Teapigs, so was thrilled to be given two of their flavoured teas to try at home - Liquorice and Peppermint, and a very intriguing Silver Tips White Tea, adorned with a great white shark picture.  Can't wait to give these a whirl.

(Oh, and Thank You Michelle's Dad - my 7 year old loves the torch pen and has claimed it as his own.)

Tea

 If I had to find anything, my only niggle with Coffea is that they didn't have a toilet facility available for customers.  Now, usually, this wouldn't be a real issue for me if I was out on my own, but being a Mum, I know just how important a toilet break can be.  Today, Kelly had her two lovely Mini-Bloggers with her who, after a few juices, needed to pop to the loo.

Kelly had to nip out and take the kiddies down the road, which broke up our get together for a little while and I could see this causing other visitors a similar problem if they were to sit and stay in Coffea for a while.

However, this aside, I had a great afternoon.  Good Food, Good Coffee and Good Company in a really nice, friendly, relaxing environment.

Coffea obviously value their customer's opinions too, as they have a huge feature on one wall, made of a large Community Board.   Customers are encouraged to pin their opinions and thoughts about the experience they had during their visit for all to see.

The food is lovely and the coffee is delicious.

Don't just take my word for it - pop along and try Coffea out for yourself

www.ilovecoffea.com