‘Oh my goodness’: UK city has more coffee shops than the world’s espresso capital

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British coffee lovers may believe they need to go to Italy to properly indulge, but a new study revealed some surprising insights. Milan is the world’s espresso capital, but it pales in comparison to one UK city.

The coffee hotspot of the world is no longer Milan.

While the Italian city may be the home of the world’s coffee shop revolution, it’s been dethroned by a UK city.

Manchester was found to have more coffee shops than Milan.

The northern city has almost double the number of coffee shops, 235 to Milan’s already impressive 144.

READ MORE: Winter sun: Britain’s sunniest city named – ‘it all happens here!’

The study, conducted by coffee machine maker Gaggia Milano, also found Manchester coffee lovers were more vocal about their love of coffee than their Italian counterparts.

Manchester held its Coffee Festival this month, the biggest international coffee event outside of London.

Craig Jukes, Sales Director, Evoca UK, said: “It might be hard to believe – but Manchester officially has more coffee lovers than the world’s espresso capital, Milan.

“Coffee shops have become such an intrinsic part of British culture providing a calm and relaxing atmosphere for friends, families and colleagues to meet, work and socialise, as well as indulging in great tasting coffee.”

In Manchester, some of the best coffee shops were named by Time Out.

Grindsmith in Salford came top.

On Tripadvisor, Natalie Freear said: “Absolutely amazing coffee, lovely atmosphere and staff in a good area of Manchester.

“I would definitely recommend coming here for a laid back brunch with some friends or family!”

The three Trove sites in Levenshulme, Ancoats and Marble Street ranked second.

Samanthaw said: “The coffee… oh my goodness. Best I’ve found in Manchester.

“I love how they locally source all ingredients and even the tomato sauce is home made. The food and cakes are exceptional and the staff are so friendly.

“We visited towards the end of service and were treated to some bread that was not sold that day and it was genuinely the nicest bread I have had.

“We travelled 30 mins to take my mum to the levenshulme branch and it was worth every minute.”

Northern Quarter’s favourite, the food and drink market Mackie Mayor, was third.

Tripadvisor user TravelLife said: “I kept finding myself returning here. Exceptional food, coffee, drink and space. Tough to capture in words but this place just works.”

British coffee afficionados are spoiled for choice.

And while Manchester has more coffee shops than Milan, it’s not the UK hotspot for coffee.
The title goes to London, according to the study.

Looking at number of coffee shops, Google mentions, reviews and social media hashtags, the study found London to be the best place to be for coffee.

Manchester came second, followed by Birmingham in third spot.

Top 5 UK cities for coffee lovers

1. London

2. Manchester

3. Birmingham

4. Cambridge

5. Bristol 

Gaggia Milano

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