An Edible Voyage

September 2021 Having hiked 166km across the Apennine mountains on the Via Degli Dei, I was in dire need of excellent coffee.  Fortunately, two places in Florence came up trumps, both handily in the city centre and with only a short walk between, it was easy to get my caffeine kick!  First up, Coffee Mantra on Via della Mattonaia serves Gearbox coffee, roasted just down the road in Florence.  The flat white was expertly crafted and there’s also a selection of hand brews on offer. Next up, Melaleuca, an Australian owned café and bakery alongside the Arno River, serving up bagels, avocado toast on sourdough and tortillas, cakes, cinnamon buns and great coffee.  I was really looking forward to sampling beans from another small-scale local Florence roaster, D612 Coffee Roasters, and they didn’t disappoint.  The homemade cold brew was refreshing, flavoursome and exactly what I needed on a warm day, deliciously citrusy served with a slice of orange.  As well as...

June 2021 Along the bustling Ormeau Road, amongst the gelaterias, restaurants and cafes, is an artisan bakery who hand make everything in house.  And it's definitely popular - I could see the queue before I could see the shop!  The great thing about this place though, is that they seem to bake throughout the day, so despite not getting there until early afternoon, there was still a plentiful array of sourdough bread and pillowy soft cinnamon buns.  Scones and bombolini seem to be a speciality with several flavours of each - think toffee popcorn, and rhubarb and rose, alongside the most flavoursome soft and chewy bagels.  The poppy seed one was so good I ate it straight from the bag, and Malaysian spice and roasted garlic sounded very intriguing. Find Bread and Banjo on Ormeau Road, then take your haul a few steps down the road to Ormeau Park and enjoy it in the dappled light of a shady tree. If you find yourself east of Ormeau Park, check out Lazy Claire Patisserie f...