Captain Taylor’s Coffee House

Thanks to Steph D for including the information about the mission of Captain Taylor’s as well as the source of their coffee…
I stopped in here the other morning for a «proper coffee» because I’d been reading the Unilocal about it and was interested to see what it was all about. Beyond the important focus of Captain Taylor’s, they serve up excellent (and excellently made) coffee along with an offer for a free «mini» (aka, completely normal sized) pastry. I so wish I’d gone for the mini pastry…
Captain Taylor’s has such great offerings, it makes it easy to do the right thing.

New info about Captain’s! So, I love this place so much, I got to wondering about the whole «world-​helping» part of it. I found out that Streetwork teamed up with Artisan Roast (a Unilocaler favorite) to open this place up. It seems to be hopping lately (poor barista! so adorable and helpful but SO overwhelmed — did a tip top job i must say though). The secret is out… but now you know that the coffee in this place is second to none — because it can’t be second to Artisan Roast because it IS Artisan Roast.
Check out the «Coffee with a Cause» info:

Lovin’ it even more now yes, I just used a static verb in the continuous… and loved it.

This place made my afternoon, in the best way possible. Let me sketch the scene for you:
I was running 15 minutes late for a girl-​date and had had a hectic morning. It was a bit chilly out, it was later on a Sunday afternoon and I’d had a late breakfast and therefore no lunch. I blustered into Captain Taylor’s Coffee House excited to explore the downstairs area I had hereto never known about, before my date had enlightened me.
«Just an earl grey tea to sit in please.»
«Great. You get a free small danish with every hot drink. I’m afraid I only have a-​„
“I’m sorry what?!“
„Um. You get a free mini danish. I’ve only got almond croissants left as usually they’re all sold out by this time, but…“
„You mean for my one wee measly cup of tea I get a free ‘mini’ danish pastry? And you’ve ONLY got almond croissants left?“ (FAVOURITE).
„Yep, would you like the last mini almond croissant with your earl grey tea?“ (Said whilst picking up the most delicious looking, icing smothered midi-​sized croissant with some tongs.»
… :D «YES PLEASE!»
As I descended the stairs with little foam cup of tea and almond croissant sitting atop a little plate, I blurted out to my date «I love this place already!» Seriously, I did, I could feel it emanating from me.
Ok, maybe I’m a cheap date and if you buy me free cake I’ll love you forever. But seriously, this is not the sort of thing you normally experience any more. Yeah the bigger chains like S’bucks sometimes put out broken bits of muffin out to try. But I mean, the ‘mini’ danish wasn’t that mini. It was substantial enough that I could cut it in two and pretend it was a sandwich for lunch.
So, you get the idea. The free danish with every hot drink is a total winner. Add onto that that the server was so genuinely friendly, I felt like it made her day to give me the free danish too.
The place itself is deceptive. I first came here for a coffee many moons ago, didn’t realise there was more seating downstairs, felt the upstairs was a little cold and sterile, and got take out.
And yeah the coffee and tea comes in smaller cups and goes down quite quickly and they’re paper cups. But I asked for a free hot water refill with my tea bag, and it wasn’t a problem. And I think the coffee shop was set up to help a social enterprise for homeless people. I can’t be certain, but I know it has a fundamental good cause.
I must confess that I would normally opt for somewhere that feels a bit ‘cosier’ especially in the winter months. It still feels a little sterile downstairs with the grey blue walls and it is a bit chily. But it has free wifi, free danishes, amazingly friendly staff and I’m already a little smitten.
I hear their soups, wraps and lunch options are a winner too.

I decided on an impulse that I would nip in here whilst I had a break from class to get some well needed lunch before I headed for a two hour laboratory session… and I am glad I did! You can walk past I don’t know how many places around the University Campus that are quite happy to charge you ridiculous amounts for average food and mediocre service!
Not this place, not one bit. The guy working there was friendly, chatty and pointed out that if I got a packet of crisps aswell as my coffee and panini it is cheaper buying just the two of them. Bonus! Not trying to upsell in any way as I did the maths, and he was spot on! I could not fault the service at all, which will be the main reason I will go back. The selection of rolls and paninis are good, coffee was tasty, and they seem to offer free pastries with hot drinks aswell?!
Basically the only reason I can’t give it 5 stars is the selection, its great for if you are on the go, but I would like the option of maybe some salad bowls and a few hot specials for the day? Only suggestion I would have. Otherwise, keep the brilliant staff and you can’t go wrong!

All that’s been said is true. And the expresso was excellent. First coffee bar with a children’s play area and disabled toilet.
Avoid the Ztarbux and Kostas. Go here.

Captain Taylor’s Coffee House sprung up faster than a prefab sprout or a pop up piece of card!
Went a wee wander with Lynsey C and we both stopped and said in perfect unison «when did that get here?» I returned a couple of days later to check it out and it ticked all the boxes.
— Good coffee.
— Nice atmosphere (laid back).
— Busy enough.
— Mellow, cool décor.
— Quirky wee messages on the sandwich board, indicating cool staff (which is correct — they are).
Not bad for a day’s work, but what makes this place a million times better is the charity it supports. Aiming to get homeless people off the streets, I’m all for community work that helps people who need it (really, you’d have to have a heart of stone to not back something like that).
Everything about this place is cool, but that slice of information pie makes it ten times cooler.

I’ve given this place 5 stars, I wish I could give it more, but the arbitrary marking system won’t let me. Who decided 5 is the best anyway?
I’ve said it before: I’m a big coffee enthusiast (snob) and I like to look for new, exciting coffee houses. Captain Taylor’s is certainly exciting. The décor is, frankly, odd, but in a cool way. They have an ice-​cream van called ‘Chuck the Truck’ (it rhymes, you see) that you can sit in. The coffee’s OK and they have a few decent snacks.
The reason I’m raving about this place is not because of the coffee or snacks, or even Chuck the Truck. Captain Taylor’s is a non-​profit coffee house run by a Scottish charity called Streetwork. Anything they do make goes to the charity which helps homeless Scottish people get off the streets and gives them a fresh start. I spoke to the guy in there and he told me the plan is to eventually (they’ve only been open a week) get them working in the coffee shop itself as a first job.
I don’t really need to say much more — I’ve never come a cross a coffee shop with a more honourable scheme. Go there, get a coffee, sit in Chuck, and just be happy that there are still people out there who really do want to make a difference.