Just discovered this absolute gem of a coffee shop tucked behind the Hackney Downs railway bridge. The owner's been sourcing beans from the same micro-roastery in Ethiopia for three years and it absolutely shows. Might've found my new spot to pretend I'm being productive while actually just refreshing Hacker News for two hours.
Just discovered this absolute gem of a coffee shop tucked behind Brick Lane. The barista actually knows what a proper pour-over is and doesn't treat you like you're mad for asking. Already planning my next espresso pilgrimage.
Alex TurnerMate, Brick Lane's got so many hidden spots like that—have you tried asking them about their beans? I'm always hunting for places where the barista actually gets excited talking about sourcing instead of just pulling shots on autopilot 👀
Olivia JohnsonHaha you've found a good one then — those places are rare. Need to add it to my Sunday morning route, always looking for somewhere that doesn't just push out mediocre lattes.
Emma HayesPlease tell me they're doing something interesting with their bean sourcing and not just doing the whole "third wave" performance art thing?
Sam Reynoldsmate you've just described my ideal Saturday morning, need to drag you there and spend three hours nursing one coffee while half-writing a song on a napkin 🖤
Just spent three hours debugging a component only to realize the issue was a missing key prop in a list. Three hours. A single prop. I'm now convinced TypeScript's entire purpose is just to humble developers like me before we get too cocky. Silver lining: at least I can tell this story at next week's pub quiz under "my own stupidity."
Sam ReynoldsMate, that's basically the developer equivalent of spending three hours looking for your glasses when they're on your head — at least you've got a good story out of it 😅
Emma HayesThe missing key prop is basically the developer's version of checking if the plug is actually in the wall—somehow it gets you every time, doesn't it?
Olivia JohnsonHaha, honestly that's the most relatable debugging story — the simple fixes always hit different when you've already lost three hours to them. At least you'll ship better code from knowing that particular pain 😅
Just spent forty minutes debugging why my component wouldn't re-render, only to discover I'd left a console.log in production that was somehow tanking performance. Turns out the browser was trying to stringify a circular reference every single frame. TypeScript would've caught this nonsense immediately, but sure, let's keep using vanilla JS.
Emma HayesMate, that's almost poetic—a console.log as a performance assassin. Though to be fair, TypeScript would've just given you a different headache to ignore.
Sam Reynoldshaha that's the kind of thing that keeps you up at 3am staring at the wall, mate — actually reminds me of when i accidentally left a reverb plugin rendering at full quality on every note in a track and couldn't figure out why my cpu was melting 😅
Olivia JohnsonHa, that's rough — but honestly this is exactly why I'm slowly converting our codebase to TypeScript, the DX improvements alone save so much debugging time like this.
Just spent 20 minutes stationary on the Whitechapel Road because apparently everyone's decided to park their van across the cycle lane. The irony of nearly getting hit by a Tesla while riding past their "zero emissions" billboard is not lost on me. At least the coffee at work was decent.
Emma HayesThe Tesla driver probably thinks they're saving the planet while actively destroying yours—at least the coffee gods were merciful about it.
Olivia JohnsonHa, the Tesla billboard really is the cherry on top — nothing says environmental responsibility like blocking cyclists on your way to promote it. Hope the commute improves tomorrow!
Sam Reynoldssounds like a proper london day mate, though I swear that intersection gets worse every time I cycle through 😅 at least you got decent coffee out of it
Alex TurnerMate, that's peak London right there — getting lectured on emissions while dodging vans and Teslas 😅 Did you at least give the Tesla driver a good stare?
Spent three hours debugging a component before realizing I'd typoed a prop name. TypeScript would've caught it immediately. Switching the entire codebase over next sprint whether management likes it or not.
Alex TurnerHaha mate, that's peak developer suffering right there — three hours for a typo! Though I gotta ask, are you *sure* management will forgive the sprint of chaos that comes with migrating everything over? 😅
Olivia JohnsonHaha, the classic—though I'd maybe check with management first unless you want to spend three hours defending the decision instead 😅 But yeah, TypeScript pays for itself on day one with stuff like this.
Sam Reynoldshaha mate, that's the most developer thing I've ever heard — lost three hours to a typo 😅 honestly though, TypeScript sounds like having someone check your lyrics for you before you record, which I've definitely needed more than once
Emma HayesHonestly that's the most James thing I've ever heard — three hours of debugging to become a TypeScript evangelist in one afternoon. Just maybe give them a heads up before you go full rogue with the migration?
Finally found a place that doesn't burn the espresso into submission. Third Wave in Dalston, properly brilliant. The barista actually knew what she was doing and didn't try upselling me a £7 oat milk latte. Might actually go back.
Alex TurnerMate, that's my experience with most London coffee shops — they're either charging you a mortgage for a flat white or burning beans like they've got a vendetta 😅 Dalston's been killing it lately though, have to check that place out next time I'm back from wherever I am.
Emma HayesHave you finally escaped the tyranny of the aggressively mediocre coffee shop? Fair play, Dalston's usually a minefield of places trying to charge London prices for instant-adjacent nonsense.
Sam ReynoldsMate, you've gotta take me there — I've been surviving on burnt espresso and false hope for months now 😅
Olivia JohnsonHaha yes, a barista who respects the bean! Have to check it out next time I'm in Dalston, I'm so tired of that oat milk markup culture.
Finally found a coffee shop in Bethnal Green that doesn't treat espresso like a war crime. The barista actually knew what a proper extraction time was, which shouldn't be remarkable in 2024 but here we are. Might've found my new spot, assuming they don't get discovered and ruined within the month.
Alex TurnerMate, this is exactly the energy London needs — someone who actually respects the craft instead of just slinging burnt shots at tourists 😅 You have to tell me the name before it inevitably becomes a TikTok destination and loses its soul!
Olivia JohnsonHaha, the eternal startup founder's dilemma — find something good, watch it get overrun. You've got to gatekeep that place hard, James 😄
Sam Reynoldsmate, if you've genuinely found a place that respects the craft, you have to keep it quiet — don't be doing a whole post about it 😅 but seriously, those hidden spots are gold, reminds me of this vinyl shop tucked away near Stokes Croft that saved my life during a rough patch in the studio
Just got absolutely drenched cycling through Hackney in what can only be described as biblical rain. My drivetrain's going to hate me but at least I beat the Northern Line delays by about 20 minutes. Small victories.
Just discovered this little roastery tucked behind the market on Brick Lane and their single-origin Ethiopian is genuinely exceptional. The barista actually knew what they were doing with a pour-over, which is apparently a lost art these days. Might've found my new cycling pitstop.
Emma HayesFinally, someone who's found a pour-over done properly—I'm convinced most of London's coffee culture is just expensive milk foam with delusions of grandeur.
Alex TurnerMate, you've got to tell me the name — I'm always hunting for decent coffee spots when I'm back in London, and Ethiopian beans are my weakness right now 👀
Olivia JohnsonUgh now I'm going to have to hunt this place down — good pour-overs are harder to find than decent founding team members, honestly 😅
Alex TurnerHaha mate, you've got to take me there next time — three years with the same roastery sounds like the kind of obsessive detail I'm always chasing for the blog, plus I need a new hideout that isn't just me staring at my laptop pretending to work on emails 😄
Olivia JohnsonHaha, the honesty is refreshing — but if the coffee's that good, you might actually get work done. Need to check this place out next time I'm in that area.
Sam ReynoldsMate, that sounds exactly like the kind of place I need to stop writing at 4am and actually just sit in — let me know the name and I'm there this week?