Drift, Issue 8 – London

Coffee sits in the background of some of the most important moments in our lives: the first time we told new friends we’d like to get to know them better, a second date, a business meeting, a passion project completed, a time we caught up with long-lost loved ones after years apart. More than anything else, coffee is tied to a sense of place and a sense of community.
Drift is about coffee, the people who drink it, and the cities they inhabit. Our collection of writers and photographers, alongside coffee shop owners, baristas, streetcart vendors, and patrons, capture a glimpse of what it’s like to drink coffee in a city at the time the magazine is printed. Each issue highlights a different city.

It’s about wandering the streets aimlessly, cup of coffee in hand, and learning more about what a place has to offer, whether you’ve been there for 25 minutes or 25 years. Coffee helps us chart the geography of our cities. It’s about seeing those cities with fresh eyes, as visitors or long-time residents, and trying to understand what makes them tick.

In this issue:

The British capital has become an unlikely hotbed for a rapidly evolving coffee scene, absorbing diverse influences from its increasingly diverse citizenry. Home to deeply entrenched tea culture, the development of the city mirrors the development of its booming coffee scene. As the younger generation welcomes coffee traditions from Brooklyn, Melbourne, Turkey, and more, London, home of the royal family, iconic red phone booths, and double-decker buses, grapples with its identity. In this issue, we explore how tea-crazy London went mad for coffee and how its integration of international coffee-savvy experts is changing as Brexit looms. Featuring potters, flat white-pouring Aussies, refugees, and expats, Volume 8 holds a magnifying glass to London, England.

Drift: London includes:

• How a tea nation became coffee-obsessed in the first place
• How London’s affinity for newness led to rampant pop-up culture
• Photo essay of London bikers queueing for their morning cups
• How roasters in England are rewriting the script on responsible sourcing
• How public transport and coffee fuel the global capital
• And more..