The Merchant ☕️: A small coffee shop in town

Well hello, stranger

Fellow adventurers and coffee lovers

This post has been long in the making, I keep forgetting about all the different adventures me and Hive account@technicalside had during our holiday. I was scrolling through my gallery the other day and came across the photos I took during one of our coffee runs. For those who are new to my posts, myself and Hive account@techincalside love coffee and coffee shops, especially if there's food involved! Cold brew, iced, hot, flavoured, as long as it's coffee and not too sweet I'll take it!

Sooo let's go on a little adventure down coffee memory lane! We visited The Merchant coffee shop in town. The "in town" is important, seeing as the other shop is a lot bigger and has a different vibe to it. We set out on a sunny morning and made our way to town, it is around an 8km drive from us, and let me tell you... I was so hungry it felt like a 4 hour's drive. Nevertheless, we arrived before I collapsed, or attacked Hive account@technicalside due to Hangry symptoms.

The venue is a lot smaller than the one closer to home (you can read about it in this post). There were about 8-10 tables, some inside, some outside, a small kitchen and a coffee bar. I think the old building influences the vibe of the coffee shop a lot. It gives you a sense of relaxation and allows you to slow down sit back and just enjoy your coffee in complete peace.

The wall of the building is overgrown with vines and it adds to the old victorian feel of the place. I love the greenery that is used in the decor, it is plain and simple and alive. Tast might differ, but everyone likes plants! This wall is asking for a photo shoot in a pretty flowy dress, with an ice-cold marshmallow-flavoured coffee in one hand.

We found a nice cosy spot to sit inside, seeing as I didn't put on any sunscreen and I'm a redhead who's afraid of the sun... This little guy made his way into the coffee shop with us. It seemed as if he was a regular customer, visiting the shop more than once a day. Everyone acknowledged his presence, he picked out a few crumbs from the floor menu, enjoyed his meal and left happily.

I wanted something cold, honestly, when ordering coffee I usually go for cold brew or iced coffee seeing as I don't like the mess and time it takes when making it at home. We both decided to go for a salted caramel iced coffee. Upon tasting it we realised they forgot to add the flavouring. At first, I wanted to ask for it to be added, but the plain iced coffee was a nice change from my usual order and I enjoyed it. Sometimes accidents like this push you to try new things.

They had coffee beans on display inside the shop. One container was not roasted and the other one was. I thought this was a nice little add-on, seeing as they get their coffee beans already freshly roasted from the Brothers Coffee Roastery a bit of a drive away in George. I don't think a lot of people have seen unroasted coffee beans before. It was a nice little character touch in the coffee shop.

The coffee shop was very small. They had a few shelves with decor and coffee beans you could buy. There was also a bookcase with old books and a few of the customers were reading these books. The quiet and relaxing environment seems like a great spot to get some reading or work done.

Hive account@technicalside always listen to me when I babble on about everything. He did get a bit worried about my sanity at one point. I did manage to get a candid photo of him in the mid of my one "crazy conversation". At this point, both of us were also pretty hungry.

At long last, our food arrived. It was worth the long wait! Since the kitchen is so small they take some time to get your order out, but they put in a lot of effort into your meal. I had crispy ciabatta with bacon, banana and golden syrup. I was enjoying my meal until the last bite. However, Hive account@technicalside did eat my last bite... I was grumpy after that! He did end up making up for it a week later by buying me another one.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed or little coffee shop hunting. I'm excited to go back sometime this year for more of the delicious iced coffee, a warm cup of caramel coffee and of course the yummy food! I have not yet found a coffee shop with such a relaxing vibe to it. Perhaps this was also more relaxing since it was close to the ocean. Until next time, stay safe and go buy more coffee!