The Cranleigh Column
A Quiet Queue at Alpher (and a very good reason for it)
There is something rather comforting about a quiet queue, especially when you know exactly what’s waiting for you at the end of it.
This time, it wasn’t just the pause or the calm or the gentle rhythm of people standing patiently… it was the coffee.
I ordered a cortado, and I have to say, it completely caught me off guard in the best possible way. It had this soft, almost fruity note to it, not sharp, not bitter, just beautifully balanced. The kind of coffee you sip and then stop for a second, just to check you’re not imagining it. It was magnificent, truly… one of those cups you remember long after you’ve left.
And perhaps that’s why I keep finding myself back there.
Well… that, and Grace.
She absolutely loves it here. She waits outside like it’s her own little ritual, sitting so patiently, even when the place is closed, which has led more than one person to assume I might have a slight coffee addiction. I won’t argue with them… they may not be entirely wrong.
But it’s not just the coffee that keeps you coming back.
It’s the people.
I met a lovely lady called Sarah while I was there, one of those easy, natural conversations that just happens when you’re both standing in the same moment, sharing the same space. And the girls behind the counter… so polite, so kind, the sort who take a moment to talk, to ask, to share little stories about their own dogs as if you’ve known them longer than you have.
It never feels transactional.
It feels… human.
And that’s quite rare these days.
So yes, the queue makes sense now. Not because people are waiting for coffee, but because they’re waiting for a place that feels good to be in.
And once you’ve had that cortado, with that soft, fruity note and that quiet moment to yourself, you’ll understand why no one seems to mind waiting at all.
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