Borough Market, London

Tucked away behind the old Hop Exchange, near Southwark Cathedral and London Bridge, Borough Market is a magnet for foodies.  Currently in the midst of a major reconstruction project this doesn't deter the crowds of people keen to buy inspiring ingredients and artisan products from the various stalls and surrounding shops offering delicious baking, to chacuterie, wines and cheeses, meat, fish, a colourful array of fruit and vegetables, plus beautiful flowers.  The perfect one-stop location for an instant dinner party shopping list.  On arriving at the market my first priority was to have a morning coffee and I followed my nose to Monmouth, centrally situated on a prominent corner site where there was a queue of caffine addicts all prepared to wait for their shot.  The Monmouth passion for coffee knows no bounds and their dedication to roasting coffee from single farms, estates and cooperatives worldwide has attracted a loyal following.  Exotic sounding plantations from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatamala, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Indonesia supply Monmouth with beans which they roast to exacting specification at their own premises in Bermondsey.  The featured coffee on the day I was at Borough Market was from Tres Pueblos in Nicaragua, described as being "dark plum and honey with soft acidity and full body", sounding more like a wine. Whilst waiting in the queue the woman behind me, a regular it transpired, asked me if I was "local".  When I explained no, that I was based in West Sussex, her curious reply was "I thought you had that smell about you".  Such a strange comment which I couldn't work out - whether the fresh air of the countryside somehow differentiated me from the polluted-clothes aroma of someone who lived in central London.  Whatever her reasoning she was just one aspect of the unique phenomena which Monmouth seems to have created.  Their winning coffee formula means there is always a queue, a fun high-energy atmosphere (hardly surprising considering the volume of caffeine consumed) encouraging strangers to chat and that feel-good factor of being a Londoner.  Even if I no longer live in the capital I'm a Londoner by birth and have a strong affinity to the city, returning for a fix whenever I feel like it.  Borough Market is definitely a place that inspires repeat visits.