3 Three's Coffee Lounge - Birmingham ☕️☕️☕️☕️☕️

Pros: Staff, atmosphere, choice, vegan friendly, price

Cons: Coffee slightly lacking as an Americano

Cards: Accepted and contactless

To look at 3 Three’s Coffee Lounge, you would never assume that it was all completely vegan, and yet when I walked in and looked up and down their offerings, everything was. I had heard of 3 Three’s before I visited, I was told they offered vegan oand I had imagined there was a menu for majority of customers and a smaller sub menu which was for vegans.

Sandwiches adorned the fridges (yup, all vegan) snacks to go, but interestingly, you can sit in and enjoy a coffee with a hot dog. Now, I don’t know about you, but I have never thought a hot dog and coffee would go together, yet here we are. It was quiet initially, with just a few other customers engrossed in conversation. I was greeted almost immediately by their staff, they were friendly, approachable and good-humored when I exclaimed with surprise that everything is vegan.

So I started a conversation the only way I knew how: “what coffee do you use?”They produced this bag:

Direct trade from Union Coffee Roasters (unionroasted.com) the coffee used is called Revelation and according to the website promises “hints of berries and citrus. Dark-roasted for a rich caramel finish.” I ordered it as an americano with oat milk (they don’t charge extra for milk alternatives) and curious, ordered a hot dog called The Beast.

This is The Beast, and it was delicious. If I remember it was a hot dog, onion, relish, mustard, tomato and gherkin, full of flavour however, I would not recommend this for a first date, purely based on the fact that I got it everywhere. Worth it.

I mean look at that neck strain!

So the coffee arrived. I drank it black, which was okay, but nothing special. It had a slightly smoky taste to it and lacked body, it was watery to almost being tasteless and I could see this blend being more suitable as an espresso. Saying that, once I added the oat milk the texture changed immediately and became silky which coated the tongue wonderfully (this allowed for the caramel to come through). It made for easy drinking and I felt that it brought out the citrus and chocolate flavor that was absent without the milk. I’d recommend using oat milk purely for the texture alone. Sometimes though coffee isn’t enough and for maximum enjoyment you often need the environment and atmosphere and this is where 3 Three’s really excels.

As I sat and drank my coffee I looked around and absorbed the atmosphere and was completely taken with it. It has independent art which adorns the walls alongside flyers from events past and present. It is off the bustling Birmingham high street so street noise is next to absent, it felt like being transported some where else. The pretentiousness you often get with places that are purely vegan did not exist with 3 Three’s – you can see from the first photograph, there is nothing to suggest that this is a vegan-only cafe. The ambience enhanced my coffee experience, it made it an enjoyable one. I could have sat in there all day and just ate and drank coffee, and as I previously mentioned the customer service was excellent, they answered my questions, asked how the food was but never bothered and I never felt rushed to finish my food and drink.

For thoroughness I also had my girlfriend with me who is a vegan and she absolutely loved it. She was equally astounded at the sheer choice that was on offer; ice cream, hot dogs, sandwiches, cakes, brownies etc. She drank a butterscotch latte which is part of their Christmas menu, it was really sweet and left a lovely after taste, I was almost sad I didn’t order the same thing – it utterly trumps any Starbucks Christmas drink. She was equally taken with the atmosphere and choice, it’s inclusiveness and its commitment to veganism also allows the higher score.

I tried to resist the cake but after the coffee and hotdog I just had to have something sweet, this was a chai latte muffin, it was soft, creamy and just not enough.Overall, I couldn’t recommend 3 Three’s enough – it pretty much ticks all the boxes when it comes to a coffee lounge and I encourage you to check it out. For the coffee, hotdog and muffin it came to just over £10.00, so inexpensive considering I came away relaxed, fed, watered and wanted more.