I found the best coffee in the world inside a tiny cafe in Yorkshire

Our reporter Sophie Mei Lan went to try out Strada Cafe.

Dark Woods, North Star or perhaps Recent Beans coffee?

Then there’s Hebden Tea, Birdhouse Tea, or Botham’s blends?

If you're a tea and coffee aficionado, like me, there are almost too many options to choose from nowadays.

I may have found the solution, however, after stumbling on a small cafe in the suburbs of West Yorkshire.

Strada Cafe in Heckmondwike looks like an ordinary roadside cafe from the outside. It’s located on the junction of Six Lane Ends and Leeds Road.

At the helm of this little oasis is passionate chef Ivan. He welcomed me into his snug cafe with open arms.

Ivan retrained as a barista during lockdown. It was then he discovered some of the world’s best teas and coffees.

Ivan said: “I was a chef serving up street food but all that stopped in lockdown. I had always wanted to train as a barista and to have my own cafe.”

When setting up Strada Cafe, Ivan intended to only sell teas, coffees, and cakes.

He later decided he wanted to combine his love of food with handcrafted teas and coffees.

Ivan who is both chef and barista at Strada, said: “People always think about finding good food or good drink but rarely the two together.”

It felt as if we were stepping inside his living room. The cafe is a cosy 30-seater cafe with a serving counter.

Piled high behind the counter are pots of tea blends, boxes of coffee and specially sourced cocoa.

The menu has more of a tea and coffee selection than it does food.

Ivan said that he likes to keep the food menu simple to ensure the best quality.

He is just as passionate about the drinks. Ivan said food and drink should be a full sensory experience.

He said: “Tea and coffee have to pair with your food, and are just as important.”

Ivan sells some of the world’s rarest teas and coffees inside Strada Cafe.

He said: “It’s mainly Middle Eastern-inspired food, with some around the world flavours and dishes.”

Ivan’s menu also reflects his love of the best food globally.

For brunch you can have anything from Turkish eggs to Shakshuka and French toast. He also serves up desi omelettes and Canadian pancakes with eggs, potato hash and buttermilk pancakes.

He added: “Everything I make from scratch.”

Somehow in his tiny kitchen tucked at the back of the cafe, Ivan cooks up these elaborate hot and cold all-day-brunch items, including Japanese sandos.

His kitchenette is of the size most caterers would only dare make a toastie in, but this is no simple greasy food joint - it’s a gastronomic haven.

Everything here, including the drinks, is handcrafted, so much so, it seems a waste adding milk or syrups to the beverages.

Ivan said milk and syrups are useful for the bigger chains who use mass produced coffee but for his specialty drinks it dilutes the diverse flavours.

This hidden gem of a cafe has solved all of my cafe-hopping problems. It has the friendly familiarity of a greasy spoon, but the food and drink take you on a tour around the world of the best flavours.