After having been left decidedly down-hearted by the Foodies Festival’s failure to engage with interesting coffee, once more, I was intrigued to run into the Notes coffee barrow on my Fringe travels.

Positioned just next to the Udderbelly, on Bristo Square, it didn’t radiate brilliance but I thought I’d give it a whirl, anyway.

Service was on the perfunctory side, too, with my espresso delivered with little fuss or ceremony.

But in the face of all of this potential damnation, this was a coffee of brightness, florality and charm. It was a very nicely fashioned espresso that pleased me very much.

So overall, I was pleased to discover the refreshing notes of Notes. They are doing good work where poor quality coffee is almost expected. As such they are an oasis of espresso goodness and with Brew Lab’s nearby BBC pop-up, they form an impressive 1-2 punch.

They will be much valued throughout August in Edinburgh. Visit them before the month is out.