At the turn of summer last year (was it really that long ago?!) I had planned a trip around Aberdeen centre and beach, stopping by a coffee shop on Upperkirkgate (Marischal College neighbourhood) that I hadn’t seen before, but spotted just a day earlier while shopping. It so happened that they didn’t open on Sundays, and that’s how I ended up at Common Sense.

Fast forward to early 2024 when I found myself without a car – a perfect opportunity to turn the weekend on its head and venture out into the ‘deen on a Saturday – and with no intention of shopping. Instead, I had my sights set firmly on finally paying the Milk Jug a visit.

As I arrived at a leisurely 10:15am, the place was half full but buzzing with that mid-afternoon vibe of no one having to be anywhere else and enjoying a non-alcoholic, unrushed blether. The interior was on the small side, but light, airy and uncluttered, albeit the spaces between the wooden tables of varying sizes were not particularly wide. It had this eco-lite feeling, accentuated further by advising that dogs are welcome; while there weren’t any on the premises, a wall of photographs stood (or rather hung) testament to that.

I was quickly seen to by one of the 3 assistants who sat me at the table close to the door, but followed up suggesting I take the next-door table by the wall, soon to be vacated. That got me a bit confused to weather I was being offered a better seat or considered an inconvenience occupying a larger table with a space for three; either way, I dully obliged and relocated to the other table when it became free. It had a padded chair against it, so it felt like an upgrade.

The menu was pure breakfast and brunch with hearty and healthier options, finished off with a confidence-inducing drink selection (all the staples with a few brunchy extras).

After a while of sitting there, menu digested but no one approaching me to take my order, I turned to another assistant cleaning a table next door to check the protocol; she seemed mortified that I still hadn’t been seen to and promptly took my mocha order. Everything ran smoothly after that.

When my mocha arrived, I couldn’t help but smile – the latte art was perfect, and so was the size for the price IMO. As for the taste: the consistency and mouthfeel were very pleasant, pretty smooth and well blended; but it was too much on the milk chocolate side, overpowering any hints of coffee. I wondered if it might have just been my tastebuds, having recently converted to drinking black on daily basis; but, no, the mocha was getting sweeter the closer I got to the bottom, where the last drags of undissolved chocolate were still lurking.

I feel there will be an element of my personal readjustment affecting my judgement and I would say that, on the whole, the coffee was of high standard – obviously made by a trained hand; it’s just the particular recipe that would need tweaked to give it a bit more caffeine kick to balance things out.

I got a much warmer goodbye than my somewhat frantic greeting, with friendly smiles seeing me out, and so I left with the impression that the Milk Jug would make for a lovely mid-morning breakout for the office workers in the area, or maybe a pre-work pitstop to make up the day’s to-do list before clocking in.

In any case, I would not hesitate to come back and give their other hot drinks a bash.

To see what Milk Jug have on offer, visit their Instagram page.