Another take-away coffee and also a tricky one to fit in my schedule, The Roost near Bridge of Dee caught my eye on one of my circulars by the river: a standalone trailer on an otherwise abandoned street, if you don’t count the patrons of the free car parking spaces that is – and who would blame them, when this part of Riverside Drive is so enjoyable to walk or even just sit back and watch the water flow towards the North Sea…

So having a coffee establishment here seems like a great idea; but The Roost opening hours are limited to 9am – 3pm and only Wednesday till Saturday. That’s a narrow window and I’d like to think a calculated one but it’s really hard to judge pedestrian traffic in this part of town, particularly with the bridge maintenance works taking place at the time of writing.

I made it my conscious destination on a glorious Saturday where I was desperate to take a stroll in the sunshine but also heard my stomach growl so needed to satisfy two needs at once. The Spring was in full daffodil bloom by the riverside and it felt like a great day for a good take-away coffee. As I arrived at The Roost, there were two customers being served so I had to wait my turn while taking a sneak-peak into the horse box’ interior and the cookie display (sadly depleted), before making my mocha order.

I was a little bit miffed to be charged £4.20 when the price list on the wall stated £4.10 – small difference and yet resulting in a feeling of being taken advantage of. But the male barista who took the payment distracted me with a conversation about F1 (something I got accustomed to when wearing my Red Bull jacket on casual strolls), while the female barista seemingly did all the work of preparing my drink.

(A quick Google while writing up this review revealed that the owners are husband and wife, who also ran Fable in parallel for some time, but before my visit there last year.)

Before she popped the lid on the small-ish cup, I noted the beautiful latte art that spiked my expectations: this was going to be good. I took my prized possession and headed for a nearby bench to appraise with all senses.

Now, I’ve lived in Aberdeen long enough that a drastic change in weather shouldn’t surprise me; alas, it did at this point, as the sudden gale-force wind took the ambient temperature down to freezing. I had to rush the photo op and I took my first sip straight after without ceremony – and it was SO GOOD – that’s exactly how I felt about it in my head: in bold capitals, while going for another few greedy sips that had me forgetting about the return of winter for a second.

The concoction was luxurious in mouthfeel and taste. Smooth texture, well blended flavours, with that Belgian chocolate sensation that is so incredibly moreish. I was disappointed to realise half of it was gone when I popped the lid back on to head out of the wind tunnel by the river.

That’s when things turned sour for me, when I stopped at a nearby electric box on which I rested my cup for a second to pull on my gloves… long enough for the wind to push the cup off and onto my white trainers… Let’s just say the only good thing in that gusty wind is that it muffled the profanities that followed.

I considered going for another Roost mocha with an hour to spare before closing, but I conceded that I already experienced that taste sensation and will leave the repeat for another (less windy) day. For now, I am quite shocked to have identified two coffee trailers in scenic surroundings that serve a fantastic brew… and can only hope they might, after all, materialise into bricks-and-mortar versions before long!

To learn more about The Roost, visit their Facebook page.