GoodBean
Blackwell's Bookshop, Broad Street

Be warned. The moment you step off the street into Blackwell's bookshop now, the aroma of fresh coffee hits you and even if you were only nipping in for a quick browse of the latest bestsellers, it is almost impossible not to follow the scent up to the first floor and into the new GoodBean Coffee shop. This is an American style chain that takes coffee seriously in a light-hearted sort of way. You are faced with an overwhelming choice of ways to take your caffeine and posters on the wall describe the various blends as if describing mood-changing aromatherapy treatments ('invigorating', 'exotic', 'intense', 'fulfilling'.). You can even join The GoodBean Coffee Club and receive a mug, newsletter and 10% discount! Tea, hot chocolate, milkshakes and soft drinks are available, but to order any of these would be like ordering the chicken and chips in an Indian restaurant.

The GoodBean Team - hidden behind a wall of shiny chrome, gadgets, steam, hissing and gargling noises - work fast. No sooner have you named and paid for your coffee at one end of the counter than it emerges at the other end almost before you can pocket your change. You can take away, but if you choose to 'drink in' there is a choice of three types of seating in simple, bright, fresh (100% non-smoking!) surroundings: there are stools at a barred area, the place for a quick single espresso (£1); there are hard, smooth, curvy, pine, minimalist chairs around tables, more suited to a standard caffe americano (£1.45); and best of all, huge, fat, squidgy, yet classy, blue-black leather sofas with their own low living-room type coffee tables. Far too comfortable for a profitable customer turnover, the only thing to drink here is a large, smooth, milky caffe latte with a flavoured syrup (£2.30). As if to dare you to spend the whole afternoon there they even provide newspapers, chess, Snakes and Ladders.

If you're peckish, there is a fairly typical array of cakes, pastries, brownies and flapjacks and slightly-more-exciting-than-typical sandwiches, but as far as I'm concerned the best thing to do in the GoodBean Coffee shop is to choose a coffee you haven't heard of, make a beeline for a sofa and slob out. I felt so relaxed it was difficult not to put my feet up on the table. I even saw an employee plump the cushions!

Claire Potter