We're not exactly short on places to grab a coffee in Cardiff. Big chains like Costa Coffee and Starbucks dominate the city's main shopping streets, with the latter set to open its 15th branch in the capital later this year, while there are also several branches of Caffe Nero and Welsh chain Coffee #1 as well as number of independent coffee shops.
However a new café with a difference has recently opened in the heart of Grangetown and – if its customers' reviews are anything to go by – is serving up coffee and other hot drinks that outshines the offerings of the global chains. Get the latest community news from across Cardiff sent straight to your inbox every day by signing up for our newsletters.
The Training Ground café opened for business in Grangetown Hub last month as a new initiative designed to train young people to become baristas, developing their technical and customer service skills while also boosting their employability. While professionals are on hand to provide support ideas for the café's menu, layout, and design have all come from the teenagers and young adults working behind the counter.
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The initiative is the result of a huge collaboration between Cardiff-based social enterprise Boss & Brew, the Grange Pavilion Youth Forum and Grangetown Hyb, while the cafe's launch and other summer activities have also been supported by Cardiff council's Welsh Government-funded Summer of Fun programme. Boss & Brew was set up last year in to help young people in Grangetown and Butetown develop their confidence and find work through free barista training.
Those working at the Training Ground have taken to their new jobs quickly having been taught how to use machines and other kitchenware as well as perfect different types of speciality coffee in an intensive training workshop. It is hoped that this experience will provide an opportunity for them to bolster their CVs as they look to enter the incredibly competitive world of work.
Of course while the benefits for the young employees are clear the opening of the new café also means Grangetown has another community space to enjoy and relax in while enjoying a coffee and a range of sweet and savoury treats. Walking around the café it is clear that has already proven a hit with customers praising its professional feel and one even claiming that her iced coffee was "better than Starbucks".
Natalie Hodgkinson, founder and director of Boss & Brew, worked as a teacher for eight years before deciding to combine her love of coffee with her love for working with young people. Having helped the Training Ground project come to fruition through providing training and workshops she admitted she was "blown away" by the community's support of the café as well the attitude of its new employees.
Explaining the project she said: "We want this to be a space where everybody feels part of the journey, a space that those working here can make their own. This is a very grassroots level effort here – it’s very much led by the young people rather than by me or anyone else. In fact we’re just here to support them. The ideas for this place that have come up so far haven’t been from me – everything from the logo to the menu has come from them.
"Seeing how well they have settled into it and how impressive they have been with their customer service it really makes me think that we’re onto something great here. It works both ways too – it is something that helps young people grow their confidence and boost their CVs while Grangetown is also benefitting from a new vibrant community space as well as a lot of great coffee and food."
The café looks set to go from strength to strength with several young people expressing an interest in being part of the initiative within days of opening. "We’ve got a really strong foundation here," Natalie added. "I’m blown away by how it’s gone so far to be honest. In our first week we had 10 or 11 people coming up to us wanting to know more and signing up to Boss & Brew training courses themselves. It’s really exciting to be up and running and even more exciting to see what the future holds now."
One of the newly-trained baristas, 25-year-old architecture graduate Nazheef, said he had found the experience "incredibly helpful". Having struggled to find a job after graduating he hopes that the Training Ground will help him on his way to realising his dream of opening his own coffee shop.
"I've always loved making coffee," he said. "And I couldn't find a job or a placement for a while so one of my classmates on my architecture course recommended that I speak to Natalie about getting some training and doing a placement. I didn't realise we'd end up opening a shop.
"But that is my dream to be honest – I've always wanted to open my own shop. I just didn't expect to be doing it now. The whole experience has been incredibly helpful and I've really enjoyed it so far, learning new skills and building my confidence."
With a background in design Nazheef has been able to put his skills into action, designing the café's logo and displaying his photography on the once-bare walls of the venue, which had been an unused space since the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. He added: "We get a lot of freedom here in terms of ideas and putting them into practice. I've always thought that a café can be so much more than a place to get coffee so I wanted to push the creative side of things. To be able to showcase my work here and see my ideas actually be developed has been very rewarding."
Chair of the Grange Pavilion board Ali Abdi said he was "absolutely delighted" to see the Training Ground packed on its opening day. Having enjoyed plenty of the speciality coffees on offer he is optimistic about the café's future and the opportunities it will create for young people in Grangetown.
"It’s fantastic to see people from the community coming out to support the new café and there’s a real buzz in the room," he said. "Natalie has done an amazing job in helping to train these baristas and they look really confident and at home in the kitchen already. Everyone has had only positive things to say about the service and the coffee – I think I’m on my third of the day now.
"I'm also really happy to see this space finally being used again and it's another place where we can hold more community events from now on. This café is not only a fantastic way to get young people into employment but it’s also a really important addition to Grangetown."
Councillor Ash Lister added that the café would be invaluable in helping teenagers and young adults in the area overcome barriers to work. He said: "As a former youth worker I know that it is really important that we see young people having opportunities within their local communities to develop, learn new skills, and find jobs. The stuff that Natalie is doing in terms of training young people up with barista skills is fantastic.
"It’s just great to see the space being utilised, being led by young people and supported by people who have either got a passion for youth work or a passion for coffee," he added. "I'm enjoying seeing it all coming alive again and I’m looking forward to stopping in for many more coffees in the future."
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