Café culture in London has not only exploded, but also become an essential part of the fabric of urban life. Whilst the chains dominate pretty much every high street, the café connoisseur will be in for a treat as the independents can be found tucked away in some of the capital’s funkiest locations, serving coffee beans from across the globe.

However, the flourishing trade in coffee houses is not new to London. Today, you may find retro, themed, urban, and architectural places to sip your latte, open your laptop, or relax with a magazine, but the origins of places to drink coffee date back to the late 1600s and early 1700s. Back then, as many as 3,000 coffee houses became the one-stop-shop for everything, from debate and discussions to business dealings, and the spread of the latest news. So this capital city has plenty of experience in delivering you consistently high quality caffeine throughout your stay. Nowadays, you have no need to stumble across the best independent cafés (unless that is your preference) instead you can read guides such as this from your Smartphone, and decide where to go to sample your beans and feed that caffeine addiction! Point your compass in any direction and there will be several cafes en route, thus the ten selected below have one thing in common, and that is location. Visitors to the UK’s capital tend to concentrate their sightseeing centrally, making these cafes their ideal pit stops.