New Boy. (CoCoes Cafe Deli, Swaffham)

CoCoes Café Deli,

Swaffham,

Opening times Mon 09:00-15:00, Tue-Thur 09:00-17:00,

Fri 09:00-18:00, Sat 08:00-18:00

Recommended 

Today I was pleased when a friend of mine, Jim, texted me to suggest we went out on a cycle ride. He had recently got a brand new road bike and wanted to try it out for the first time. I liked the sound of this as there is nothing I enjoy more than patronising a newbie cyclists and I was also keen to get out and work off some of those excess Christmas pounds.

I suggested we started from his house near Dereham and loaded my bike in the back of the car for the drive out. When I arrived New Boy Jim was already waiting for me proudly standing by his shiny new steed. I asked him about his bike spec but all he could tell me was he chose it as he liked the colour, grey and red. It was clear I had much work to do here and was further disappointed to find that New Boy Jim had not been following a number of the useful cycling guest cycling top tips (see top tips) which regularly appear in these posts. He had not put on winter tyres or a winter mud guard and the term hi viz gilet meant nothing to him.

Despite this we set off on the ride I had prepared out to Swafham. It wasn't long before I spotted that New Boy Jim's saddle was far too low, a particular pet hate of mine, and I insisted on raising it to a more appropriate height. As we set of again he next committed another new cyclists error of pedalling in too hard a gear at a slow pedal rate which I also suggested he corrected to make sure he didn't burn his legs out in the first few miles. 

Progress continued to be slow so I was left with no choice but to remove the stabilisers on the back wheel. New Boy Jim did not seem happy about this but I assured him he was unlikely to fall off and (as recommended by team doctor Dr Hans) I now always carry a plaster and some gauze in case of a grazed knee, although I made it quite clear I wouldn't be kissing anything better.

With stabilisers removed and saddle adjusted confidence started to grow and speed increased. It therefore wasn't long before we made it to CoCoes Cafe Deli in Swafham.

Outside Co Coes cafe in Swafham

CoCoes Cafe Deli is down a little alley attached to the side of Strattons Hotel. There is an outside courtyard seating area, which we were tempted by as the weather was so mild but opted for a table in the more cosy indoor seating area instead.

Outside courtyard seating area

There may not have been many cakes in the selection but they were all very interesting and unusual so attracted a respectable effective cake selection (ECS) rating. I opted for blueberry and almond cake and New Boy Jim cranberry and mincemeat slice.

Very effective cake selection

Our drinks and cakes soon arrived and I thought my hot chocolate was very good with a nice bitter dark chocolate taste. I also found my blueberry and almond cake to be quite excellent and awarded high cake taste quality (CTQ) marks.

Cakes and drinks

My cycling guests only have 3 things to do on a ride.
1. Follow me throughout the ride, even if we seem to be going through a ploughed field, as I'm in charge of navigation.
2. Take a photo of me outside the cafe, preferably without including their finger in the shot.
3. Help rate the cafe stop, especially the Guest Hot Drink Quality (GHDQ) score.

Up to this point New Boy Jim had performed well in the first two tasks so I explained to him the intricacies of cafe reviewing. As usual with newbies his scoring was all over the place with ratings justifications bearing no resemblance to the proposed scores and the new reviewer ratings coefficient had to be applied to all his marks (i.e. I ignored them). He was, however, particularly impressed to get 3 cups of tea out of the generous teapot for one.

CoCoes cafe Deli had turned out to be an excellent first cafe stop for New Boy Jim to try out cafe cycle reviewing and sets a high bar for future rides he may come on. With good quality food and drink I have included it in my recommended category and suggest a visit.

On the way back New Boy Jim's confidence grew further and he was keen to add his own cycling guest cycling top tip.

Cycling guest cycling top tip No. 39. To improve your descending skills on steep hills shout Weeeeeeee all the way down.

He clearly still has much to learn.

Scores

Hot Choc Quality	Guest Hot Drink Quality	Effective Cake Selection	Cake Quality	Ambiance and Atmosphere	Café Rating
7.75	7.00	6.00	8.00	7.00	7.15

Route

Click here to download 36 mile Dereham Swafham loop gpx file for your gps