Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got to where you are today?

I’m Dave Burt, founder of the @LONDON Instagram platform and agency. Instagram gave me this channel more than 8 years ago so I could build a showcase of London — the greatest city in the world. And today we get 25M views a week, and we have a fantastic editorial team, as well as over 5,000 creatives and contributing photographers. 

You're an expert on all things London. What do you think the greatest coffee venues are in the city?

For me, my pursuit of great coffee in London will never end. It’s a constantly evolving city that has seen speciality coffee explode over the last 10 years, and we get to seek out the new openings, the hustlers, the experimenters and innovators, whilst dipping into the old guard and forerunners who really came before the special coffee movement. 

My daily is Boki, I travel across London for Kapihan in Battersea, Rosslyn in the city, Ozone roastery for brunches and flat whites. And there’s many many more as we all know! 

Describe London's coffee scene and what it means to you? What makes it stand out among the rest? 

I think with Londoners, they’ll never tire in their pursuit for great coffee and by nature, they are savvy individuals, surrounded with an incredible food, drink and coffee scene; which means they naturally look to level up, upgrade, have greater experiences, find new spots, the best taste, and generally max their lives. 

Which means if you’re a self starter or someone planning to open a coffee offering, and you genuinely believe you have a winning offering, with the right vibe, brand, quality, sourcing etc, there’s always room for a new coffee shop, as long as you’re prepared to do something original, for a crowd that already have everything they need. 

Do you have a "coffee in the times of covid" memory that you won't foget?

One of my best moments was when La Marzocco loaned me a Linea Mini home set up with a grinder that automatically tampered my espresso shots.... I made coffee like a king, and guess what’s now on my Christmas list?! 

Follow Dave at @LONDON and @MrLondon on Instagram, and tune into the The London Coffee Festival on 16 April 2021 to watch him present live with co-host, Celeste Wong. Get your free tickets here.