Our Story
A quiet corner of Elm Grove, built slowly.
Sand started with a simple wish. A place to sit for an hour and not feel hurried. Somewhere to drink the kind of coffee you think about later in the day, in a room that feels good to be in.
We landed on Elm Grove because of the people on it. The deli two doors down, the plant shop on the corner, the pub at the far end with the foosball table. This street has built its own quiet personality over the last few years. We wanted to add to it, not stand out from it.
The room is small on purpose. Thirty-eight seats, two long communal tables for the regulars who want to work, six smaller ones along the window for catch-ups that go on a little too long.
The coffee
From a small roastery in Brighton.
Our house blend rotates every six weeks, sourced through a small, family-run roastery on the South Coast. We change with the harvest, never the trend.
Alongside the house blend, there is always a single-origin guest from a different roaster, picked for what is best in season. Ask whoever is on bar what we are pulling today. They will be more than happy to talk you through it, possibly for longer than you wanted.
Machine
La Marzocco Linea Mini
Grinder
Mahlkönig E65S
Milk
From the dairy at Hambledon
The matcha
From a fourth-generation farm in Uji, Kyoto.
We take matcha as seriously as we take espresso. Ours comes from a family of growers in Uji who have been at it for four generations. It is stone-milled to order, whisked in a bowl, never scooped from a tin that has been open for a fortnight.
The strawberry matcha is the one most people come in for. Honestly, the bowl service is the one we are most proud of. If you have never had matcha the traditional way, ask for it. We will sit it down with a small sweet and walk you through it.
The room
Built for slow.
Warm sand-coloured plaster on the walls. Linen-upholstered benches along the side. Brass pendants with woven rattan shades. A row of arched alcoves at the back, lit from above, with a bonsai in each.
Most of the furniture came from local makers, the rest from dealers in Hampshire. The ceramics are by a potter in Petersfield who lets us have her seconds at cost. Nothing in here was ordered from a catalogue.
Wifi is on the wall. There is a small shelf of design and cookery books in the corner. Take one down, no rush.