COVERED 2024 Spring

COVERED 38 TRENTBRIDGE.CO.UK Grace’s Coffee Club Since arriving at Trent Bridge, Ballinger has visited a multitude of West Bridgford’s coffee houses and rated them on her Instagram in an effort to establish once and for all the go-to location for a caffeine fix. The outcome is as-yet inconclu- sive, with all six establishments (not including a cafe visited on pre-season tour in Abu Dhabi, disregarded as potential local on the basis of proximity to Notting- ham) garnering broadly positive feedback. “Obviously a lot of us were mov- ing from Loughborough, it was quite a big change, and a lot of us had never really been intoWest Bridgford,” she explains. “We used to have a little coffee club on campus at Martin’s Hall where we would go and chill, have a coffee – Marie Kelly would have a mocha – and we thought we needed to findThe Blaze’s local. “We went on a search looking for the best coffee, and there is plenty to choose from in Bridgford. “The idea of ratings came from my friend Zak who did a review of the Loughborough spots on his Instagram story, so I thought I’d copy him and do aWest Bridgford one. I did give him credit, though. “Order-wise, I’ll usually go for a flat white – sometimes an oat milk flat white, I feel like that gives it a bit more of a mellow taste – and shop-wise I’m looking for a bit of ambience, not too pretentious but also not just a cafe down the road.” And so, with an outright winner needed, Ballinger took to Central Avenue for a Covered Exclusive to make a final decision. With ratings for both coffee and ‘vibe’ – a catch-all term for the miscellaneous offering of each establishment – you can see which Bridgford-based shop fared best using the QR code below. #FIREDUP Catch The Blaze across the East Midlands in 2024. Wednesday 24 April: vs South East Stars, Uptonsteel County Ground Monday 6 May: vs Thunder, Trent Bridge Wednesday 8 May: vs Western Storm, Trent Bridge Friday 5 July vs Southern Vipers, Chesterfield Sunday 14 July vs Northern Diamonds, Lindum CC Saturday 31 August: vs Surisers, Incora County Ground Saturday 7 September: vs Central Sparks, TBC Thursday 23 May: vs Northern Diamonds, Trent Bridge Sunday 26 May: vs Thunder, TBC Friday 31 May: vs Central Sparks, Trent Bridge Friday 7 June vs Western Storm, Uptonsteel County Ground Sunday 16 June vs South East Stars, Incora County Ground CHARLOTTE EDWARDS CUP RACHAEL HEYHOE FLINT TROPHY