Bora Coffee Co — Restaurant in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull

I've been a Bora customer since the first week it opened. The previous owner had me sold by the values and ethos of the place. Among these values was his veganism as a necessary tool to combat global climate change. I went in regularly and in quiet moments would talk to Ross at length about his vision for Bora. He used to say that he wanted to build a brand where people knew and were confident what you were going to get when you walked into Bora. He succeeded. Bora became known locally as a destination for vegetarians and vegans and developed a huge niche client base, supported by a wonderful set of values in the team and a welcoming, kind, generous management. For my own part, I was such a regular and loyal friend of the shop that Ross would often offer me a free slice of cake here or a sample of their new coffee. Not wanting to take profit away from the charity that Bora supports I always gave a donation to supplement the freebie.

Today however Bora has been bought by new management who have abandoned (hopefully temporarily) Bora's meat free ethos, and with it turned their backs on the plant based following they have developed. I was heartbroken to see Bora Coffee advertising on their Facebook page a chicken, bacon and cheese sandwich. Worse than this though is the attitude they've taken to the changes, unrepentant, unlistening and aggressive towards critics. Anyone who leaves a disappointed comment on their Facebook page gets the comment deleted. For my part I was blocked, the only thing I did was leave 3 disappointed comments. The new owners, who already have one successful coffee shop on Shirley, claim they don't have the time to make vegan cakes the moment, but this doesn't explain ditching the meat free food menu. The only conclusion I can draw is that their menu is designed to attract a wide variety of customers and assimilate Bora into a growing coffee shop empire. The community of loyal customers are offended and hurt at losing the soul of a place they've loved. The reward they get for their loyalty is to be dismissed on social media, have their comments deleted and in my case blocked from commenting. Don't trust their Facebook page and the effusive praise being meted out on every post. There is an extensive censorship project going on to remove all criticism in a way that alienates some long serving customers, myself included.

Bora stills sells good coffee. The food is fine. If you want a generic independent coffee shop experience by all means give it a go. But be aware you will be supporting a business which has basically said "to hell with you" to a loyal and dedicated customer base after taking it over and not looking to honour and respect the business...

I went into the coffe house as I do most days to meet my in-laws, I met my husband there too , as dogs are allowed we took our dog in , there were 2 Labrador dogs in there also , the dogs did make some noise towards each other not growling or anything aggressive, the manager (Matt) went over very politely to the labs and asked if they could quiet down , he then came to our table and was very abrupt towards up I belive it is due to the amount of money in my purse compared to the other table . Whilst I tried to have a conversation with Matt, the assistant Lauren came over and was very aggressive, Matt had to send her out for 10 minutes to calm down , it had calmed down and I was stood at the till to order my drink , Lauren asked me why was I still standing there I said it's because I'm ordering coffee, she told me she would not serve me and laughed in my face . I went to another coffee shop down the rd and Lauren came past obviously her shift had finished , she stood staring at me swearing through the window giving me hand gestures and offering me a fight , I was in my in-laws company , I am going to the police as I felt threatened and...

just now

Well... Where to start. This is a cozy independent coffee shop with a friendly team and delicious coffee and home made VEGAN cakes.

I was here first time to drink a coffee mocha and i choose to get a white chocholate one with soya milk but you can get it with different milks too if you fancy. I paid £2.6 for the coffee which is not bad.

The mocha was perfect. Nice and creamy and i could not taste the coffee itself (it was a good blend) was just perfect for me.

Then i thought i try their banana loaf toasted with jam... OMG it was so delicious 😋 melted in my mouth.

I was served by a friendly smiling lady then by the manager Matt (i hope wrote down his name correctly). 👌

They have loyalty card too so if u buy 8 hot drinks then u will get one for free.

One thing to mention. The place was a little bit cold for me. The seat was comfy and 8-10 people were there at that time. (I was there between 15:35-16:00). Bora coffee was clean all around.

If you have time and you are in Shirley-Solihull just pop in and enjoy your time and deffo will enjoy your stay.

Recommended 💯!

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