"This is a small, very nice, non-chain coffee shop selling tea, coffee, some savoury sandwiches plus snacks and cakes. (Not to be confused with 'Smoothbean ' which is also in Croydon and also very good, but the two have no connection.)What 's good about it? It 's non-chain, so you 're actually dealing with nice people offering good service, not just wage slaves at the front end of a vast, impersonal corporation. The quality of the tea and coffee is as good as anywhere else. The service is warm, human, friendly and personal. The staff are efficient and helpul but also pleasantly informal. They don 't have a very wide selection of things to eat. However, what they DO have is all very nice and good value, whether you want savoury and healthy or sweet and indulgent. I loved the little 'bakesmiths ' cakes they sell that say 'made by hand in small batches ' on the label. What 's maybe not so good? Well, it 's not in what you 'd call a great location. Plus it 's really small. Upstairs (at street level) there are just two small tables and space for maybe five or six people at most (assuming some don 't mind sitting at the window). Downstairs, there are a chairs and sofas providing room for about eight people, although it 's a bit cramped.All in all, the think to love about Crushed Bean is the tone, the atmosphere, the fact that it 's small, friendly and informal and run by human beings rather than branded corporate drones intent on hitting targets. Go there at a not-too-busy time and you can enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet and know that you 're choosing to support a small, independent coffee shop and not one of the behemoth chains. Bonus good point #1: if you ask for your milk on the side, it comes in a miniature milk bottle. This cute touch should be standard practice but isn 't.Bonus good point #2: They offered me a free tea refill. Nowhere else that I 've been to does this.Bonus good point #3: They are right opposite Cake Box, a wonderful emporium of gloriously unhealthy options."
