I will be in London in mid December and I'm looking for some great coffee. I will be staying near St. James park and walking to work near Vauxhall station in nine elms. Anything worth checking out anywhere in, around or in between these areas?

Sorry but I can't help much. I have faced the same challenge that faces you, so below are some thoughts from my experience.

Up until 2015 I used to travel frequently to London and stayed near Vauxhall and worked in Paddington. I remember both as coffee deserts. Somebody else may know of some goods spots in those areas.

London coffee culture was not as strong as I had expected for such a cosmopolitan city - there are a large number of chains such as Starbucks, Costa and Nero. That said, you can get excellent coffee and clusters of good cafes such as Notting Hill, Camden, Soho and The City (on weekdays). Conversely, there are districts with nothing worth drinking.

I am a cycling enthusiast so I used to go to Rapha and Look Mum No Hands (good breakfasts at LMNH). A bit out of my way so I only got there on the weekends.

When I was there I bought a little book on speciality coffee (unfortunately I loaned it to a mate recently and never saw it again) - pop into a large bookshop when you get there. When I travel I usually Google 'Third Wave Coffee' for the city I am visiting - it is a sufficiently obscure term that filters some of the more pedestrian hits.

Time Out is a the 'what's on in London' magazine. See links below to some places that might be worth a shot if you have time to jump on the Tube

http://www.timeout.com/london/blog/five ... fee-101915

http://www.timeout.com/london/food-drin ... ffee-shops

europeancoffeetrip.com it's a guide to specialy/3rd wave coffee shops across europe

Have a look at Third Wave Wichteln map with over 1,500 locations.
http://thirdwavewichteln.com/
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mi ... P-cGJSr1w8

Well, I have been here all week and you were not joking, this area of Westminster is a coffee black hole. However, I did just come across this coffee cart which was pretty good (Flat Cap serving Notes coffee). He was weighing the grinds for each Shot. Unfortunately he doesn't set up until 8am.

http://londonsbestcoffee.com/cafe/flat-cap