OptionC

Birthday London Cafe Tour

The beauty of taking redundancy is that you suddenly have much more time on your hands than you ordinarily would.  This gives you the opportunity to do many things, including:

• Cleaning
• Tidying
• Cooking
• Washing
• Making the flat pregnant-wife safe (the last month lends itself a little more to clumbsyness)
• Cleaning up after a cat with a delicate stomach

This exciting list could continue ad infinitum but, to balance out all of this enjoyment, I thought that I'd spend a day out visiting cafes that I hadn't been to before either due to opening hours clashing with that nasty little thing called work or just plain laziness.

It also just happened to align with my Birthday.

Many cafes fit into the criteria above but I only have a day so I had to be sensible and plan a little.  After a quick review of a map and some googling, I decided on five or six places that both tracked a pleasing arc from east to west and also happened to follow the Thames, albeit from some distance.

Taylor St Baristas Shed, Shoreditch

Need to Know: TSB Shed

Coffee: Union
Machine: Linea
Grinder:  Anfim Super Caimano, 
Address: 110 Clifton Street,
Shoreditch, EC2A 4HT
Nearest Tube Station: Shoreditch High St
Map me...
Hours: Mon-Fri: 08:00 - 16:00
Site: www.taylor_st.com

Yup, you heard me right, it's a shed.  But a very nice one.  The type a banker would have in his back garden, but without the gold plated walls and the carpet weaved from 500 Euro notes.  What it does have is some nice bench seating inside in front of a dark wooden bar sporting everything you need for the making of espresso based coffee. Which is useful, as it's a cafe.  It also has a range of delicious looking food that is the usual fair of TSB (not the banking institution) locations.   The seating area outside is bespoke and perfect for the lovely media arty types that the shed is aimed at to discuss design and java-script over a flat white.

Friendly, smiley staff and good music make this a great place to visit if you happen to be in this neck of the woods, and if you're not, it's probably even worth a visit to see this unique and funky little place.

Nice touch: great bespoke seating outside

Look Mum No Hands, Old Street

Need to Know: Look Mum No Hands

Coffee: Square Mile Spring Espresso
Machine: Linea
Grinder:  Anfim Super Caimano, 
Address: 49 Old Street, EC1V 9HX
Nearest Tube Station: Old St Map me...
Hours: Mon–Fri: 07:30–22:00,Sat: 09:00–22:00,
Sun: 10:00–22:00
Site: www.lookmumnohands.com

Countrylife Organic Whole.  An interesting way to start but very important as this is the best milk I have tasted in some time. But I digress.

LMNH is primarily a coffee shop.  An internet cafe. Or is it a bike repair shop?  Possibly a art studio? No, a Bar. Who the hell knows: I certainly don't.

What I do know is that it works. It is a nice, big space on Old Street with lots of light and an outside seating area.  There is no doubt that cycling is the main focus but not at the expense of all the other elements.  The coffee is good, the food looks good, and the service was good.  Wifi is provided, with sockets a-plenty, which would be why there were as many laptops as bikes on my visit.

There has always been a strong link between cycling and coffee and the guys who own LMNH are obviously passionate about both. There is also a selection of great beers but the winning goal for me is the fact that they have Kernel beer on the top shelf of the fridge.

I'll come for the coffee, but stay for the Kernel. Great place.

Nice touch: locks for lending to people that bring a bike.

St Ali, Clerkenwell

Need to Know: St. Ali

Coffee: St Ali Espresso:60% brazilian, 40% Guaemalan
Machine: Slayer
Grinder:  Mazzer Robur E, 
Address: 27 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1M 5RN
Nearest Tube Station: Farringdon Map me...
Hours: Mon–Sun: 07:00–18:00
Site: stali.co.uk/uk/

One of the newest arrivals to the coffee scene, I have been here once before but it was on my coffee route so I thought I'd pop in for a quick espresso and a bite to eat.

Whilst it's new to the UK, it's actually an established roastery and cafe/bar in Australia and this shows.  It's very Clerkenwell in it's design - think exposed stainless steel ventilation ducts and brickwork - and a good chunk of money has been spent on the fit out, from the equipment (Uber, Slayer, Synesso, Tanzania, Robur E) to the garden wall next to the double height roaster space at the rear.

The thing is, is that whilst I like the food and the coffee is OK, It just doesn't feel that inviting to me.  It's quite dark and there is limited natural light.  It feels more like a restaurant/bar than anything else.  This is fine. I would definitely come here to eat but I wouldn't come here just for a coffee.

Nice touch: Garden Wall

Wild & Wood, New Oxford Street

Need to Know: Wild & Wood

Coffee: Monmouth Espresso Blend
Machine: La Spaziale
Grinder:  Mazzer, 
Address: New Oxford Street 1 unit 19, WC1 A1BA
Nearest Tube Station: Holborn Map me...
Hours: Mon–Fri: 7:30-5:45, Sat: 10:00-5:30,
Sun: 10:00-3:00
Site: www.wildandwoodcoffee.co.uk

This would be the wild card (I couldn't resist it) of the day.

As soon as you walk in you are reminded of the original Monmouth.  Wooden benches and tables crammed into a small space with wood lined walls with signs indicating that a table sharing policy is in action - and it has to be, as it's small.  It's a very stylish little place with a range of good looking food staring at you from the window display.  There is seating outside and...I have to stop there.

I have just taken a sip of my cappuccino.  It is not good.  The milk is steamed badly, the espresso is thin and bitter. I have a sneaking suspicion that a grind-on-demand policy is not supported here as my aural senses have been filled with the sound of coffee being crushed and left to die for the past 3 or 4 minutes.

Time to leave...the establishment and the cap.

Nice touch: intimate wood-lined 'Nook' area.

Brewed Boy, Rupert Street

Need to Know: Brewed Boy stall

Coffee: Square Mile Spring Espresso
Machine: Bezzera
Grinder:  Anfim Super Caimano, 
Address: Rupert Street, Soho, W1D
Nearest Tube Station: Picadilly Map me...
Hours: Mon–Fri: 08:00–15:00
Site: http://brewedboy.wordpress.com/

A cool little coffee stand that my wife frequented a lot when she was working nearby. Not a lot to say about it, as it's not a shop, apart from good coffee and good service in interesting Soho surroundings.

Nice touch?: surrounded by houses of disrepute

 

And so comes to an end my Birthday Cafe Tour. I had planned for more but, at that point, I had way too much caffeine in my system and was somewhat jittery.  The only thing that could possibly help me out of this situation is a trip to Green & Blue in East Dulwich for the finest wines in London town because, as everyone knows, alcohol counteracts the affect of caffeine...honest.

Starbucks Reserve arrives in the UK

Starbucks was once my 'specialty' coffee.  I enjoyed sitting in the comfortable seats, drinking the large mugs of easy-to-drink milky coffee, and loved the new terminology involved.  I was one of many thousands of people that felt the same way, which lead to Starbucks becoming such a successful corporation.  

I loved it so much that I thought it would be fun to work there.  So I did.  And it was.  I managed stores, troubleshot ones with various operational issues, and opened new locations over my time with the company. 

I started to learn a lot about coffee, and gained invaluable experience about setting up and operating high volume cafés.

But a couple of years in, I started to question what I had actually learnt and started to get a nagging feeling that I may have inadvertently fallen in to the trap of reading only company literature, believing company standards and taking everything at face value.  I also started to question whether I actually liked the coffee at all and whether, if I had to pay for it, that I would still drink it.

Everything tasted the same: dark, bitter, woody and a little burnt.  There is no denying that Starbucks prefers a darker roast, and there was also no denying that that was not my taste.

Thankfully, I had then moved to Brighton and discovered a great little café called Red Roaster that re-ignited my coffee affair.

Many specialty coffee enthusiasts baulk at Starbucks and the drinks that they produce - me included - but we cannot deny the fact that Starbucks was once a great independent café in Seattle, that laid the foundations for the specialty coffee industry that we know and love today. 

Since then, Starbucks has grown exponentially into a global brand, and to do that it had to drive consistency - not so different to what a specialty café strives for today - but on an international scale.  The obsessive drive towards this has ultimately been the Achilles heel of Starbucks.  So I was intrigued when I received an invitation the the UK launch of a new brewing method to be implemented within selected stores, and a new 'rare limited batch' selection of coffees.

Each cup is individually made by a Starbucks barista, and freshly ground single origin coffee beans from smaller farms.  The promotional literature claims that Starbucks' buyers often come across incredible coffees that just aren't produced in the volumes they require - these "rare" beans are only available in limited quantities, at a high price point, and using a new-to-Starbucks method of preparation for filter coffee.

What is this revolutionary brewing method? 

Yes, the humble pour over - but in Starbucks proportions! All the equipment is designed by Starbucks, for Starbucks, and on first impressions they look good. 

What instantly struck me was the size of the pour over cups: they are about twice the size of a Hario V60 (very big), in order to accomodate the volume of coffee required for each mug. They have ribs on the inside, and have only have one small hole for the coffee to filter through.

The filters used are equally large: what I did like was the little tab that allowed easy separation of the paper.

 

The jugs are used to collect the coffee, and are also large as they have to hold enough coffee for a Venti (20oz) cup of coffee.  The frame, again, has to be big to hold these apparatus: it's grey, has a built in drip tray, and is heavy.

This then takes us to the kettle.  The first thing that seems to be missing is a lid.  When I asked about the omission I was told that R&D team had decided that it was best not to have one: I guess they didn't see temperature loss as a big issue.  It has four markings on the side indicating the relevant amounts of water for each size of drink that Starbucks offer.

The kettle has a good weight and  is very well balanced in use.  With the addition of a lid, I admit I would take this over a Buono any day of the week.

On to the coffee. The event was designed to highlight Starbucks' new Reserve range: a collection of exclusive coffees available in small batches. Each coffee was paired with a plate of food, provided by Hix of Soho.  The food was superb, but the focus was the coffees on offer:

• Aged Sulawesi Kalosi
• Fairtrade Certified Nicaraguan Corcasan
• El Salvador Pacamara Montecarlos Estate

I am not a huge fan of dark roasts, but I'm always willing to give them a try.  The beans were ground a few hours earlier and it was in low light so I couldn't really see the roast - but I could taste it, and that was about all I could taste.  The flavours described in the corresponding literature were nowhere to be found.  I was amazed to note that the ratio used to brew was roughly 1:11!

The Starbucks employees on hand at the event were obviously passionate about the products, and I couldn't fault them for their enthusiasm, but the coffee was certainly nothing to get excited about.

At the end of the event, I was handed a 'goodie bag' so, to give the coffee a fighting  chance, I went and cupped it at a local specialty café, Notes, Music and Coffee (thanks to @DruzDruz). We also tried it as a pour over with a more suitable ratio and grind. 

The results were not good, and you can probably see why from the photo below. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  I'll let you choose your own.

Varied bean size, brittle and visibly charred: even an expert coffee taster would struggle to recognise any of the complex flavour profiles boasted by Starbucks. For a 226g bag of coffee retailing at £12.95, I would expect much, much more. 

At one time, Starbucks was an independent café that set the standards and trends that other cafés aspired to. Now it's trying to take inspiration from the very industry it spurned, but with poor quality coffee and standards, it's fallen way short of the mark.

 

French coffee: from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the barrel

On a recent wine-based visit to Bordeaux, I thought I'd set myself the challenge of finding a good coffee (of any description) somewhere in the Southwest of France.  As you can imagine, there were many contenders for the title of 'Worst Coffee in the Sud-Ouest' but, by far and away, in the seaside town of Arcachon, we found the coffee equivalent of white spirit.

If Stuart Allen was to update the The Devils Cup, this would surely take pride of place on the cover as, if the Devil does indeed drink espresso, this would be his favoured tipple.  The French Coffee Shop is a crime against all that is good in coffee and, even worse, it's a franchise so can be found at several locations over France.

After searching long and hard for a half-decent cup we decided to spend a few days in the Pyrenees to take in the scenery.  As we were driving through some of the most beautiful locations that France has to offer, we ventured higher into the mountains and, after a short walk even higher, we came across the last hostel before you hike into the Pyrenees.  It was a stunning location and, in our most pigeon French, we asked if we could have something to eat.  Unfortunately, they weren't serving food but they did say we could have a coffee.  I accepted with very little hope in my heart.

Whilst sitting in a veranda overlooking the mountains we were served two cups of coffee in glass cups.  I sniffed and wasn't immediately repulsed: was that light floral tones?  Intrigued, I lifted the glass to my lips and tasted the coffee.  I placed the cup back on the table and looked over at my wife.  We both started to smile but we didn't need to say anything.  At the edge of the Pyrenees, as close as you can come to Spain without hiking, we had found a great cup.

I decided that I would not try to find out what the coffee was - in fact I like not knowing - it was enough just to sit, take in the views and enjoy the best cup of coffee in the Southwest of France.

You know you've had too many flat whites when...

  Coffee advertising genius, courtesy of Brandmeester's.