Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, 14-16 Leather Lane
14 September 2012
Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, 14-16 Leather Lane
You might walk in expecting a stuffy ministerial office but the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs is far more palate-pleasing than politics could ever hope to be. It’s a charming café tucked away in the heart of Leather Lane, serving up a decadent selection of lattés, espressos and the finest filtered coffee this side of Clerkenwell. New Zealand-native Chris McKie opened the coffee-house back in December 2010, under the Coffeesmith’s Collective brand. Situated just a stone’s throw...
Coffee review: Sumatra Aged Mandheling Grade 1 by Kopi
17 August 2012
Coffee review: Sumatra Aged Mandheling Grade 1 by Kopi
We’ve started to really look forward to our Kopi delivery and when it arrives we are like children on Christmas morning, tearing the packet open to see what we got. After a day of carefully sampling this month’s Kopi delivery, a Sumatra Aged Mandheling Grade 1 coffee, we thought we’d better write up a review before it’s all gone. This was an intriguing choice. The coffee has been aged for three years, and there’s something very wine-like about the whole process. It really does take...
Gourmet coffee review: Peru Grade 1 Yanesha
26 July 2012
Gourmet coffee review: Peru Grade 1 Yanesha
We’re about halfway through this month’s Kopi delivery, the review has been a long time in the making because we’ve just been enjoying it so much. This month Kopi brought us a Peruvian jungle highland coffee, Grade 1 Yanesha. The Yanesha Indians have a heritage dating back 5000 years, and a grade 1 crop is a thing to savour. According to Kopi, only four containers are sold a year so we knew we were in for something special. Yanesha coffee is a mild roast grown at an altitude of 1400m+....
Coffee art techniques – beautiful images of caffeinated art
17 July 2012
Coffee art techniques – beautiful images of caffeinated art
We drink it every day, we enjoy its sweet bitter taste and we love it when the room fills with its intense aroma. But it looks like we're still missing a lot about coffee. In fact, the days when coffe was just a beverage are over and the time has come for a whole new approach to the realm of caffeine: coffee art. Here's the ultimate guide to the most fascinating techniques artists have used to turn coffee into fine art. LATTE ART The origins of latte art are mysterious ,but many believe it was...
Third Wave Coffee – the new art of coffee making
2 July 2012
Third Wave Coffee – the new art of coffee making
It’s been right in front of us for many years, but you may have failed to see the coming of the Third Wave of coffee, a revolution which has redefined the concept of coffee drinking itself. In the past two major events changed British coffee culture: the popularization of freeze-dried techniques in thepost-WW2 period and the mass-proliferation of chains like Starbucks in the 1990s. But today innovation is driven by dozens of small independent roasters based in parts of East London, Covent...
Free Word Centre Cafe, 60 Farringdon Road
25 June 2012
Free Word Centre Cafe, 60 Farringdon Road
The Free Word Centre Café is an extension of the centre, which is home to nine organisations working across literature, literacy and free expression. The cafe is supposed to function as a meeting place for discussions and exchanging ideas but it’s also a great place to drink coffee. Their coffee is from Italian brand Illy and can’t really be complained about. At £2 for a cafe latte it’s not even that pricey, considering what other places in the area charge. The staff are nice but...
Brill, 27 Exmouth Market
21 June 2012
Brill, 27 Exmouth Market Brill is a record store, which reinvented itself as a record/coffee/bagel shop in the face of declining CD sales. One wall is still dedicated to CDs but the rest had to give way to yummy cakes, pastries, brownies and a beautiful coffee machine. Located in the midst of the Exmouth market buzz, it offers a cosy atmosphere with large windows or outdoor seating to do some people-watching on the market. Admittedly the shop has something artsy and hipsterish about it, but...
fix, 161 Whitecross Street
15 June 2012
Fix is another addition to the already crowded Clerkenwell/Shoreditch coffee scene and tries to appeal with an ‘industrial-chic’ interior and a distinctive, full-bodied blend. Even though the uber-stylish interior and the fact that the food and drink is organic will break your hipster detector, the actual hipster concentration is rather low. Some people quite obviously use this place as their extended office or meeting room and take advantage of the free wi-fi, although it is limited to one...
Coffee review – India Plantation AA Little Flower, by Kopi
15 June 2012
Coffee review – India Plantation AA Little Flower, by Kopi
June 2012, for a lot of people, meant only one thing – Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and the related celebrations. While the actual day was a bit of a wash-out, we eagerly anticipated Kopi’s Diamond Jubilee Special Edition delivery. Don’t worry – coffee beans haven’t suddenly started growing in the fields of Kent. No, Kopi’s choice of coffee to commemorate the occasion stems from India, which of course is part of the Commonwealth, of which The Queen is the official head....
Paperdress Vintage, Curtain Road 114-116
14 June 2012
Paperdress Vintage, Curtain Road 114-116
Paperdress Vintage is more than just a coffee shop. It’s also a vintage store stocking apparel from 1900 to the 1980s as well as hosting events like fashion illustration workshops, and the in-shop bar serves beers and wine if people are after something stronger than caffeine. But branching out into other areas also means that coffee-nerds won’t find the brewed-to-perfection standard that specialty shops offer. The iced coffee we ordered was served warm and there was not enough ice to cool it...
