coffee Archives - Page 18 of 22

August 28, 2011

What is it with these Caramalised Biscuits?

As you know I do like my coffee, and often I will just have coffee, but now and again served with the coffee (as a freebie) is a little something. I have had little squares of dark chocolate before, but the usual is a biscuit. And the usual biscuit is one of those individually wrapped caramalised biscuits!

And aren’t they awful? I really don’t like them, the taste, the texture, nope not very nice at all.

Okay should I be grumbling about the fact that I got a free biscuit? Well it isn’t free, I paid for the coffee so I am in fact paying for the whole coffee drinking experience and if that as part of that experience I am paying for, the coffee shop deems it necessary that I have a complementary biscuit, than I think I can say I am paying for it.

It’s not the fact it’s a free biscuit, it’s just that I never have a choice about my biscuit and it would appear that every coffee shop that gives out free biscuits gives out these caramalised biscuits. Where is the imagination? Where are the fresh ideas?

It’s as though they said, oh look out competitor is giving away free caramalised biscuits, we better give away free caramalised biscuits. Where was the imaginative business idea about maybe choosing something slightly different? Something fresh and interesting? No we all have to have that same caramalised biscuit?

Where are the little squares of caramel shortcake? I like those. Where are the little strawberry pavalova? What about a piece of fruit?

At the end of the day this is much more about the coffee and I am guessing that people think the caramlised biscuit complements the coffee. Personally I like my coffee and if you want to give me a biscuit, give me a choice.

By the way if you do in fact like them, you can buy them in bulk from Amazon…. order them now and then you can have one every time you make coffee at home!

August 27, 2011

High Teas

For me this is a new place for coffee in Weston-super-Mare, I don’t think they’ve been open that long, but glad that they have. It’s a really nice independent tea shop for tea and coffee, with cakes and other things. With a smart decor, excellent tea, great coffee and delicious cakes, it’s the sort of place that you hope to find, but rarely do.

With tables and chairs, alongside sofas and comfy chairs, they have various options for sitting down depending on the amount of time you have and the company you are in.

If you like tea (and yes it has been known for me to drink tea now and again) then they have a large range from Taylor’s and it is loose tea, not teabags!

So what of the coffee? Well it’s from Italy, Capo Di Monte, a brand I have not heard of. However it is very nice coffee, full of flavour, but without the burnt overtones that you can get with over roasted beans in some chains. I enjoyed my Americano and I was also able to get skimmed milk with mine, something that I have found isn’t always available in the smaller independent coffee shops. Good value at £1.70 too.

They have a range of cakes and they look homemade, we went for a posh slice and an apple cake. The posh slice was their version of millionaire’s shortbread, you know the one with shortbread, caramel and topped with chocolate. This was really nice, sometimes they can be too rich, but this was just right and delicious. The apple cake tasted fresh and of apple. I could have it warmed with cream, but we had it as was. It was really nice, and I suspect it would have been scrumptious warmed. Both were £1.80 each and I thought very good value. What I also liked was that they were served on china plates with half a strawberry as a garnish.

There were a few other things that caught my attention on the menu, as well as the ubiquitous toasted teacake, you could also have toasted crumpets. You seem to be always able to find teacakes, so it was a nice change to see that you could have crumpets.

The service was excellent, it’s a combination of counter and waiting service. You order your drinks at the counter and they bring them to your table. The staff were friendly and efficient.

Overall compared to the industrial nature you find in a lot of chains, it is nice when sitting in the coffee shop to have proper china, decent efficient service, tasty food and outstanding coffee. Recommended.

July 21, 2011

A Decent Cup of Coffee

I am going off filter coffee, you know the kind you get from drip coffee makers.

At home and now in the office I use a French style cafetiere. Using a coarser ground coffee, it’s as quick and easy as making instant coffee, but because the metal mesh allows the grounds to be in direct contact with the water, you capture more of the essential coffee oils and coffee flavour.

At home I use a medium sized cafetiere, but at work I have a single cup version.

It should be said it does take more effort to clean than drinking instant coffee or using a drip filter coffee machine, but for me that’s a price worth paying for a decent cup of coffee.

June 18, 2011October 21, 2020

Traffic Jam Coffee

One of the “enjoyable” aspect of commuting using the M5 is that Friday afternoons during the summer months the motorway generally becomes one big car park. My one hour drive home from work can take twice as long and sometimes it has taken over four hours!

If I have a chance, I will stop for a coffee either at the services or sometimes Cribbs Causeway. This recent Friday was no exception so with the traffic basically stopped I came off went to Cribbs to go for a coffee. After very little thinking I went to Paterissie Valerie.

It’s certainly not the cheapest place for coffee, but the service is good, there is free wifi and the coffee, which is made from Illy is very nice.

I ordered an Americano with cold skimmed milk and after a short wait I had my coffee, which was excellent. I settled in with my coffee, my iPad and went through a bundle of e-mails that I hadn’t managed to do when I was at work.

The hard bit I think was not ordering any of the cakes which all looked very nice, and I have enjoyed one or two at previous visits. Not tried the savoury menu yet, but may do so one day.

So next time the M5 becomes gridlocked, I might just well go and get another coffee from Patisserie Valerie.

June 6, 2011

A very nice coffee

For the first time in ages today I went into Pret A Manger in London (on Great Peter Street) and ordered a Flat White. I don’t know why, but I never seem to go to Pret, I can’t recall the last time I was in one. Trying to recall if I have even had a coffee in one of their branches. It’s not as though there aren’t a fair few about.

Well I was in and ordered a Flat White, could they get this right?

First issue was that, they only had takeout paper cups. That’s probably why I don’t go there… I am not a great fan of spending a small fortune on coffee in a paper cup. I do do that, but not when I am drinking inside the coffee shop; I then want a proper china cup!

Well paper cup aside, it was actually a very nice coffee. Just the right strength and not too foamy. Pleasantly surprised.

So what of the service?

It was friendly, it appeared very chaotic, but it was quite speedy and I got my coffee very quickly. Unlike other places I have visited recently which had lots of staff and slow service, here there seemed to be lots of staff doing stuff, but they were in fact doing stuff.

Would I go again?

 Well I did a couple of hours later and ordered another flat white! Wonder if this is consistent in their other branches, well I better try one somewhere else.

May 27, 2011

Coffee at the Nero

My current favourite place for coffee these days is Caffé Nero, in the main as I really enjoy the coffee. The environment is nice too., tables and chairs or comfy sofas depending on what you want or need to do. Good service too, making sure you get what you want and provided efficiently and quickly. I have had consistently good service from the different branches of Caffé Nero I have been to across the country. The coffee is great, but is quite strong, much stronger than a similar coffee at Starbucks or Costa. However you can ask for a weaker coffee if that is your preference.

Alas there are not as many Nero branches as they are of the other two, but I have managed to find them in most major cities.

May 18, 2011

Told you Soho Coffee Co

Two years ago I wrote up about a visit to a branch of the Soho Coffee Co.

Back then I asked

Let me ask you a question, is it really so difficult in this day and age, for a coffee shop to take coffee orders and then make the coffee?

I also said

Recently I went to the Soho Coffee Co and was frankly appalled by the level of incompetency shown by the six staff behind the counter in undertaking the coffee making and serving process.

I finished off by stating

Anyway as a result it will be sometime (if ever) I go back to the Soho Coffee Co.

Well, here we are two years later and I have never gone back to that branch of the Soho Coffee Co.

Just shows the importance of decent customer service and efficient serving. I have visited many coffee places close to that branch, but have not been back.

So what of other Soho Coffee Co branches, well I did visit one once at a motorway services, but only the once. I do recall that service was okay, but not fantastic!

The thing is for me, I know the staff are poorly paid and overworked, but from what I can see the problem is not staff, but management and the management of systems. If some coffee places can get it right, why can’t all of them get the little things just right.

May 4, 2011

This is how you do it…

Why is it that so many coffee places can not get making a simple Americano right?

This Americano from Caffe Nero is a perfect example of how it should be done.

Great espresso coffee topped off with hot water. A great coffee.

At quite a few coffee places I go to, they just get it plain wrong. The key is that the crema (that’s the froth on the top) adds so much to the coffee drinking experience and flavour. Lose that and the coffee is nowhere as near as good as it could be.

I quite like my Americano strong, now I could do that by asking for an extra shot, however as a cheapskate I ask for less water. You would be surprised by how many baristas have no idea what I mean by “not too much water please”.

I really enjoyed my Americano from Caffe Nero and would go there again.

April 24, 2011

Flat White’ish

After a walk this morning I found myself at my local Costa, as you do…

I have mentioned previously that:

Costa however do seem to be able to make an adequate flat white. Like most things, they don’t seem to come close to the ones I had out in New Zealand.

Well today the barista who was on duty had no idea how to make a Flat White. Alas it wasn’t the first time either that I have had a Flat White which wasn’t a Flat White.

I am guessing that they don’t get ordered much and as a result they lack the experience of making them on a regular basis and so they are a bit of a challenge. Alas this is a vicious circle, as people like me who order them, probably won’t order them again as they weren’t up to scratch.

The thing is the Flat White is not the cheap option, at £2.40 it’s near the top end of the menu of coffees. Yes I know I should have complained, but to be honest the queue behind me was horrendous, and I had three impatient little people wanting their toast and apple juice. Also the staff don’t appear to care very much about providing good service either, they come across as disorganised and see customers as an inconvenience. The thing is having been to other coffee places (independents and chains) where the baristas have been professional and shown that they really care about the coffee they make, it’s always a disappointment when you go somewhere where the staff don’t seem to care.

It isn’t a “real” Costa, in the sense that it is a franchised branch, but wouldn’t think that was really the issue. My first choice would be to avoid the place and go somewhere else… however choice is limited, and the Morrisons Cafe is not really a viable option (even if I am the Mayor).

So maybe next time I will complain, I certainly should drop a line to their head office.

March 3, 2011

Coffee and Croissant

Wanting a break whilst shopping recently we went to Patisserie Valerie for coffee and cakes.

The coffee was very nice, and for a change from many coffee places not in a huge vat of a mug, but more of a cup. I had an americano and it was very nice.

If you are use to the Venti sized coffee servings that you get at Starbucks or Costa you would be disappointed. But for me the quality of the coffee was good and that to be honest is what really counts, not the quantity of coffee. My wife had a filter coffee and she enjoyed that.

There was a wide choice of cakes and I was tempted by many different varities. In the end I went with the almond croissant.

It did taste of almonds, the almond paste was not overdone, though I would have liked more almonds on top and slightly less icing sugar. As for the other cakes, the toasted teacake was according to my son “not very nice” and having had a bite I had to agree. Something not quite right about it. However my daughter was overwhelmed by her huge plain croissant, so much so we had to get some more butter for it, which came quickly and with a smile. The waitress even offered to bring a bag if we couldn’t finish it; it was that large. My wife enjoyed her cinnamon danish pastry and I didn’t get a look in for a bite, even though I offered her a bit of my almond croissant.

With free wifi it’s a nice place to sit and work over a coffee, though as we found a nice place to take a break. The service was efficient and quick, and certainly so much better than the Café Rouge next door.