London Coffee
The London coffee industry has been moving steadily forward for over the last six years,"Wow" that's how long I have been in the UK, time flies!
My first coffee experiences in this new city were quite horrible, I must admit, I did try - in the end I just purchased a French press- were else than on a weekend trip to Paris -I then purchased some ground coffee from a local supermarket when back in London, that took the edge I could survive my foraging for great coffee for a while, I still have that French press it saved my sanity.
It took a little while, but I did find some good coffee bars ( this you can read about on my previous post Kings Queens and coffee beans like I wrote earlier, the coffee industry has flourished and I must admit that with dedication and correct attitude the Antipodean movement has made those days in the UK a thing of the past.
That is why I will always say - ""The greatest export to come to the UK from Australia is the Barista""
There can be no mistake, the world has taken notice of this speciality beverage, developed and perfected in the Southern hemisphere.
I remember back in the early 90's when customers used to order a Flat White, it was all so new, there were many variations, the most common was - the request for a espresso based, milky coffee in a cup with no froth - I also remember customers did not like to drink cafe latte's as it came in a glass vessel, so they requested a similar drink in a ceramic cup.
Customers themselves I believe had the major influence in the development, then it was up to the Barista to put it all together, as more and more speciality cafe bars opened, the development of this beverage went from strength to strength due to the high demand and persistence of well educated coffee drinkers.
These day's you can not only get a superb Flat White coffee at some of the espresso bars that have sprouted all round London, but the big boys on the high St have also joined the Southern movement
There are now great annual coffee events held in London and through out the UK, these events are developing another market which the coffee industry is fond of -
It took a little while, but I did find some good coffee bars ( this you can read about on my previous post Kings Queens and coffee beans like I wrote earlier, the coffee industry has flourished and I must admit that with dedication and correct attitude the Antipodean movement has made those days in the UK a thing of the past.
That is why I will always say - ""The greatest export to come to the UK from Australia is the Barista""
(The Flat White is King)
There can be no mistake, the world has taken notice of this speciality beverage, developed and perfected in the Southern hemisphere.
I remember back in the early 90's when customers used to order a Flat White, it was all so new, there were many variations, the most common was - the request for a espresso based, milky coffee in a cup with no froth - I also remember customers did not like to drink cafe latte's as it came in a glass vessel, so they requested a similar drink in a ceramic cup.
Customers themselves I believe had the major influence in the development, then it was up to the Barista to put it all together, as more and more speciality cafe bars opened, the development of this beverage went from strength to strength due to the high demand and persistence of well educated coffee drinkers.
These day's you can not only get a superb Flat White coffee at some of the espresso bars that have sprouted all round London, but the big boys on the high St have also joined the Southern movement
- Costa
- Starbucks
- Pret A Manger
- Eat
- Cafe Nero
- Coffee Republic
are just some of the high St coffee shops serving this popular beverage, yes they all have their own methods of preparation, yes they are all served in different vessels, some are even made using a very special milk texturing jug, some contain 21g of coffee in the dose.
I have tried all of the above- and yes- they are all so different
I am concerned, not concerned at the taste of the product from the companies above - cannot do much about that, but concerned at the way these companies have taken this drink on board, and introduced it to their customers.
So what is a Flat White?
A Flat white coffee is described as perfectly balanced, milk to coffee ratio, the milk textured velvety smooth, milk temperature just high enough to release all the natural sugars creating a natural sweet cup, even the vessel can have a great impact on the finish and taste.
Their version of a Flat White is different, in fact every time I went to the same brand store at a different location, the coffee was finished different, this is very confusing to the customer who is looking for the correct example of this famous beverage
Then we have the Independents with all the gadgets and latest fad in coffee equipment, these guys are at the front of the coffee revolution.
We depend on these people to save the day and educate/ introduce the public to the correct espresso coffee and Flat White, continue the tradition developed a long while ago, I have seen this take place while visiting the local coffee bars and enjoy the theatre and enthusiasm shown by the Barista and the attentiveness shown by the customer.
I always recommend to people that they visit one of the many new independent coffee bars across London, were you are most likely to receive a decent cup for your £2.40 worth.
I say decent as there are still some flaws to be rectified, only when you order a second cup will you find out about consistency, on occasions sadly it was disappointing.
I have tried all of the above- and yes- they are all so different
I am concerned, not concerned at the taste of the product from the companies above - cannot do much about that, but concerned at the way these companies have taken this drink on board, and introduced it to their customers.
So what is a Flat White?
A Flat white coffee is described as perfectly balanced, milk to coffee ratio, the milk textured velvety smooth, milk temperature just high enough to release all the natural sugars creating a natural sweet cup, even the vessel can have a great impact on the finish and taste.
Their version of a Flat White is different, in fact every time I went to the same brand store at a different location, the coffee was finished different, this is very confusing to the customer who is looking for the correct example of this famous beverage
- Sour
- Bitter
- Over extracted
- Under extracted
- Over heated milk
- Too much froth
Were some of the finds
We depend on these people to save the day and educate/ introduce the public to the correct espresso coffee and Flat White, continue the tradition developed a long while ago, I have seen this take place while visiting the local coffee bars and enjoy the theatre and enthusiasm shown by the Barista and the attentiveness shown by the customer.
I always recommend to people that they visit one of the many new independent coffee bars across London, were you are most likely to receive a decent cup for your £2.40 worth.
I say decent as there are still some flaws to be rectified, only when you order a second cup will you find out about consistency, on occasions sadly it was disappointing.
- Lukewarm milk
- Different coffee quantity
- Not correctly finished, topped
Apart from these points above I have also noticed the quality of the roasted coffee used by the independents, too acidic, sharp, green, actually tastes under developed in the roast, when married with milk, it just does not cut it, like butter on a hot pan it fizzles!
Lucky I know some coffee bars were the brew is superior developed and cuts through the full cream milk like as if it was a razor, you get the wonderful caramel profile cutting trough followed by a persistent punch, bold and nutty, which could be the presence of a superior quality Robusta, then you have that golden crema, reminiscent of Muscovado sugar, what a great coffee to have to start your day.
Over all, we are going to have disappointments, when these are met, the best cure is to confront the problem, give feed back, it worked in the development of the Flat White coffee in Australia, I am confident it will also work the same here in the UK
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| Foxcroft & Ginger |
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| Cafe Miro |
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| Costa |
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| Nude Espresso |
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| Artisan |
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| Taylor St Baristas |
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| Local Hero |
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| ST Ali |
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| Prufrock |
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| Birdhouse |
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| Eat |
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| Camden coffee house |
There are now great annual coffee events held in London and through out the UK, these events are developing another market which the coffee industry is fond of -
The speciality cakes and pastries industry
This Industry I hope to cover at a later time.
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