Author Archive
How much of your local cafe or favourite shop have you paid for?
How much of your local cafe or favourite shop have you paid for? This question came about when my wife looked up from her crafts box (after receiving a parcel of items from her favourite web supplier) and asked me “I wonder how much I have spent with Company X ?” I remarked that she [...]
Poor Mans Über
A £3.15 Temperature Sensitive Sticker has transformed my Hario Buono Pouring Kettle from a simple hot water storage and pouring device to a functional (and essential) piece of kit for any home coffee brewer to use. I’m amazed at how accurate the temperature reading is, to within 1c of the water temp inside the kettle. [...]
Summer home barista training dates
Thank you to everyone who booked their home barista training with us in July. Our home coffee training diary for July filled up pretty quickly, and we are now taking bookings for August, September and beyond. It was such a joy introducing people to the art of extraction and seeing the expressions of family members [...]
WBC2010 from a volunteers perspective
The World Barista Championship has rolled out of town for another year, next stop Bogota, Columbia (June 2-5 2011) Whilst the WBC is an annual event, the friendships created are timeless. Many of the competitors have attended numerous coffee competitions and grasped the opportunity to reunite with friends and regale them with stories of their [...]
Review: BBC Summer Good Food Show – NEC Birmingham
I’d like to thank Ms Gourmet Chick for the opportunity to visit the Summer BBC Good Food Show and BBC Gardeners World event at the NEC in Birmingham, having won tickets on the Gourmet Chick blog last week. This morning (having slept in a little longer than planned) we headed north, full of anticipation, and [...]
Social Media Explosion
Expect a flurry of social media activity between now and the end of June 2010. In 11 days time the World Barista Championship 2010 kicks off in London, coinciding with Caffe Culture, an established annual cafe bar tradeshow. The organisers are expecting 10000+ visitors to the event, and a large number of these have a [...]
Home Barista Training Feedback
We have just received a most amazing thank you email from one of our recent home barista training clients and I cannot stop smiling! Our client has granted us permission to share these excerpts with you “Having done your course my life has changed completely. I just love making a coffee at home and [...]
Foodies Festival – Hampton Court Palace
Last week I entered a competition on Twitter, run by Teapigs – a quality obsessed, independent tea company, and won a pair of tickets to the Hampton Court Foodies Festival, the first of a series of festivals in the UK. The day started out overcast and by the time we arrived the umbrella was required, [...]
Taking charge
A review of the Duracell Instant Charger – a useful USB powered, rechargeable device for charging the iPhone and other handheld battery operated devices don’t let the dainty looks deceive you, this thing packs a punch At first glance you could mistake the Duracell Instant Charger for an iPod Nano, as its dimensions are fairly [...]
Penny University
Saturday 22nd May 2010 saw the much anticipated Square Mile Coffee retail presence arrive in London, in the form of Penny University. Penny University – situated in Redchurch St, just off Shoreditch High St in the suddenly fashionable East End of London – introduces a new concept in the UK. With the focus on brewed [...]
