Coffee Reviews: The Blending Room

For any barista, home enthusiast or the more common decaffeinated and slightly grumpy state we find ourselves in on a morning, we all are looking for the 'God Shot' as Caffeine's industry insider describes it:

'the near-mythical collision of provenance, product and preparation to create an espresso shot that was, well, heavenly'.

They talk in their Bitter Barista article of the barista science concept which has only arisen in the recent past and how to produce this has become so essential to routinely create the 'God Shot'. With this in mind maybe it is time I invested in scales and a timer before my quest into Barrister Science can begin? I suppose the inner engineer/OCD/nerd inside me wants to use precise measuring.

Can it really make that much difference?  or can the quality in the coffee bean prevail against the maths of brewing.

From my recent coffee tasting of a local roastery The Blending Room I would say the Jury's out.

After being introduced to this local-based roastery and given a variety of different blends to try and experience from one of my also enthusiastic and generous coffee friends, I saw it fit to insist on testing each batch (honestly I don't mind).

The Blending Room is a small Hull-based roaster which is owned by a guy called James. He has many years, experience in the coffee industry and really does know how to make great coffee.

Let's start with a bit about him - he first stepped into the coffee scene in 2000 as a barista in a Hull cafe. Pre-speciality coffee and pre-coffee culture across the UK. James began being involved in roasting in 2003 when his dad purchased a Diedrich IR-3 to start his coffee company. In 2009 James created 'The Blending Room' using the Diedrich. Since then he has invested in a Probate P12 and has never looked back!

As for the beans, they are sourced through Falcon Speciality who trade coffee from 18 countries and build 'collaborative supply chains for mutual profit and positive social impact' which is awesome!

James sells through trading at local and farmers markets and always has done. He says 'They are a great way to get your product to people on a face-to-face basis.'

I was given 4 different types of coffee to try out but I have decided to embark on (attempting) to describe the taste and quality of 2 -

Both very different in taste, roast type and aroma. I think it is best to try the two ends of the spectrum with these coffees, these being dark roast and light roast.
Now I'm sure you are thinking how different can it be, coffee is coffee right? Wrong. Try these beans for yourself and you will undoubtably be able to distinguish the vivid differences.



I started with 'Docker' - this is a mixed blend dark roast bean. It is described as follows -

'Docker does exactly what the name suggests; be fit for those who work on the docks! Joke.' and is a traditional blend with a very common taste in the speciality world. With a strong bold taste you get a dark chocolate hint. A well balanced increased body for that 'pick me up'. It is a wonderful example of what you should expect from a speciality bean. Roasted with care and caution to achieve the prominent taste shot after shot. This is perfect for those milky type coffees such as Flat White and Cortado.

The other coffee I tasted was Ethiopia Kayon Mountain and it was at the other end of the scale.

Firstly it was a light roast. (see the photo for the comparison between the two) The shade of the bean is determined by the roasting method. As different chemical reactions happen at certain temperatures within the bean, for example the water and carbon dioxide pressure releases at roughly 10-11 minutes into roasting causing the crack in the beans' cell structure.

Oh I am rambling on now, have I bored you yet? Maybe I'll leave roasting for another day.... Essentially this influences the taste and fragrance emitted by the bean and can change considerably depending on the roasting.

Back to the coffee. After the extraction had taken place I had an instant extreme fruitiness fragrance. The blueberry and violet notes were very strong - it almost shocks you how vivid they are. You get a very satisfying mouth feel with an almost floral background. If you are a contrarian looking to go your own way I would suggest trying this! It is an interesting mixture where the fragrance tickles your nose with each sip. I feel like this would be a perfect roast for a V60 or Chemex method of brewing.

If you are considering a new roaster to try, go out to The Blending Room and get yourself a bag. They are small, local, and love making quality coffee! I'd like to thank James for sharing his world with me. 

Here is his website: http://www.theblendingroom.co.uk

I have a lot lined up for my next few posts and cannot wait to get it out there so thank you all again for reading. So much is coming!

    

Coffika Experience

Firstly who are Coffika? They are a independent speciality coffee house passionate about quality coffee. They are situated in the very popular Meadowhall shopping mall in Sheffield. They have managed to bring together locally produced Sheffield coffee and milk to create this local inspired coffee house.

For a very much high street and mainstream style shopping centre, we are very lucky to have a speciality coffee house in such a location.

So after discovering Coffika it became my go to coffee stop whenever in Meadowhall. On one occasion I got talking with one of the managers called Ed. He suggested I should come and spend a bit of time with their head barista Klodian which is exactly what I did, recently.

I met up with Klodian who is originally from Albania. He has 20 years experience working with coffee after working in Greece and London before coming to Coffika. So you would imagine he knows a thing or two about coffee. In fact, it was obvious in an instant that he knows a lot about coffee and is a real ambassador for the culture.

We spent some time walking through their La Marzocco espresso machines (of which they have 2, yes 2!). Then we started going through all the different types of espresso based drinks, lattes, flat whites etc. Within the space of half an hour I had learnt a lot, including the different measurements and process of each espresso. From weighing the coffee to the nearest gram, to timing the extraction to get the perfect time for each extraction. I could really see that they do love coffee and love to share their knowledge with other enthusiastic people like myself!

Yes, this above is my poor attempt....pun intended. 

The coffee they use is from a Sheffield based roasters called Forge and it is a mixed blend from Ethiopia and Peru. All coffee is used within a couple of weeks of being roasted, so very fresh! The milk is also from a local company called 'Our Cow Molly' and is also as fresh as you can get it. The milk is fantastic, extremely creamy once steamed and compliments the coffee blend perfectly.

The way Coffika have made this very much a local coffee house effort is great and it is a great advocate for the Sheffield coffee community.

Klodian showed me his single origin cold brew that he brews in house. After taking a sample of the cold brew we actually started making the next batch! It was awesome to be involved and included in this because I've had very little experience with cold brew coffee.

It goes without saying, once you have visited, that Coffika coffee house is a modern serene atmosphere away from the madness of Meadowhall shoppers. In the upstairs seating area you can people-watch til your hearts content, chilling out with a flat white and a slice of cake.
Meadowhall I think we have found a winner.

I would like to thank Ed and Klodian at Coffika for setting this up with me. Its been an awesome experience meeting great people from within coffee. As I keep saying, the coffee community are so enthusiastic about supporting the specialty coffee industry and broadening its exposure in the wider community.

Thanks for reading and keep drinking coffee!  

Coffee Review: Workshop Coffee

I hope from this post that you become inquisitive and curious to what the whole deal is with Specialty Coffee. I am sure you must be thinking what makes it 'that' much better as 'its only coffee...'

But as you will find out its more than just coffee. You don't just buy coffee, you buy the experience, the story and then enter another way to think about coffee. Like - where it has come from, how it was made and roasted and how best to drink it?

So here is my first coffee review about a very popular and well known coffee roasting company called Workshop Coffee. They started off as just a roasting company providing beans to coffee lovers all over the world and now they have multiple coffee shops open all over London. (which I am yet to visit!)

I first become aware of the Workshop Coffee from a friend of mine, James. He presented this box from what you receive from Workshop when you order beans. We had a chat about it and all the different types of beans they roast from all over the world. 
I looked on their website and was overwhelmed by the amount of choice there was!

After taking this box of fresh beans home and trying them I was hooked. The quality and pure freshness of the beans was amazing. The first selection I tried was called Ruben Guagala from Ecuador, sounds exotic right?

I opened up the box and was presented with a very neatly and carefully wrapped packet of coffee. It was wrapped in a white tissue paper with a Workshop sticker to seal the wrapping. First impressions, very good. 

Underneath is a small (but detailed) leaflet and a postcard. Within this leaflet Workshop have perfectly portrayed the story of the coffee before turning up on your door step. 
Workshop have put real effort to give gratitude to the farmers of each individual bean. Telling you exactly how much effort has been put into growing the cherries, what obstacles have been overcome and the different processes that the beans have been through. Workshop actually go out to see all there partnered farmers to work on different types of beans. Reading this leaflet really lets you appreciate the hard work and extensive effort that have been put into having this quality bean for your morning 'get up and go'.    

Now to the good bit.. Drinking!

Breaking the bags seal is certainly satisfying and after taking a first smell of the fresh beans inside I was looking forward to getting them ground and into my cup!

The process was detailed on the back of the packet along with the growing altitude which makes an enormous difference to the taste and notes the coffee gives off. 

The coffee was fantastic. Once my Sage espresso machine was set up to pull the perfect shot, I was hooked. The different notes in the coffee were subtle and not too overpowering. The blend was balanced and not too harsh of an aftertaste. It was a very pleasant espresso with a satisfying and strong caffeine hit.

Afterwards I made a flat white with a double shot. The milk was hugely complemented with the coffee, a definite winner for me!

   
It may sound rather silly for some calling coffee an experience. But when you really read about the story of how that cherry from the coffee tree is taken from a fruit state to how we know it in society it is quite remarkable. I believe it is also important to companies such as Workshop Coffee to keep spreading the word about all the hard work and effort that is put in to making the perfect coffee.

I would recommend anyone to try Workshop Coffee for its truly special efforts to bring us the best of specialty coffee. 
After chatting to my friend James about this coffee and how great it was he then brought me more, a lot more. Still now the coffee community is showing me example after example how awesome they are. He has given me over 10 boxes all different types of beans to try!

   

Coffee Shops: Gatehouse Coffee

If you were to walk the historic York city walls you would find yourself intrigued by the aspect of the Gatehouse and feel compelled to stop for a coffee instead of strolling past. Slightly away from the centre is where you will find this 15th century medieval gate house with Gatehouse Coffee inside.

Now how to describe such a unique setting for a specialty coffee shop?

If you were to amalgamate a collection of my favorite adjectives: interesting, artisan, historic, character, quaint. Then sprinkle this concoction of a seasoning over this amazing building you would create this wonderful and quite individual coffee shop. Ok -  can you tell I'm a fan?

I arranged to meet the manager of this great example of a specialty coffee shop, Caelen. Armed with a flat white I wanted to discover what makes this coffee shop exactly what it is.

After chatting about the coffee, in this fantastic place, it was clear that we were in a coffee hub. Everything we talked about was filled with energy and passion for the coffee and for making that experience as good as possible. Whether you want to come here to do your Uni work or to socialise, this is the perfect place. There is a roof top terrace, sofas, armchairs, just about everyform of comfortable place to sit. 

Lets talk a bit more about the history of this 15th century Gatehouse and coffee shop. Firstly the Gatehouse is inside the Walmgate Bar which is also the only city gate in the UK to retain its original Barbican. (which is a medieval defensive structure that creates a narrow bottleneck for those of you who didn't know - don't worry neither did I).   

The coffee house is connected with the Calvary Chapel York across the road. Which is a Bible teaching, non-denominational christian church. If you ever visit the Gatehouse you will hear an American accent behind the bar. While talking with Caelen I learned that everyone who works at the Gatehouse is part of the church and is a volunteer. Yes! a volunteer - how awesome is that! 

The Gatehouse has teamed up with All Press for their Espresso beans. In my opinion, the perfect choice. Such a consistent and quality Espresso every single time. Every time I have visited this coffee house the quality has always been absolutely perfect.   

I came away feeling more like I was part of the specialty coffee scene and I felt reassured that the coffee culture is so very friendly, happy to spread the word, and is so eager and willing to talk about what is going on around us. 

I would like to thank Caelen and the team for having me and spending the time to talk to me about what they do. I hope you visit Gatehouse Coffee because it really is a unique coffee shop.