I love Caffe Culture, what a show! The World Barista championships have really been a draw and the number of new products has been amazing. I have been so impressed by produce and coffee that I can only mention a few until I really get around to ploughing through the vast quantity of info I have collected. My highlight so far has to be the brilliant display of cakes and savouries from bakers Peck and Strong who are based in Devon. Also the new coffee from Green Cauldron has proved that Australia not only produces great wine but also sublime coffee. I will be back at the show on Friday to see the result of the WBC and I hope that I will be able to get a go at using the Aeropress coffee maker. So see you tomorrow for lots of lattes and macchiato’s.

Exactly who first discovered that coffee beans that have been passed through the digestive tracts of a Vietnamese weasel is tastier than the ordinary varieties of coffee is unclear, although the whole concept sounds like a bad Monty Python sketch! The first time I heard about this was on an episode of the James Whale Radio Show on ITV in 1989 but then it was portrayed as wolf poo coffee (never heard of a wolf eating coffee cherries before but hey, in desperate times, who knows?) Well it turns out that the coffee passes through the gut of the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphrodites), a cat/weasel type creature and close relative of the mongoose that simply loves to eat bright red ripe coffee cherries. The animal presumably obtains some nourishment from the flesh of the coffee cherry and then the indigestible pit (the green coffee bean) is passed out in its poopy and collected by the chief weasel herder…

Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphrodites)

Seriously though the Kopi Lowak coffee is produced across southeast Asia from Indonesia to Vietnam (Sumatra is the largest producer). The coffee bean (commands a price of some $600 per pound) is affected in some way by the digestive enzymes in the gut of the civet – it is thought that proteolytic enzymes effect the excreted beans getting rid of some of the proteins causing bitterness and finally giving the coffee a richer, syrupy, smoother more chocolaty taste with earthy overtones (worth some £50 per cup). Beans, which can be arabica, robusta, liberica or excelsa, are collected clumped together with the faeces of the animal and are then thoroughly washed and dried prior to roasting. Some producers in Vietnam produce their Civet coffee using a process that requires roasting the beans lightly with a particular type of ‘chicken’ fat and also wine and this produces a special flavour (the product is called cà phê Chồn in Vietnam).

Kopi Luwak coffee is very popular in southeast Asia and there are major importations of the beans to Japan. Many tourists who taste the coffee are actually drinking a synthetic version that was first produced in 1996. The Trung Nguyen Coffee Company in Vietnam uses six digestive enzymes and a patented soaking system to produce the simulated Kopi Luwak, which is called Legendee (some say it is a very close match to the genuine article). Other versions of Kopi Luwak use high quality roasted beans and added flavour components.

When all is said and done Kopi Luwak is a much sought after product with a premium price that many think is the best tasting coffee on the market. All I can say is I have not tried it because I tend to shy away from products that come from faeces, although I have been assured that the exhaustive washing and roasting process means that Kopi Luwak coffee is not riddled with  E. coli and a health hazard. If you can afford it try it … and let us know what you think.

Belated congratulations to John Gordon of Gorilla Tampers for winning the UK Barista Championship in 2010 with a score of 687 points (including best espresso, best cappuccino and best signature drink). The contest involved a competition between the 20 best baristas in the UK at the Hotelympia show in London, which was held at the start of March. Second place went to Dale Harris of First Choice Coffee with 675.5 points and third place went to Neil Le Bihan of Exchange Coffee in Lewisham market with 651.5 points.

John will now represent the UK in the WBC and the SCAE World Championships at Cafe Culture in London during June 23-25.

John Gordon, August 2009

BestCuppa in Town interviewed John in 2009 following his triumph as the UK Latte Art champion and he told me he would become UK Barista champion – he has the drive and ambition and I think I may have a little bet on him to take the world title! He also told me of his newly found wood turning skills and his new venture Gorilla Tampers, which produces custom crafted hardwood handle tampers for the serious discerning barista who wants to avoid repetitive strain injury.

Demonstrating why John was the 2009 UK Latte Art Champion

Aside from enjoying your cup of coffee or tea at home in your favourite mug, porcelain cup or latte glass what happens when you are about to leave for work with your chosen beverage in your hand? It must not spill and it must be kept hot while you are sitting on the train, bus or in your car. What are the best travel mugs on the market today, how effective are they and more importantly can they still look trendy?

For practicality there are the thermal mugs that pretend to be mugs but are actually mini flasks (they have no handle). These include the Aladdin 0.35l stainless steel leakproof travel mug with a water tight screw lid that can keep drinks hot for six hours and cool for around 18 hours (only available in silver). Another offering in this vein is the Lifeventure thermal mug which is also flask-like but is available in six different colours. The advantages are that they really do keep drinks hot over long periods, are unbreakable and are relatively inexpensive coming in at under £10 but they are not really very trendy.

Lifeventure thermal mug

The travel mug of the moment has to be the Brugo Travel Mug, which has a capacity of 450ml (16oz), comes in 13 different trendy colours and has a revolutionary temperature control chamber and three position drink mode selector spill-proof lid. The reviews on this have been mixed with the majority of people loving it although it is more expensive than you would expect to pay for a travel mug (around £15). Complaints include the drink mode selector being difficult to use, not dishwasher proof and difficult to clean, the cooling chamber being too small making it difficult to drink from and the lid not being leakproof (in fairness the Brugo people do say it is only spill-proof). I am still going to buy one as it looks robust, trendy and interesting.

Brugo travel mug

An alternative to the Brugo is the Contigo insulated autoseal travel mug which is sold as a twin pack (around £30) and claims to keep drinks hot for four hours and also to be leak proof. Although the Contigo appears to please and tick a lot of boxes it’s not really very trendy – it is functional but not stylish.

There are a number of ceramic and stainless steel and ceramic travel mugs on the market at the moment. A popular ceramic offering is the ‘I am not a paper cup’ which is a fully insulated double wall ceramic product with a silicon clip over lid in the style of a coffee shop cardboard mug (a similar product is the Ceramic coffee house cup). I have one for my office and I like it for home use but would worry about using it when out and about. It really doesn’t keep the drink hot for very long but if you are carrying your drink to the office it certainly won’t slosh over the side and spill. Another advantage is that it is fully microwave and dishwasher safe. There are also hybrid stainless steel mugs with a ceramic insert but these have been criticised for allowing the beverage to cool too quickly because the ceramic insert draws heat from the drink.

I am not a paper cup (ceramic mug)

Moving on to more traditional travel mugs, in general they will only keep a drink hot for around 2 hours and some only claim 40 minutes. There are so many around but for quality I suppose the Thermos range offers good value for money and good design; popular Thermos mugs are the Thermocafe 2010 Steel Travel Mug (0.4l), the Thermocafe 2060 Steel Travel Mug (0.4l), the Everyday 450, the Everyday 430 (0.45l) and the Thermo Glacier leakproof (prices for these range from around £3 to £7, so they are quite economical). These all keep drinks hot for around two hours and only have spill resistant lids but they are fairly typical of standard travel mugs (the design is fairly ‘industrial’).

The ‘granddaddy’ of them all has to be the Fatboy Jumbo travel mug that can hold a full 34oz’s (900ml) of liquid. However even this is dwarfed by the US imported Bubba Keg 72oz – does anyone need a mug that can hold two litres of coffee? Both of these big boys still suffer from leakage problems through the lid and can only keep the drink hot for two hours, and I can’t see either fitting into the cup holder in the car!

Bubba Keg 52oz thermal mug!

It seems that currently there is no perfect travel mug on the market so it might be as well to state here what the requirements are:

• A mug of a trendy design (my wife doesn’t ‘do’ silver or black) and ‘different’ shape but still able to fit into a standard car cup holder.
• A volume of around 0.45l is ample.
• There must be a screw lid to give the best leak-proof seal and good insulation to keep the drink hot for about four hours.
• It would be nice if designers made mugs dishwasher proof and with an ability to be used in microwaves.

The big weak point in most cases is the top, which must allow the user to drink – this needs to be a really clever design to maintain insulation and prevent leakage but still allow reasonable size gulps of coffee or tea.

Until the perfect travel mug is invented don’t spend a fortune on one because none of them are perfect. Perhaps the BestCuppa team should venture into manufacturing?!

We’d love to know your favourite travel mug (does one exist that doesn’t give the coffee a plastic taste?)

Our congratulations go to the following lucky winners of our recent BestCuppa competitions:

Kendals Cordials Competition, ended 15 January 2010

Winner: Emily Fraser, Leeds

Linda Bloomfield Competition, ended 15 January 2010

Winner: Ruth Tesdale, Derbyshire

Gluttonous Gardener Competition, ended 15 January 2010

Winner: Rachel Tassell, Kent

Savourez Competition, ended 15 January 2010

Winner: Paul Tucker, Peterborough

Caledonia Coffee Roasters Competition, ended 15 January 2010

Winner: Samantha Hodges, Kent

Honeybuns is a Dorset-based small cake producer founded by entrepreneur and baker extraordinaire Emma Goss-Custard in the late 1990’s. Their humble beginnings meant that deliveries were made by bicycle (although some might call this a personal courier delivery service!) – the company has grown exponentially and their products are now stocked in Waitrose, Morrisons and can be found on the counters of all good coffee shops up and down the UK – including John Lewis espresso bars and Sainsbury’s coffee shops.

The range of 15 different cakes are slow baked in small batches using only natural ingredients and are specifically wheat free with some of them being gluten free and dairy free as well. This provides a range of possibilities for those with allergies, but the cakes are very tasty even if you are allergy free.  

Having met Emma at a trade show we woke up one morning to the delivery of a huge box containing cakes and cookies from Honeybuns. We decided (diet allowing) to set up an independent taste test using a number of lucky BestCuppa members. Here we present the results as they came in.

First tasters were Alison and Clive Brigden:

MILK CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

Alison           9/10
Possibly the best brownie I’ve ever tasted – moist with a slight coffee kick and choc chips for added yumminess!

Clive          8/10
Lovely texture, would maybe prefer less coffee though.

HONEYED APPLE COOKIE

Alison          8/10
More of a cake than a cookie really – almond, apple and honey are a great combination but it was a bit too sweet for me.

Clive          9/10
Liked the texture and the flavours worked really well together.

COPPICE CAKE

Alison          7/10
Lovely and moist but I found the texture a little strange – a little grainy, presumably due to the polenta.  Still yummy though, I’m not complaining!

Clive          8/10
Great mix of tastes, like the nuts choc and fruit together.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE TINKER

Alison          8/10
For me you really can’t go wrong with choccy and this didn’t disappoint for a rich and naughty treat!  Clive never got to see this one!

SNOWY HILLS

Alison          7/10
Fresh zingy lemoniness but again the polenta made the texture a little strange.

Clive          7/10
Full of flavour and lovely and moist.

The second tasters were Dawn and Tony Sigrist:

HEATHCLIFFE BROWNIE

The winner, moist, rich, chocolatey and fruity. Big hit for both of us, loved it and would buy it again. 10/10.

Family of Honeybuns' Brownies!

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL SHORTBREAD

Very indulgent cake, loved the chocolate chunks. Would definitely buy again. Would also love to try a milk chocolate version. 10/10.

COPPICE CAKE

Lovely light moist cake. Liked the cranberries and sultanas. Enjoyed very much. 9/10.

CONGO BAR

Good cake, wasn’t keen on the coconut even though I usually like coconut. Enjoyed the milk chocolate topping. 8/10.

Display that includes Congo Bar

ALMOND MOON

Very tasty cake, very filling. Loved the cranberries on top. 8/10.

RUDOLF’S SURPRISE

Very chocolatey, very rich. Not a fan of glace cherries. Big hit with the kids. Would not be prepared to pay as much money for this cake as the others as it is effectively a rice crispie cake, albeit a nice one. 7/10.

The third taster group were Gary Kifford and Zane Runge:

SNOWY HILLS

Very nice taste combination, the powerful lemon and the ginger after burn. Lovely cake with a good texture.
Gary          7/10
Zane          7.5/10

MOOSH BAR

This was very rich and chocolatey, although the chocolate and mint combination was a little bitter for our taste. A good biscuit texture.
Gary          4/10
Zane          8/10

COPPICE CAKE

A very moist cake with a good caramel flavour as well as the fruity cranberry taste. A lovely cake that was very moreish.
Gary          7/10
Zane          8/10

ALMOND AND SALTED PISTACHIO COOKIE

Our favourite cookie with a good nut flavour combination that favoured the pistachio more than the almond. This was very nice and we highly recommend it.
Gary          8/10
Zane          9/10

Almond & Salted Pistachio

ALMOND MOON

The cake was good but not quite right for me [Gary]. Zane liked it better than I did. She said it was excellent and reminded her of her mother’s home baking (she comes from Latvia).
Gary          4/10
Zane          10/10

SCRUMDIDDLEYUMPTIOUS COOKIE

Taste it? We had to try and spell it first! This had a good lemon flavour and excellent texture. Would be very good with a tall latte or a vanilla chai.
Gary          6/10
Zane          9/10

Tempting stack of cookies!

HEATHCLIFFE BROWNIE

A fantastic chocolate flavour with a pleasing texture and a very sumptuous, decadent feel in the mouth. This is definitely what you would want on a tea plate at Buckingham Palace or afternoon tea at the Ritz!
Gary          10/10
Zane          8/10

From the above comments I think it is fair to say the taste test team enjoyed their first experience with Honeybuns cakes and cookies! There were reservations about some of the cakes but life is all about new experiences and if you don’t try something new then … well – variety is the spice of life! When we tasted some of the Honeybuns cookies and cakes we loved the Moosh Bar, Rudolph’s Surprise, Almondi, the Congo Bar and the Almond and Pistachio cookie. We’re sure we would have liked some of the others too, but our tasters had eaten the lot, greedy beggars!

All in all, Honeybuns produce some scrummy cakes and cookies. Go on treat yourself!

Message to Honeybuns … we know you are constantly adding to your range of goodies – we’re happy to try out any new products!!!

Instant coffee has been around for some years, having been invented in 1901 in the US. The product has always been a poor relation in the US but in the UK and Europe it has always had its own special place in the market – although I have an expensive coffee machine in the kitchen it is sometimes just convenient to whip up a cup of instant. However, to be honest, instant coffee is not a cheap product and when all is said and done you get what you pay for (the Mellow Birds and Maxwell House served after Church on a Sunday doesn’t quite cut it anymore). Nescafe, who has been producing instant coffee since 1938, has always been a market leader, but even they have expanded their range to include a vast array of speciality instant coffees and with Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance coming to the fore it means that the consumer, particularly in the UK and Europe, has a huge choice of products. Of course the sceptic in me would just say that all this is just a case of clever marketing and a load of different pretty labels attracting the consumer to what is basically the same product but displayed in an almost overwhelming coffee ‘power wall’ in every supermarket. Well the only way to discount this was to actually try some different coffees and to run a taste test with family and friends to determine what their favourites were.

What to choose for the morning cuppa?

We picked a range of ten instant coffees and made them all up at a medium strength (1.25 teaspoon) with milk for a blind tasting. The coffees picked were:

Cafe Direct Fair Trade Mountain Reserve Machu Picchu freeze dried instant

Clipper Fair Trade Organic Papua New Guinea

Nescafe Espresso

Douwe Egberts Pure Gold

Percol Rocket Fuel

Carte Noir Instant

Kenco Really Rich

Maxwell House Rich Blend

Mellow Birds

Fair Instant gold

With a tasting panel of 12 (each gave a score of 1–10 for each coffee) the results were rather mixed but we did draw some conclusions. Firstly, there is not that much difference between the premium brand coffees and, secondly, the uneducated palates of the taster’s means that everyone is looking for different characteristics that they think are important (most just know what they like and can distinguish between the really cheap brands and the premium ones).

Don't forget the Mellow Birds

However we did get some clear winners. In first place with a preference score of 103 was the Nescafe Espresso (rich and nutty), second with 98 was Kenco Really Rich, third with 89 was Fair Instant Gold, fourth with 76 was Clipper PNG coffee and joint fifth with 69 was the Cafe Direct Macha Picchu coffee along with the Douwe Egberts Pure Gold; the Percol and Carte Noir received 52 and 51 points respectively and bringing up the rear were Maxwell House (39) and Mellow Birds (24). We determined from this that powder and granule coffees are inferior to freeze dried (with the notable exception of Nescafe Espresso) and that price does mean something with the ‘cheap’ coffees bringing up the rear (although not that cheap with a 100g jar of Mellow Birds costing £1.88 and 100g of Maxwell House costing £1.50).

Nescafe Gold Blend is one of the best selling brands

I am sure most consumers go with what they know and choose the market leading Kenco and Nescafe brands and then those with more of a conscience lean toward the Fair Trade brands. So maybe taste isn’t important and Fair Trade and a fancy label take precedence. None of these products come close to real coffee but in the compromise that is instant coffee it seems from the comments we obtained that everyone is looking for something different and taste is a secondary consideration.

How many times have you visited a cafe or restaurant and found that your chair wobbles or the table rocks on three legs? Some say that a wobbly table is one of the biggest turn offs for perspective diners at a restaurant. I must say I have found this problem in pubs, bars, and restaurants and usually have to resort to a folded beer mat or a menu that has been hastily torn and folded to steady the table. Well now the problem has been addressed with the Wobbleg and although there is a competitor product in the form of Stabletable the inventor of Wobbleg, Julian Bradbrook, insists it is the superior product (supposedly much easier to use that Stabletable).

The Wobbleg

The Wobbleg, which is a black rubber disc with a variable thickness edge, works by being placed it under the leg of a wobbly table or chair and then being rotated until its thickness matches the gap between the leg and the floor. Julian though of the idea while sitting at a wobbly table in a pub and contemplating the use of a beer mat he said the thought just came to him “There has to be something better than an old beer mat to solve the problem” and now there is Wobbleg “It’s a really simple idea but it does the job perfectly”. The Wobbleg hit the market with a launch at the start of 2008 and almost immediately Julian attracted investment from a Shropshire based web entrepreneur with 20 years business experience (who is now his partner) called Robert Taylor. The plan is now to market the product hard over the next two years and to try and sell 5 million units.

The Wobbleg in action

Although the Wobbleg is mainly available in black (retails at around £3.99 for a pack of three) they can be printed with a logo for bulk orders of over 100 and even manufactured in different colours to match corporate logos and livery. They seem to be the ideal corporate giveaway promotional item, being both quirky and useful. Get your Wobbleg now and banish the wobbly restaurant table forever!  

A brilliant Christmas stocking filler

For more detail contact www.wobbleg.com

Following a visit to the Coffeena exhibition this year we decided to look into latte art and see what all the fuss was about! So on the first Friday in August I made my way to South London to talk to John Gordon who is somewhat of an expert on latte art having won the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe’s (SCAE) UK Latte Art Competition in 2009 and then come sixth in the world competition at Coffeena 2009 in Cologne, Germany. John hails from Melbourne, Australia, and used to work in the security and personal protection industry – but four years ago he became interested in coffee and trained as a barista; he and his wife Jess then relocated to London and joined Ristretto in 2008. Ristretto is a company based in South Wimbledon owned by Joseph and Anne O’Hara that specialises in providing mobile espresso/coffee for corporate events (recently Ristretto were able to produce 480 high quality espresso’s in 15 minutes for a corporate dinner party in London – somewhat of a record).

John Gordon, Ristretto

John is a truly nice guy and I spent over two hours chatting to him about coffee, world championships and his hopes for the future. And eventually I got round to talking to him about latte art. I wondered if the designs were that complex, how long it really took to do (and would the coffee get cold)? Before I had time to ask, John had made me a latte and in a jiffy there was a fabulous fern design, which was a fine example of ‘free pouring’ (this was the first time I have ever photographed a cup of coffee before drinking it!) Apparently, any barista worth his salt can do some basic designs and it doesn’t take long to do – but it does add a mark of quality to a coffee, which just isn’t there when someone just plies the chocolate shaker.

John's fern design, that took seconds!

The steamed milk has to be just right and then the pour is started in the centre with rather complex designs being made by the contrast between the white of the milk and the nut brown colour of the coffee. John’s trademark design, and the one which saw him win the UK championship, is a single leaf tulip design in a macchiato that has taken him nearly three years of practice to perfect. He explained “it’s all about practice and with such a complex design stage fright is a problem… this year I entered the UK Championship just for fun with no real expectations but I won and then at Coffeena I was really nervous because it was the World Championship.” Of course John’s ambitions will be a bit higher for 2010 when the World Championships are on ‘home turf’ at Cafe Culture 2010 in London (23–25^th June). He hopes to be in the running for the Latte Art title, the overall Barista title (won last year by Gwilym Davies) and even the Cupping (coffee tasting) title. Already John is looking for two coffees (he has two Brazilians in mind) to form the basis of his entry and he is working closely with Steve Leighton of Has Bean Coffee (www.hasbean.co.uk) who knows a thing or two about coffees from around the world. In fact, we’re running a fantastic competition this month to win a 3 month subscription to Has Bean’s ‘In My Mug’ video blog, whereby the winner will be sent coffees each week to try while watching the tasting guide (visit http://www.bestcuppaintown.com/offers.php to enter).

The artist in action ...

John’s favourite coffee at the moment is Zege from Lake Tana in Ethiopia (you can get it from Has Bean Coffee), which he used for the World Championship. [Incidentally John’s tip for a good espresso machine is the Synesso Cyncra produced in the US (a small company who only produce about 50 machines per year).]

In the meantime there are a few other things going on as Ristretto is branching into specialty coffee roasting, trading as Alchemy (www.alchemycoffee.co.uk). Jess will run the 12 kg Probat roaster from Germany for this venture. John himself has started a small business turning custom hardwood handles for tampers (Gorilla Tampers).

Perfection in a cup ... my first ever effort (not really!)

 I can only wish John good luck for the competition next year and say I will be there to cheer him on. He’s a nice guy, has clearly got a passion for coffee, and he deserves success.

Lavazza is the most recognised brand of coffee across the world (the company sells 62% of its production in Italy), with sales of over €1.1 billion in 2008 and sales growth of 8% over the last five years. With success like this behind the company and the future looking decidedly bright it is no wonder that they have turned their attentions to a sustainability project. This is the Tierra Project, which has been running in three previously disadvantaged coffee growing communities in three different South American countries – Honduras, Colombia and Peru. The initiative began in 2002, and has, in the last seven years, seen three communities produce premium quality Tierra coffee (purchased and marketed by Lavazza) and more importantly improve their environmental, economic and social wellbeing.

Tierra Colombia

When the initiative began Lavazza in conjunction with VOLCAFE (leading green coffee trader) provided technical expertise, equipment and assistance, as well as training to make the three plantations sustainable and potentially profitable. The enhancements were geared toward improving standards and working practices and by 2005 Rainforest Alliance certification was achieved by compliance with their nine key principles. The project also saw the construction of a green coffee drying and processing plant and the development of schools, housing and health clinics (Honduras also benefited from two micro-credit banks) – living standards were improved immeasurably. Mario Cerruti is Lavazza’s supply chain director and the project’s manager and he commented about the project, “Lavazza has shared with the farmers the coffee-processing expertise acquired during its hundred-year history… Tierra is not a one-off, fixed-term project; in view of its success, the enthusiastic response it has received and the fact that it is continuously evolving, Lavazza is now looking at future measures.”

Tierra Honduras

Tierra is a directly managed project where progress is monitored and changes made as required with new objectives being set every year (new schools and a test farm are among the latest projects). The project has two overall aims in that it provides guidance in coffee production and also improves the living conditions of the growers.  According to Mario Cerruti, “Ultimately, Tierra is about bridging the gap between producers and consumers of food and drink, because the future lies in returning to traditional high standards of quality, taking a long-term view and making sustainable development a reality… Tierra has no presumption of becoming a new sustainable development model, but it is undoubtedly an important experiment. Our goal is to cooperate with the local communities to give them the know-how and technical assistance necessary to improve the product’s quality. This means that small producers can become competitive, marketing their coffee for what it is effectively worth.”

Tierra Peru

Some of the improvements have included new technology to improve quality and the levels of production. For example the Peruvian farms have introduced a new coffee bean processing system which uses solar powered driers – this means that in these remote areas there is no need for fuel and the environment is protected. In addition, farmers have also adopted a new coffee plant pruning process to encourage higher yields and improved quality. Lavazza have underlined a model that should be encouraged in other commodity production being undertaken in similar disadvantaged areas of the world.