For people who dislike kefir, try a Polish kefir.
I came across in an ethnic supermarket in Scunthorpe. A choice of half a dozen. I picked two at random, Romania and Poland. Creamy, acidic. The best tasting I’ve encountered.
Label claims microbes and kefir grains.
I’ve contacted the dairy for more information, but no response.
Tucked down a run down side street in Scunthorpe, where once Moon Coffee House, a vegan coffee shop, now Trattoria Caputo an Italian restaurant.
Pollo funghi, chicken with mushroom sauce with a side dish of roast vegetables. Tasty, generous portion size.
On display a book by Gino. I recommended books by Gennaro Contaldo (mentor to Jamie Oliver).
A two-day weekend coffee festival at Cafe Natura by the side of a beck, middle of nowhere, outside of Scunthorpe.
Lincoln and York brought along a sample roaster, with demonstrations of roasting discussions of roast profile .
Victoria Arduino brought along a single head espresso machine and a Mythos One grinder.
Stokes latte art tutorials using the latest San Remo espresso machine.
A panel discussion. Two guys from Saturday, plus three young ladies from Cafe Natura (hosts) and local coffee roasteries Stokes and Seven Districts.
From where does espresso originate? Italians claim to have invented the espresso machine, though the French may beg to disagree. Steam was used to force hot water through the ground coffee at a pressure of nine bars, ie nine atmospheres. One of these early espresso machines can be found in a coffee shop in Prague, Charles Bridge Museum Café. Until fairly recently, Bar Italia in Soho had an original Gaggia lever operated machine. There is an iconic Victoria Arduino poster, showing a passenger leaning out of a steam train to pick up an espresso. Modern, steam, speed.
What makes a good coffee shop? The clue is in the name. It matters for nought the decour, if not invested in equipment and staff, and buy the best coffee beans.
James Hoffmann, world champion barista co-owner and founder of Square Mile Coffee, makes the point, serving great coffee, excellent customer service and vibe, necessary but not sufficient conditions, also need to be able to run a business. James Hoffmann is known for his passion and knowledge of coffee. He is also a successful entrepreneur.
Too many open a greasy spoon cafe masquerading as a coffee shop. Clueless on coffee, what constitutes good service, no idea how to run a business. Those who drink bad coffee frequent the corporate chains, those who appreciate good coffee will not drink bad coffee. These coffee shops last all of six months, or until the money runs out.
Cappuccino single shot or double shot? Often the coffee shop will ask. Let the barista choose. If too weak you need a double shot, if too strong a single shot.
Correct cup size for a cappuccino? There is only one size, the correct size. Too many coffee shops are using the wrong size cup. The Supersize mentality. And never chocolate on top. Chocolate is used to mask bad coffee. It will ruin a good coffee. The size used by Stokes was the correct size.
Will varying the pressure not change the water temperature? No. Water does not compress. Hence hydraulics. The answer is yes for a gas.
Flat white? Australia and New Zealand claim the credit for a flat white.
Courtesy of Stokes, latte art tutorials, and showcasing the latest San Remo espresso machine.
For latte art follow
For latte art buy and read Coffee Art by Dhan Tamang, UK latte art champion six years running. If in Winchester, visit Kavi Coffee, may if lucky find Dhan Tamang.
Home brewing? Cheap domestic machines are a waste of money, poorly built. If want an espresso, a few thousand pounds on a professional machine, or visit an independent coffee shop serving speciality coffee. Buy beans, never ground, buy from a reputable coffee shop or roastery, never from a corner shop or supermarket, no way loose beans from a zero waste shop. Invest in a good hand grinder, Timemore, Knock, Commandante or a Niche Zero. For accuracy and consistency digital scales are essential, Hario or Timemore. For brewing, V60, Origami, French Press, Aeropress. For espresso without an expensive machine, 9Barista.
To learn more, buy and read How to Make the Best Coffee at Home by James Hoffmann, follow James Hoffmann on YouTube and when not busy chat with your barista.
Coffee: A Global History, on sale at Cafe Natura, has also been serialised as a podcast, A History of Coffee.
Add to your growing coffee library
Subscribe to coffee journals
Arabica v Robusta? Arabica grows in the mountains in the shade of trees. Very vulnerable to climate change. Robusta grows on large commercial plantations. More resilient to climate change. Fails on taste. Cheap coffee fails on taste. Robusta is used to bulk out poor quality coffee. 200 Degrees, Brazilian blend bulked out with Vietnamese Robusta. Dark Sheep serve Robusta (will serve Arabica if asked). In Athens, Dope roasts and serves Robusta.
Certification schemes? The only one worth knowing about is q grade. Look for q grade 85 and higher. Q grade below 80 commodity coffee, served in the corporate chains. Q grade over 80 specialty coffee. Fair Trade pays a tiny premium above the commodity price. Maintains the growers in poverty as no incentive to improve quality. Look for direct trade, higher price paid for quality.
Affogato
Chilled glass, vanilla ice cream, shot of espresso.
Strawberries and cream iced coffee latte
Wimbledon, English strawberries and cream
Blend for the strawberry cream.
In a chilled glass
Top with strawberry cream, garnish with two sliced strawberries.
Dark ground dalgona
Chilled glass, half filled with ice, add milk, add blend of espresso, chocolate, double cream.
A big thank you to the organisers, panelists, participants, Cafe Natura, for the Lincolnshire Coffee Festival 2024.
Don’t forget, support local independent coffee shops where they care about, are passionate about coffee.
A suggestion for Lincolnshire Coffee Festival 2025, invite Redhill Farm to do a hog roast and barbecue.
Nottingham Coffee Festival: Saturday and Sunday 13 & 14 July 2024. Tickets one day £7, weekend £10.
A two-day weekend coffee festival at Cafe Natura by the side of a beck, middle of nowhere, outside of Scunthorpe.
Lincoln and York brought along a sample roaster, with demonstrations of roasting, discussions of roast profile .
Victoria Arduino brought along a single head espresso machine and a Mythos One grinder.
Jonathan Morris author of Coffee: A Global History, book signings and part of the panel discussion.
The panel discussion was a question and answer session.
The price of coffee in a coffee shop is it too high? How much are you prepared to pay?
Quality beans are what you pay for, the equipment, the barista.
In Athens, Warehouse CO2 €8 for an espresso. In Nottingham, Vibe £8 for an espresso. But these prices are for exceptional high-quality beans, that blow your mind away.
For wine, a fiver for a bottle of undrinkable plonk, for a named vineyard, we will be paying a lot more.
We are seeing the same with coffee. All coffee is graded. Above q grade of 80 specialty coffee, below 80 commodity coffee, that goes to the corporate chains, the greasy spoon cafes. The bag will have information on the farm, where grown, how processed, the variety.
Please don’t insult the barista and everyone involved in the coffee chain by running down the street slurping from a takeaway cup. Would you do that with wine unless a wino? Relax and enjoy your coffee in glass or ceramic.
The rarest coffee? The most expensive coffee? Mayfair, I think Mayfair, a cup of coffee costing a couple of hundred pounds. Nothing special, the variety typica, aimed at posers and fools easily parted from their money, people with money to burn.
Geisha was rare and very expensive. It was and still is, but be aware there is geisha and geisha.
Kopi luwak, passed through civet cats. A vile trade in animal cruelty. Civet cats, shy nocturnal creatures, force fed coffee beans, kept in battery cages.
Wush wush, a rare variety few have heard of let alone tried. If wish to try may have in Vibe and Cosmo aka Kigali aka Outpost Coffee in Nottingham. Add to the list Effy and may find Panama Geisha or a geisha.
Unexpected places growing coffee? Gran Canaria.
Importance of water? Very important. Do not use tap water. Three solutions: ask nicely in a coffee shop for filtered water, buy bottled spring water, invest in a Peak water filter. This also applies to water used to make ice for cocktails.
Impact of climate change? Coffee is very vulnerable to climate change.
There was to be latte art throwdown, cocktails, but I had to leave.
Coffee Enzoni
I later relaxed with a Coffee Enzoni.
Muddle ten sable black grapes in a shaking tin, add drinks, shake vigorously with ice, strain into chilled cut crystal rock glass. Garnish with three sable black grapes, dipped in the cocktail, when drank the cocktail, eat the grapes.
Enzoni is a twist on a Negroni. Coffee Enzoni a twist on the Enzoni, created by Dan Fellows, World Champion Coffee in Good Spirits, for the London Coffee Festival.
I have modified slightly. I used Brettos coffee liqueur. If no Muscavada sugar, can make a simple sugar syrup, 1:1 Muscovado sugar to water. Or try Agave syrup.
I used Topaz Blue. Try Japanese Cherry Blossom Gin. This gives a crisper more floral coffee enzoni.
Nottingham Coffee Festival: Saturday and Sunday 13 & 14 July 2024. Tickets one day £7, weekend £10.
Food was tasty, good value, but the lamb kofta was not cooked, red raw inside.
Stand up argument ensued, that lamb kofta was not cooked.
Easy to see why it was not cooked. The charcoal grill was not on. It would not have even been hot before the lamb kofta was put on the grill. Only on the grill for a couple of minutes.
It is easy to see why these places receive 0 and 1 Env Health rating by local councils.
A Cambridge University study found the areas with the food outlets with the unhealthiest menus were North East Linconshire, Luton, and Kingston upon Hull.
Freezing cold sat inside. The norm in Scunthorpe.
Cash only.
Pleasant ambience, knowledgeable barista, let down by terrible coffee.
Placed order at the counter, brought up to the first floor by a waitress. No water (it’s called service).
The flat white served in a cappuccino cup. It did not taste good. Poor quality coffee made worse by fake milk.
Cappuccino. Never seen anything like it. It looked disgusting. A large glass cup (far too large for a cappuccino), filled with what looked like beige-coloured frothy soup. I took one sip, and instantly felt sick, I thought I was going to throw up. The taste was vile.
I returned downstairs, and asked for an espresso.
If you can ask for fake milk in a coffee shop, is it not reasonable to be able to ask for real milk?
I learnt it was Oatly. Watered down porridge with added enzymes. In Sweden, in trouble on many occasions for their false claims.
The cakes looked delicious. I would emphasise looked. I did not want a repeat of the experience with the coffee.
The coffee Extract. Not good. Not bad, but not good. There are far better roasteries to source coffee from.
The menu was uninspiring. Stuffed nachos. C’mon, you can do better than that.
During the week coffee tasting. Maybe they mean coffee cupping or maybe not. Cost £25. Reputable coffee shops run coffee events as a free event. They wish to share knowledge of coffee. To put this fee in context, a cocktail bar hosted a cocktail tasting evening. Half a dozen cocktails, two of each, the rubbish would be served in a bar contrasted with premium ingredients. The cost somewhere around ten or twelve pounds.
The coffee shop was very cold. Everyone huddled in their coats. But this was not restricted to Moon Coffee House. We visited a couple of other places, they too were cold. Scunthorpe very run down. Cost of living crisis, soaring fuel costs. I guess no one can afford heating.
Update: Moon Coffee House CLOSED. Reopened as Trattoria Caputo, an excellent Italian restaurant.
Pleasant sunny afternoon but very cold and damp.
Scunthorpe very run down. The centre overshadowed by massive steelworks.
Coffee at Moon Coffee House. Ambience pleasant, barista knowledgeable, the coffee terrible. One sip of a cappuccino and I felt very sick. Everyone huddled in their coats, coffee in their hands, to keep warm.
Thai massage at a local massage parlour, hidden in a private house.
Bean soup, lamb kofta, rice, naan bread at Shawarma Time. Food was tasty, and cheap, but lamb kofta was not cooked, stand up argument ensued.
A Cambridge University study found the areas with the food outlets with the unhealthiest menus were North East Linconshire, Luton, and Kingston upon Hull.
Caravela, Portuguese bar cum coffee shop, a liqueur with a shot of espresso.
An Italian restaurant, a fleeting visit Saturday evening as passed through Scunthorpe.
A fleeting visit, I did not stay long, popped in for a cocktail.
I sat at the bar and ordered an espresso martini. It was not very good, though I could not work out why. I had no problem with how made they used quality vodka not cheap rubbish as found in bars. Maybe the vodka (not a vodka familiar with), maybe the coffee.
Espresso martini, indeed any cocktail, needs quality ingredients.
The staff pleasant and helpful.
I had a chat with the chefs. They do not use fresh ravioli. I recommended try Nonna Juana Deli in Lincoln.
Pleasant ambience.
In the unlikely event I visit Scunthorpe again (not visited before), and if I have the time, maybe a return visit and try the food.
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