I set off to the London Coffee Festival with slightly reluctant feet – unsure of what to expect and how I was going to cope drinking all those coffees!
Guess what? I skipped home high on the buzz and vibe from the coffee world …. actually I fell asleep on the train!!
It was a fantastic opportunity to see a wealth of coffee related products and meet enthusiastic people who love what they do. I need not have fretted, all of my extracurricular interests were covered – plants, craft, cooking and a little bit of trivia – thanks to
www.grumpymule.co.uk
Mr Duffin and I did have a “Work agenda” – certain items had to be sourced for our customers; Tea – we liked fellow Northerners www.brewteacompany.co.uk and Hot Chocolate www.Kokoacollection.co.uk and www.Cocoarunners.com. But in between we were free to sample all the wares on show.
I actually began the day with a Japanese Green Tea from www.Ochaandco.com, it was rich green in colour with full flavour, quite different from previous China Green Tea experiences.
My stomach was now prepared for the onslaught of caffeine – we managed to share 16 espressos between us during the day. Some from our favourite, familiar and experienced roasters where it’s good to chat and exchange views. Mr Duffin likes to check that he is ‘Roasting Right’ and knows what he’s aiming for.
Whilst chatting with Henrik at www.Climpsonandsons.com my eyes were drawn to the Coffee plants that adorned the stand. I was hoping that Henrik would be a fellow green fingered enthusiast who could give me a few tips on successful coffee plant rearing ……but alas he confessed that this was the ‘2nd lot’ of plants that had been bought ….after the “1st Lot had sadly died. I felt rather smug about my success in ‘Kew Bathrooms’ – see earlier post in The Chatterbox.
Mr Duffin was drawn to www.AltWien.at an Austrian roaster based in Vienna. The incentive being that his brother has a hotel www.Chesa-Lavadina.at in the Austrian ski resort of Stuben Am Alberg. I noticed that their roaster was wearing a flat cap made from an up-cycled coffee sack …. that’s one for my ‘to do’ list. I also noticed they had a Sumatran 100% Robusta…..so just for the hell of it I had to try this black sheep of the coffee world ….mmmmmmmm to be honest not as bad as I was expecting but certainly couldn’t manage a full cup…..not without 6 sugars and full fat milk!!
By now my mouth and stomach needed refreshing – thank goodness for www.Karmacola.co.uk and their ‘drink no evil’ range of soft drinks. Also picked up a couple of pressies for the kids.
The queues for food were just way too long, sooooo we took the opportunity to nip outside and walk down Brick Lane and into ‘Dosa World’ for a quick Indian snack – I know it’s not coffee related or a super raw food but it was veggie and utterly delicious!
After that all I needed was a ‘Chai Latte’ and there were plenty to choose from, each one with it’s own little twist…www.pranachai.com
Our stomachs suitably lined it was time to hit the hard stuff – Mr Blacks Cold Press Coffee liqueur, wow weeeeee I loved it, great product, great brand good luck with that one guys www.mrblack.co.uk
And in keeping with the theme of coffee grounds as seen in latest post in The Chatterbox – imagine my delight when I came across some coffee cups made with used coffee grounds, have a look for yourself www.kaffeeform.com
I could go on there was so much more on offer: Baileys, Flowers, Juice, Clothing, Music, Skin Care Products, Music, Beers, Aprons, Art, Trendy Accessories and a cocktail or two – I will just have to go back again next year. Well done to Allegra Events for putting on such a fantastic display.
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