The Caffeine Chronicles: Small White Elephant (CLOSED)

UPDATE (February 2019): Sadly, Small White Elephant has now permanently closed.

I must have walked past Small White Elephant, a petite and pretty cafe on Choumert Road in Peckham, while walking between Rye Lane and Bellenden Road, but had never visited. Then, an Oxford friend liked their Facebook page last week and I decided to stop by last weekend.

Small White Elephant is pretty close to Cafe Viva — so close, in fact, that until I double-checked the address on my phone, I wondered if it was a new incarnation of the latter. There are similarities between the two: super-friendly staff, a cosy, homey ambiance, and local art on the walls. But although I had a very good macchiato at Cafe Viva, Small White Elephant's coffee menu was more my cup of tea.

For a moment, I was tempted to order the Al Pacino (great name!) — a cappuccino with almond milk — but I went with the single-origin V60 pourover instead. Their coffee is from south London roaster, Alchemy, and the coffee du jour was a Colombian variety (possibly this one). I had already eaten lunch, and so brunch was out for me (I will have to go back to try the avo toast and the coconut toast with maple syrup), but I did go for one of the OMG brownies that were sitting temptingly on the counter. Unusually, they were served with a dollop of frosting on top, and sprinklings of cranberry and white chocolate — definitely a good idea, because my brownie was delicious!

The coffee itself, served in a cheerful yellow cup, was also very tasty: smooth, rich and flavoursome. Small White Elephant also serves cold brew, which I will have to bear in mind when the weather warms up a little.

I didn't realise until I got there, but Small White Elephant has just made its debut in the new 2015 edition of the London Coffee Guide, and they have copies of this and the latest issue of Caffeine magazine available inside. This may also explain why it was pretty busy inside: there are only a few small tables anyway, but most of them were occupied for the majority of my visit. But don't let this put you off: if you're in the Peckham area and looking for great coffee and/or brunch, do check out Small White Elephant.

Small White Elephant. 28 Choumert Road, London, SE15 4SE (Tube: Peckham Rye Overground).

If Wishes Were Horses: Dark Horse Review

This time of year is usually a bit of a dry period for new movie releases, and nothing had piqued my interest at the cinema for several weeks, but although I have little interest in horse racing, I rather liked the sound of Louise Osmond's new documentary Dark Horse. The film tells the story of a group of friends from a small former mining village in South Wales, led by the barmaid at the working men's club, Jan Vokes, who start a syndicate and breed a racehorse. Somewhat embarrassingly, everything I know about horse racing, I learned from a misspent youth reading Jilly Cooper novels, but that matters little: Dark Horse is an uplifting human story about a group of people who try to bring a little happiness and excitement to their lives and to follow their dreams.

Breeding a champion racehorse is no mean feat, it turns out, and it isn't cheap either, but Jan — whose previous experience is limited to breeding whippets — manages to recruit enough villagers who pay £10 per week into the syndicate to buy a straggly-looking mare with limited racing success and then find a mediocre stallion with whom to mate it. The resulting foal is a handsome but gangly little creature, which they call Dream Alliance. They send him off to a trainer in Minehead — the trainer initially comes off as rather snobby, comparing Dream to a snotty 'comp' kid showing up at Eton, although later in the film you can see how much he has grown to care about the horse.

At first, Dream seems to have the right attitude to be successful but just isn't very fast. "The attraction was: it couldn't be done, initially," the trainer says. However, soon the horse starts to do rather better in the races he runs, placing highly and winning plenty of money for the syndicate and attracting some media attention, as the stakes grow higher and higher. "He was a working class horse about to take on the best — that was the dream," one of the villagers says. And then an unfortunate incident takes place...

Osmond's documentary is a likeable and surprisingly gripping film that isn't so much about a horse, as about what it means to have hope and to believe in something, and about the friendship and togetherness that develops between the villagers. Jan, the sharp, vivacious lead character (well, along with the horse), and her wry husband Brian are wonderfully entertaining, and the 85-minute runtime passes by in a flash.

The Oxford Caffeine Chronicles: Quarter Horse Coffee

UPDATE (January 2017): Unfortunately, Quarter Horse's Oxford café has now closed,  but you can still visit them in Birmingham. A new bike café, Peloton Espresso, has opened in its place.

The second stop on my most recent Oxford coffee tour was Quarter Horse Coffee on the Cowley Road, a fifteen-minute stroll from the city centre. I had driven past Quarter Horse a few times and noticed the huge blue 'coffee' sign, but didn't add it to my coffee to-do list until the friendly folks at the Keen Bean recommended it.

Quarter Horse roasts its own coffee at its newly opened second location in Birmingham, and several varieties were on offer when I visited the original Oxford cafe on Saturday. It's cosy inside — even on a bright, sunny day — with long wooden tables and exposed-brick walls. I was impressed with the breadth of the coffee menu: as well as the usual espresso drinks, they serve an espresso flight, batch- and hand-brewed filter coffee and a selection of iced coffees, including cold brew.

I selected an Ethiopian Sidamo coffee brewed in an Aeropress (£3.50) and sat down to read and to people-watch. It was pleasing, although not too surprising, to see a constant stream of customers in such a nice cafe, from local DJs to European tourists and students. My coffee was really good with a smooth but refreshing fruity flavour. I hadn't quite reached my caffeine quota for the day, though, so I ordered a cold brew (£2) too. The cold brew had a sweet flavour, but could have been a little stronger.

I also bought a bag of coffee to take home to my parents. I picked a bag of Colombian La Joyeria beans, which my dad and I both tried at home and which we agreed was excellent (it has a rich, chocolatey taste). As I had been staring at the brownies on the counter for the past 20 minutes, I also bought a raspberry brownie (£2.20, but it was so big and rich that I had to share it with my parents. It was super-tasty and the other cakes looked delicious too.

Quarter Horse is well worth the short walk away from the Starbucks- and Nero-dominated city centre. You will be rewarded with a cafe that offers a great selection of really tasty coffee, a relaxed vibe and friendly staff.

Quarter Horse Coffee. 76 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JB. Website. Twitter.

The Oxford Caffeine Chronicles: Joseph Perks & Co

UPDATE (April 2017): Unfortunately, Joseph Perks & Co has now closed.

Last summer, while riding into Oxford on the bus, I spotted a promising-looking venue on St Clement's, which turned out to be a soon-to-open coffee-and-cocktail bar called Joseph Perks & Co. I've been back to Oxford a couple of times since then, but only got the chance to visit J. Perks Esq. on Saturday.

St Clement's is a 15-minute walk from Oxford's historic city centre, but is quite close to the lovely South Park and to the city's main alternative drag, the Cowley Road. It was a gorgeous sunny day on Saturday and I arrived just in time for brunch. A series of brunch-themed cocktails including a 'Bloody Good Bloody Mary' and a bacon-and-egg martini were on offer, but I decided to get stuck into the coffee.

The Perks crew don't currently serve hand-brewed filter coffee, but their espresso-based drinks — made with coffee from Oxfordshire-based roastery Ue — are pretty darn fine. I ordered a macchiato (£2) made with the current Yirghacheffe variety (always a favourite of mine) and took a seat at one of the tables near the very cool day-to-night bar.

The macchiato was very good with a pleasant fruity acidity and just a dash of foam. While I waited for my food to arrive, I chatted to the friendly staff, who told me their bar is named for a famous 1970s bartender who went missing and whose whereabouts is unknown. Joseph Perks & Co is the bar  they like to think he would have opened. And with great coffee, brunch, BBQ food and cocktails, what's not to like?

As for brunch, I stuck to fried eggs on toast (£4), which was good. I would have liked to try to the pulled pork sandwich, but I was going out for dinner and didn't want to ruin my appetite. Another time, perhaps.

Meanwhile, when I was asked if I knew about the current coffee special — a corretto, which is an espresso shot with sambuca — and although I haven't tried it, I did mention a coffee soft drink I tried at Saint Frank in San Francisco in February: the Kaffe Tonic, which involves Fever Tree tonic with an espresso shot poured over the top. It sounds wrong, but is really good and very refreshing.

The game Joseph Perks staff decided to give it a go and although initially dubious, I think they were impressed, so maybe it will join the menu soon. I hope it does!

Joseph Perks & Co. 76 St Clement's, Oxford, OX4 1AH. Website. Twitter.

The NYC Caffeine Chronicles: April 2015 Update

As I was staying in Midtown on my recent trip to New York, I didn't get the chance to visit as many new coffee bars as I had hoped. Near to our hotel — the Shoreham on 55th Street — there are a few options, all of which I've been to before. My favourite is Little Collins, an Aussie import on Lexington, which serves a mean pourover and a damn good breakfast. The Colombian pourover I tried was really good, and although I still haven't tried the avo smash, the PBJ with coconut was very tasty.

I had hoped to go to the 55th Street branch of Gregorys Coffee (the mini-chain that looks like Starbucks but has a brew bar to rival any good independent coffee shop), but they are closed at the weekend, so my other back-ups were the Ninth Street Espresso in the Lombardy Hotel (pictured below) and the Blue Bottle nestled deep in the bowels of the Rockefeller Center, both just a few blocks away.

I also visited new branches of a couple of other favourites — the Upper East Side branch of Joe (the first espresso bar I discovered in Manhattan, way back in 2007), which provided a morale-boosting pourover, a chocolate-chip cookie and a wee bit of respite on a long walk. Meanwhile, in Williamsburg, we happened upon the original branch of of Toby's Estate. The roastery is on the Williamsburg site and on a Saturday brunchtime, the cafe was heaving. We barely found enough room to perch amid the sea of MacBooks. Still, the coffee was worth the wait: my Bolivian Amor De Dios pourover was great, and it was fun to people-watch in the buzzing cafe.

Chicago-based coffee roastery Intelligentsia has had a location in the High Line Hotel for a while, but they've opened a second New York branch in the unlikeliest of locations: inside the Urban Outfitters on Herald Square. You step outside the chaos of Macy's shoppers and tourists on 35th Street into a calm, chilled-out place to refresh and recaffeinate. The coffee bar wasn't too busy when I stopped by, but the stools that overlook the store do seem to attract lingerers so you may need to wait a while to get a seat.

I tried a Zirikana coffee from Rwanda ($4.50), which was quite fruity, and just what I wanted on a sunny afternoon. As well as espresso-based drinks from the shiny new La Marzocco, Intelligentsia serves a big selection of teas, cold brew coffee and something intriguing called a Sugar Glider — an espresso drink served with sugar, mandarin orange and maple syrup — which I noticed too late. If you are in the relative coffee desert of Herald Square, definitely stop by Intelligentsia (or Culture Espresso, perhaps).

Finally, for something completely different, I went to Hi-Collar, a Japanese coffee bar in the East Village. There are only ten or so seats at the shiny, brass bar in the zen-like cafe, and I had to wait a while to get a seat (I had obviously arrived during the afternoon-cake-time rush). While I waited, I perused the extensive menu. You choose your brew method — they offer pourover, Aeropress and siphon techniques — and then you pick your beans from a long list, including some single-origins.

As I rarely get to drink siphon-brewed coffee and as it seemed in keeping with the elegant surroundings, I went for the Misty Valley beans from 1000 Faces, brewed with a siphon ($6.80 — prices vary depending on your bean and method). While I waited for my coffee to drip, I tried to brush up on my rusty Japanese — I think it needs more work. The coffee was great, and although Hi-Collar isn't the place to go if you're in need of a swift caffeine hit, it is a beautiful shrine to the preparation of excellent coffee and certainly half a world away from most of the other coffee bars in the city.

Ninth Street Espresso. 109 East 56th Street nr Park (Midtown East). Website. Twitter. Other locations.
Gregorys Coffee. 551 Madison Avenue nr 55th St (enter on 55th St; Midtown East). Website. Twitter. Other locations.
Blue Bottle Coffee. 1 Rockefeller Center Concourse Level, Suite D (Midtown). Website. Twitter. Other locations.
Toby's Estate. 125 North 6th nr Berry (Williamsburg). Website. Twitter. Other locations.
Intelligentsia. 1333 Broadway nr 35th Street (Herald Square). Website. Twitter. Other locations.
Hi-Collar. 214 East 10th St bet 1st & 2nd Ave (East Village). Website.

Easter on the East Side

This morning, I was able to complete my usual Central Park run without too many kilt-clad runners getting in the way. It was a beautiful, sunny morning — crisp and clear — and I even had an iced coffee from Ninth Street Espresso on my way back to the hotel.

My shopping plans were curtailed by various Easter Sunday closures yesterday, so instead we wandered up Museum Mile to the very east of the Upper East Side. First, though, we stopped to peek at the bonnets, bunny ears and other festivities in the Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue.

We wanted to visit the Frick Collection, my favourite New York museum, but it is pay-what-you-wish there on Sundays from 11-1, so there was a big queue. Instead, we headed for the Guggenheim, which I haven't visited in over a decade. There was a fun postcard exhibition, and I also enjoyed a collection of geometric prints and mirrored designs, but the building itself is one of the main reasons to visit the Guggenheim.

My mum wanted to stop by Carl Schurz Park by the East River around 85th Street, and we all enjoyed a bit of dog-watching at the puppy park.

It was, however, a bit of a long yomp to get back to the closest decent cup of coffee — the Upper East Side branch of Joe on Lexington near 75th Street. Recharged by a chocolate chip cookie and a Colombian pourover, I mustered the energy to hike back across Central Park to the more familiar territory of the Upper West Side. Many of the shops were closed, but happily, Shake Shack was open, and I finally had my first burger of the trip — the ever-excellent Shack Burger — and a peanut butter shake.

The sun seemed to disappear along with the Easter bunnies, but you don't need sunshine to have fun in Manhattan. We took a cab down to the West Village for a wander and a browse in the — open! — Three Lives & Co, an excellent independent book store, and then went for a pre-dinner cocktail at the gin den known as Madam Geneva (a sister bar to Saxon & Parole, which is next door), near the Bowery. We only had time for one drink, so I went for the Bleecker Fix, which involved Aviation gin, St Germain, lime, chilli and cucumber and which was refreshing and delicious.

For dinner, we only needed to dash across the Bowery to the Bowery Meat Company on East 1st Street. They serve steaks but they aren't a steakhouse. We had a lovely time! The food and service were both great. I started with a cauliflower steak — mainly because it sounded so interesting — and it was really good: char-grilled with almonds and raisins. After a cheeky oyster and a borrowed king prawn, it was time for the main courses: I had the burger, which came with raclette and fried onions, and a huge bowl of salt and pepper fries. I also tried a bite of the côte de bœuf, and everything was delicious. I didn't have room for pudding, but managed to share the PB & J: peanut butter mousse with peanut brittle and strawberry jam. Oh yes, we will be back!

The Empire State Building was all lit up in pretty pastel shades for Easter, so when we got back to the hotel, I took a little stroll down Fifth Avenue to take some photos. Despite the lack of shopping, it was a pretty good Easter Sunday.