27 February 2018
Five Days in Austin, Texas: Things To Do, Places To Eat, Drink & Shop
As I noted in my recent post about Austin's speciality coffee scene, I'd never been to Texas before this year and was pleased to have to opportunity to visit the state capital as part of a trip for work.
23 February 2018
Nine Great Places for Specialty Coffee in Austin, Texas
Until this year, I'd visited 16 US states but they are all located on the East or West Coast. I was excited to find out that the conference I attend each February was being held in Austin, Texas, this year. Texas wasn't somewhere I'd really thought about visiting but I had heard great things about Austin — especially the food and live music. I was also pleased to discover a thriving specialty coffee scene, although plotting spots on my Google Map initially made me wonder if I might struggle without a car.
15 February 2018
Book Review: The Monk of Mokha
Dave Eggers’ new book The Monk of Mokha tells the remarkable and inspiring story of Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a Yemeni American in search of a dream — until, after a few false starts, he stumbles down the rabbit hole of speciality coffee. After growing up in San Francisco’s tough Tenderloin neighbourhood, Alkhanshali knows he wants to do something more with his life but doesn’t have a plan. Then one day, a friend tells him to check out the statue of “a Yemeni dude drinking a big cup of coffee” opposite the fancy apartment building where he is working as a doorman. The statue — of a man who “seemed to be some mash-up of Ethiopian and Yemeni" — turns out to be located in the lobby of a building built by the Hills brothers, whose company had a key role in popularising coffee in the United States throughout the 20th century.
Intrigued, Alkhanshali begins to research Yemen’s role in the origins of coffee: the country is home to the first coffee cultivation and organised coffee trade, but its exports have since withered to a negligible level. At the same time, Alkhanshali learns about the intricacies of contemporary speciality coffee production and preparation. His training ground is first the Sunday morning cupping sessions at Blue Bottle’s Oakland headquarters and then Boot Coffee, where he becomes the ever-present, enthusiastic apprentice of Willem Boot.
And soon, the apprentice has a plan: he will create the world’s first Yemeni speciality coffee company, empowering farmers and growers and producing high-quality coffee beans, while maintaining high standards of ethics and transparency. To do this, Alkhanshali must first become a Q grader — a speciality coffee expert qualified to rate and score Arabica coffee — and pass a test of 22 parts, some of which “would seem to the generalist or everyday coffee enthusiast insane”, Eggers notes. And even then, starting a company in Yemen during a civil war was never going to be easy, and along the way, Alkhanshali must evade Saudi bombs, Houthi rebels and other dangers besides. I cannot imagine that anyone has ever gone through as much adversity to attend the annual Specialty Coffee Association conference as Mokhtar did.
Eggers’ narrative is beautifully written and hugely compelling. His description of the history of coffee is fascinating, entertaining and rich with colour, his language wonderfully evocative, from the coffee beans like “piles of red cherries like huge ruby-red beads” to the Ethiopian shepherd Khaldi’s over-caffeinated “jumping, prancing, braying” sheep. But most of all, Eggers conveys Mokhtar’s passion, drive and determination in his quest to make his dream a reality. It’s an inspiring story — one I didn’t want to end — I wanted to spend more time in the company of this incredible man who made his dream into a reality.
Naturally, the first thing I did after finishing the book was to Google Mokhtar’s company, Port of Mokha, and read more about what happened after the events depicted in the book. The coffee isn’t terribly easy to get hold of in the UK, but I hope that the success of The Monk of Mokhtar will make it more accessible. Otherwise, I hope to be able to track it down in the United States sometime. As for Mokhtar Alkhanshali himself, London readers can find him at an event to discuss the book and his story at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, on 5 March. I might well see you there!
Intrigued, Alkhanshali begins to research Yemen’s role in the origins of coffee: the country is home to the first coffee cultivation and organised coffee trade, but its exports have since withered to a negligible level. At the same time, Alkhanshali learns about the intricacies of contemporary speciality coffee production and preparation. His training ground is first the Sunday morning cupping sessions at Blue Bottle’s Oakland headquarters and then Boot Coffee, where he becomes the ever-present, enthusiastic apprentice of Willem Boot.
And soon, the apprentice has a plan: he will create the world’s first Yemeni speciality coffee company, empowering farmers and growers and producing high-quality coffee beans, while maintaining high standards of ethics and transparency. To do this, Alkhanshali must first become a Q grader — a speciality coffee expert qualified to rate and score Arabica coffee — and pass a test of 22 parts, some of which “would seem to the generalist or everyday coffee enthusiast insane”, Eggers notes. And even then, starting a company in Yemen during a civil war was never going to be easy, and along the way, Alkhanshali must evade Saudi bombs, Houthi rebels and other dangers besides. I cannot imagine that anyone has ever gone through as much adversity to attend the annual Specialty Coffee Association conference as Mokhtar did.
Eggers’ narrative is beautifully written and hugely compelling. His description of the history of coffee is fascinating, entertaining and rich with colour, his language wonderfully evocative, from the coffee beans like “piles of red cherries like huge ruby-red beads” to the Ethiopian shepherd Khaldi’s over-caffeinated “jumping, prancing, braying” sheep. But most of all, Eggers conveys Mokhtar’s passion, drive and determination in his quest to make his dream a reality. It’s an inspiring story — one I didn’t want to end — I wanted to spend more time in the company of this incredible man who made his dream into a reality.
Naturally, the first thing I did after finishing the book was to Google Mokhtar’s company, Port of Mokha, and read more about what happened after the events depicted in the book. The coffee isn’t terribly easy to get hold of in the UK, but I hope that the success of The Monk of Mokhtar will make it more accessible. Otherwise, I hope to be able to track it down in the United States sometime. As for Mokhtar Alkhanshali himself, London readers can find him at an event to discuss the book and his story at Foyles, Charing Cross Road, on 5 March. I might well see you there!
12 February 2018
At Melbourne in Lichfield, Coffee, Cruffins and Community
"I didn't know Lichfield until I came to Melbourne," said one of the regular customers at Melbourne in Lichfield on Saturday morning. The coffee is impressive at Melbourne in Lichfield, a small speciality coffee shop tucked away down an alley — laneway in Melbourne lingo — in the titular south Staffordshire town. But it was the sense of community that Melbournite owner Deb Pease has created around her Bolt Court bolt hole that impressed me even more. Even on a cold, rainy winter's morning, regular customers were queuing up outside the kiosk for the coffee, cruffins and conversation, served up in equal measures.
My family comes from the Black Country town of Walsall, and although we used to drive the ten miles northeast to Lichfield quite often when visiting our relatives, it has been several years since my last trip to the small cathedral city. As such, I wasn't expecting to find any speciality coffee and had brought my Aeropress with me on my visit last weekend, but a quick Google search soon brought up Melbourne in Lichfield, which happened to be a two-minute walk from our hotel. Between the five of us in our family, we got through about 15 hot drinks in two days — a sign of how much we liked the place.
Melbourne in Lichfield is located about halfway along an alley that runs from bustling Market Street to the Bird Street car park in Lichfield town centre. The diminutive space is more of a large kiosk than a cafe, but there are a few stools (replete with blankets, as we're not really in Melbourne anymore, Toto) underneath the overhang where you can perch to enjoy your coffee and chat with Deb and the other friendly baristas. There is Melbourne-laneway-inspired graffiti art on the walls, and reusable cups for sale in Melbourne in Lichfield's distinctive black and yellow colours. They have also worked with local businesses to try to encourage people to use reusable cups wherever possible (the Union-branded takeaway cups are also compostable).
The house espresso — and Deb's favourite (it even says so on the hopper) — is Union's Rwandan Maraba, which I enjoyed as a piccolo and as a V60 pourover. The bright, fruity coffee had lovely redcurrant notes that came through both in the espresso-based drink and the filter coffee. It's a really drinkable coffee and I can see why it has proved so popular. V60 and Aeropress aren't technically on the menu, but if you are in the mood for a filter coffee, the team are happy to brew one up for you.
During my visit, the guest espresso was a DR Congo Idjwi Island coffee from Wiltshire-based roasters Girls Who Grind. Described variously by Deb as "fierce AF" and "the boldest coffee I've ever tried," the coffee had particularly delicious marmalade notes when I tasted it as an espresso. It was nice too with milk, although perhaps slightly less fierce.
I don't normally go for non-coffee lattes but Deb made me a shot of their turmeric latte, which surprised me pleasantly with its smooth but spicy, gingery flavours. But if you want a more decadent treat, don't leave without trying one of the cruffins (croissant muffins). The chocolate button and salted caramel one I tried was delicious, and my sister-in-law was a big fan of the lemon curd flavour.
More exciting still, a second, larger Melbourne in Lichfield location will soon be opening on Bird Street. This one will have indoor seating and a brew bar and Deb hopes it will become another community hub. One of the best things about the job, she says, has been surprising local customers with a really good cup of coffee. And better still, the customers want to know why the coffee tastes so different — and so much better — than coffee they have drunk in the past. It's this sense of inclusivity and the complete lack of coffee snob-ism that makes Melbourne in Lichfield such a special place. I can't wait to go back and to visit the brew bar when it opens — I might even try to bring my pony!
Melbourne in Lichfield. 2 Bolt Court, Market Street, Lichfield, WS13 6LA. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram.
UPDATE (April 2018): When I returned to Lichfield for a brief visit in early April, I was able to visit Melbourne in Lichfield's newly opened coffee bar at 32/34 Bird Street, and to say hi to Deb and Andrew. I posted a few pictures on Twitter and Instagram, and hope to be back again soon on our next family visit to Lichfield.
My family comes from the Black Country town of Walsall, and although we used to drive the ten miles northeast to Lichfield quite often when visiting our relatives, it has been several years since my last trip to the small cathedral city. As such, I wasn't expecting to find any speciality coffee and had brought my Aeropress with me on my visit last weekend, but a quick Google search soon brought up Melbourne in Lichfield, which happened to be a two-minute walk from our hotel. Between the five of us in our family, we got through about 15 hot drinks in two days — a sign of how much we liked the place.
Melbourne in Lichfield is located about halfway along an alley that runs from bustling Market Street to the Bird Street car park in Lichfield town centre. The diminutive space is more of a large kiosk than a cafe, but there are a few stools (replete with blankets, as we're not really in Melbourne anymore, Toto) underneath the overhang where you can perch to enjoy your coffee and chat with Deb and the other friendly baristas. There is Melbourne-laneway-inspired graffiti art on the walls, and reusable cups for sale in Melbourne in Lichfield's distinctive black and yellow colours. They have also worked with local businesses to try to encourage people to use reusable cups wherever possible (the Union-branded takeaway cups are also compostable).
The house espresso — and Deb's favourite (it even says so on the hopper) — is Union's Rwandan Maraba, which I enjoyed as a piccolo and as a V60 pourover. The bright, fruity coffee had lovely redcurrant notes that came through both in the espresso-based drink and the filter coffee. It's a really drinkable coffee and I can see why it has proved so popular. V60 and Aeropress aren't technically on the menu, but if you are in the mood for a filter coffee, the team are happy to brew one up for you.
During my visit, the guest espresso was a DR Congo Idjwi Island coffee from Wiltshire-based roasters Girls Who Grind. Described variously by Deb as "fierce AF" and "the boldest coffee I've ever tried," the coffee had particularly delicious marmalade notes when I tasted it as an espresso. It was nice too with milk, although perhaps slightly less fierce.
I don't normally go for non-coffee lattes but Deb made me a shot of their turmeric latte, which surprised me pleasantly with its smooth but spicy, gingery flavours. But if you want a more decadent treat, don't leave without trying one of the cruffins (croissant muffins). The chocolate button and salted caramel one I tried was delicious, and my sister-in-law was a big fan of the lemon curd flavour.
More exciting still, a second, larger Melbourne in Lichfield location will soon be opening on Bird Street. This one will have indoor seating and a brew bar and Deb hopes it will become another community hub. One of the best things about the job, she says, has been surprising local customers with a really good cup of coffee. And better still, the customers want to know why the coffee tastes so different — and so much better — than coffee they have drunk in the past. It's this sense of inclusivity and the complete lack of coffee snob-ism that makes Melbourne in Lichfield such a special place. I can't wait to go back and to visit the brew bar when it opens — I might even try to bring my pony!
Melbourne in Lichfield. 2 Bolt Court, Market Street, Lichfield, WS13 6LA. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram.
UPDATE (April 2018): When I returned to Lichfield for a brief visit in early April, I was able to visit Melbourne in Lichfield's newly opened coffee bar at 32/34 Bird Street, and to say hi to Deb and Andrew. I posted a few pictures on Twitter and Instagram, and hope to be back again soon on our next family visit to Lichfield.
07 February 2018
Coffee Subscription Review: Dog & Hat
Sampling outstanding coffees, discovering new roasters and trying coffee varieties or origins that I might not otherwise have chosen are three of my top criteria when considering a speciality coffee subscription service. With a dapper, doggy sigil and a focus on high-quality, ethically sourced coffee, Dog & Hat Coffee is a multi-roaster speciality coffee subscription service run by the Morgan Family in York. I had heard good things about the company, including from fellow coffee bloggers Bean There at, who reviewed the November box, and my first Dog & Hat box easily met all three criteria.
Su from Dog & Hat kindly offered to send me a complimentary box for review, although I wasn't obliged to post anything, and as always, receiving a review product influences neither my decision to review it nor my opinions of it in any reviews I do write. I received the February box, which included three bags of coffee beans, one roaster for filter, one for espresso, and one that would work equally well for both. And overall, I was very happy both with the service and the coffee — two of the three coffees were truly excellent, and the third allowed me sample some very good coffee from a country still in the early stages of its speciality-coffee journey.
The box arrived towards the end of January. Very few coffee (and other) packages fit through my letterbox at home (and the three-coffee box is unlikely to fit through many people's letterboxes) so I had it delivered to my office. I was impressed, however, with the minimal and completely recyclable packaging — no plastic and no bumf, just the coffee and Dog & Hat's concise but detailed coffee guides.
When you sign up for a Dog & Hat subscription, you can select whether you'd like two bags of (usually) 250g coffee beans per month (£17) or three (£24), and whether you'd prefer espresso-roasted beans, filter-roasted beans or an assortment. Delivery is free within the UK, which makes the service very good value, especially given the quality of the coffee. The coffees also arrived soon after their roast date, which is particularly important for people like me who live alone and who sometimes take a fortnight to get through a bag of beans. My box featured three new-to-me, UK roasters (previous Dog & Hat boxes have featured roasters from other European countries):
I started with the Pharmacie coffee (not just because the packaging coordinated so well with my Acme cup). I ground the coffee in my new Wilfa Svart grinder and brewed a cup using my Kalita Wave dripper. Dog & Hat's coffee guide includes a suggested water:coffee ratio, which was a very helpful starting point. When you've got an outstanding coffee, the specific flavour notes hit you as you stand over your brewing device; in this case, I left my mug in my kitchen and I could smell the apricot and creamy strawberry notes from the hallway. Needless to say, this coffee extracted beautifully, both at home and in my less precise, kettle-free, scales-free office kitchen. What a super coffee! Pharmacie are one of my favourite UK roasters and they have a knack for finding really special coffees, sourced from farms around the world and often showcasing rarer origins.
The honey-processed coffee from the Don Chico cooperative in Costa Rica, was roasted by London-based Long & Short for espresso and although it made a nice enough pourover, it really shone as an espresso. My home espresso brewing lags behind my filter-coffee efforts, but even my inexpert shots tasted very good as espresso with chocolatey and nutty notes shining through. When I made a flat white, my latte art proved more recognisable than usual — another good sign that the coffee was extracting very nicely.
Finally, I turned my attention the Fuyan — not the first speciality coffee from China I've tried, but my sample size is pretty small. Although coffee production in China continues to grow (with China now ranking among the world's top 15 coffee-producing nations), after its introduction in the Yunnan region in the 19th century, speciality-grade coffee hasn't been as common thus far. As such, I was very interested to try this Django coffee from Yunnan. At the heart of the Fuyan cooperative are a group of farmers who are passionate about raising the quality of the coffee that they grow. In this case, the coffee comes from the Catimor varietal, a particularly hardy Arabica varietal. I brewed the coffee through the Kalita Wave, and got various complex, fruity flavours, including raisin and plum, and it has really opened my eyes to a coffee origin to which I hadn't given much consideration until now.
You can sign up for a Dog & Hat subscription here. They are taking orders for the March box — which includes coffees from Hoppenworth & Ploch, Dear Green and Moonroast, as well as a sample from The Girl in the Cafe — until 20 February.
Su from Dog & Hat kindly offered to send me a complimentary box for review, although I wasn't obliged to post anything, and as always, receiving a review product influences neither my decision to review it nor my opinions of it in any reviews I do write. I received the February box, which included three bags of coffee beans, one roaster for filter, one for espresso, and one that would work equally well for both. And overall, I was very happy both with the service and the coffee — two of the three coffees were truly excellent, and the third allowed me sample some very good coffee from a country still in the early stages of its speciality-coffee journey.
The box arrived towards the end of January. Very few coffee (and other) packages fit through my letterbox at home (and the three-coffee box is unlikely to fit through many people's letterboxes) so I had it delivered to my office. I was impressed, however, with the minimal and completely recyclable packaging — no plastic and no bumf, just the coffee and Dog & Hat's concise but detailed coffee guides.
When you sign up for a Dog & Hat subscription, you can select whether you'd like two bags of (usually) 250g coffee beans per month (£17) or three (£24), and whether you'd prefer espresso-roasted beans, filter-roasted beans or an assortment. Delivery is free within the UK, which makes the service very good value, especially given the quality of the coffee. The coffees also arrived soon after their roast date, which is particularly important for people like me who live alone and who sometimes take a fortnight to get through a bag of beans. My box featured three new-to-me, UK roasters (previous Dog & Hat boxes have featured roasters from other European countries):
- La Montana, El Salvador (natural process), from Pharmacie Coffee (Hove, UK)
- Don Chico, Costa Rica (honey process), from Long & Short Coffee (London, UK)
- Fuyan, Yunnan Province, China (washed process), from Django Coffee Co (Southport, UK)
The honey-processed coffee from the Don Chico cooperative in Costa Rica, was roasted by London-based Long & Short for espresso and although it made a nice enough pourover, it really shone as an espresso. My home espresso brewing lags behind my filter-coffee efforts, but even my inexpert shots tasted very good as espresso with chocolatey and nutty notes shining through. When I made a flat white, my latte art proved more recognisable than usual — another good sign that the coffee was extracting very nicely.
Finally, I turned my attention the Fuyan — not the first speciality coffee from China I've tried, but my sample size is pretty small. Although coffee production in China continues to grow (with China now ranking among the world's top 15 coffee-producing nations), after its introduction in the Yunnan region in the 19th century, speciality-grade coffee hasn't been as common thus far. As such, I was very interested to try this Django coffee from Yunnan. At the heart of the Fuyan cooperative are a group of farmers who are passionate about raising the quality of the coffee that they grow. In this case, the coffee comes from the Catimor varietal, a particularly hardy Arabica varietal. I brewed the coffee through the Kalita Wave, and got various complex, fruity flavours, including raisin and plum, and it has really opened my eyes to a coffee origin to which I hadn't given much consideration until now.
You can sign up for a Dog & Hat subscription here. They are taking orders for the March box — which includes coffees from Hoppenworth & Ploch, Dear Green and Moonroast, as well as a sample from The Girl in the Cafe — until 20 February.
02 February 2018
Book Review: The Philosophy of Coffee
What do dancing goats, an Indian Sufi named Baba Budan and a City of London side street called St Michael’s Alley have in common? If you've read The Philosophy of Coffee by Brian Williams (AKA the titular Brian of Brian's Coffee Spot), recently published by the British Library, you should know the answer.
But if you need more of a hint, all three feature in Brian's fact-packed, whistle-stop tour of the history and global ascendancy of coffee as a bean, commodity and beloved beverage. Brian charts the rise of coffee houses and their ever-evolving role in society, shares some fascinating stories — including from his own personal coffee journey — and debunks a few myths and misunderstandings along the way (the oft-cited 'statistic' that coffee is the second most-traded commodity on the planet, for example).
In the journey from the seven coffee seeds of the Indian Sufi Baba Budan to the first, second and third waves of coffee, there are 'penny universities' (see also The Black Penny), petitions against the 'Heathenish Liquor called COFFEE', and more recent disrupters from Starbucks and the Friends coffee house, Central Perk, to speciality coffee companies such as Prufrock and Square Mile.
Although I've been on a coffee journey of my own since the turn of the millennium, I've never studied the history and evolution of coffee. Instead, I've picked up parts of the story along the way but Brian's book offers a wonderful overview, which draws together many of those loose ends. I found the chapters discussing the emergence, spread and culture of the coffee house — and its role as a forum, meeting place and socio-political hub — particularly interesting. I grew up in Oxford where I used to hang out at the Queen's Lane Coffee House, which is reputed to be Europe's oldest continually operating coffee house. My coffee tastes have changed since then but I used to enjoy reading or working there, surrounded by centuries of history, coffee-stimulated discussions and cultural connections.
The Philosophy of Coffee also benefits from some lovely illustrations and photographs from the British Library's archives — I'm a sucker for the adverts of yore, in particular. This isn't a book solely for coffee obsessives, however (although they will, of course, enjoy it): it is a fascinating read and very accessible to non-specialists.
Disclaimer: The Philosophy of Coffee is out now, published by The British Library. I bought my own copy from The British Library shop and although Brian is a friend, all opinions here are my own and, as always, completely honest.
But if you need more of a hint, all three feature in Brian's fact-packed, whistle-stop tour of the history and global ascendancy of coffee as a bean, commodity and beloved beverage. Brian charts the rise of coffee houses and their ever-evolving role in society, shares some fascinating stories — including from his own personal coffee journey — and debunks a few myths and misunderstandings along the way (the oft-cited 'statistic' that coffee is the second most-traded commodity on the planet, for example).
In the journey from the seven coffee seeds of the Indian Sufi Baba Budan to the first, second and third waves of coffee, there are 'penny universities' (see also The Black Penny), petitions against the 'Heathenish Liquor called COFFEE', and more recent disrupters from Starbucks and the Friends coffee house, Central Perk, to speciality coffee companies such as Prufrock and Square Mile.
Although I've been on a coffee journey of my own since the turn of the millennium, I've never studied the history and evolution of coffee. Instead, I've picked up parts of the story along the way but Brian's book offers a wonderful overview, which draws together many of those loose ends. I found the chapters discussing the emergence, spread and culture of the coffee house — and its role as a forum, meeting place and socio-political hub — particularly interesting. I grew up in Oxford where I used to hang out at the Queen's Lane Coffee House, which is reputed to be Europe's oldest continually operating coffee house. My coffee tastes have changed since then but I used to enjoy reading or working there, surrounded by centuries of history, coffee-stimulated discussions and cultural connections.
The Philosophy of Coffee also benefits from some lovely illustrations and photographs from the British Library's archives — I'm a sucker for the adverts of yore, in particular. This isn't a book solely for coffee obsessives, however (although they will, of course, enjoy it): it is a fascinating read and very accessible to non-specialists.
Disclaimer: The Philosophy of Coffee is out now, published by The British Library. I bought my own copy from The British Library shop and although Brian is a friend, all opinions here are my own and, as always, completely honest.