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Posts containing general information about Brian’s Coffee Spot

The Bitter Trade

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The front cover of "The Bitter Trade", a novel by Piers Alexander, winner of the PEN FactorToday’s Saturday Supplement is something rather different. This week’s theme has been one of new openings: on Monday, we had the new Workshop Coffee in Fitzrovia, while on Thursday, it was the turn of the latest Beany Green on the South Bank. So today I’m continuing this theme with a book launch.

Last week (Thursday, to be precise), I was invited to Prufrock Coffee for the launch of “The Bitter Trade”, a novel by Piers Alexander. Set in the late 17th century, it’s a story of mystery and intrigue that’s largely set in the London coffee shops of the period (hence the interest and why Piers was kind enough to invite me). I had a lovely evening and thought that you, dear readers, might like to find out what I got up to. I’m also indebted to Alex, aka liquidjolt, for bringing me to Piers’ attention in the first place!

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London Coffee Festival 2014: The Kit

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The London Coffee Festival LogoAfter taking last weekend off to catch up with the inaugural Coffee Stops Awards 2014, we’re back at the London Coffee Festival, which took place last month at the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

This year I attended three of the four days; Friday (the industry day) and Saturday and Sunday (public days) and rather than writing about each day, I’m doing a series of themed posts. This is the third in the series and focuses on what I’ve called “the kit”. This probably needs a few words of explanation: by kit, I mean the shiny espresso machines, fancy grinders and cups. This Saturday Supplement is actually Part II, with Part I two weeks ago featuring the cups.

Last year, I spent quite a lot of time looking at shiny espresso machines. However, this year I was rather more circumspect with my drooling and this is post is focused on three specific items, each leaders in their own classes. They are an espresso machine, a fancy filter machine and a hand-grinder.

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Flat Caps Coffee

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One of the cleanest cups of coffee I've ever had, at Flat Caps Coffee, Newcastle.I started this series of articles, taken from my feature in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine, with one established player in Newcastle’s coffee scene (Pumphrey’s Coffee). So it seems appropriate to end it with another, Flat Caps Coffee, run by the ever-affable Joe Meagher, ex-banker turned purveyor of fine coffee.

When Joe left banking to become his own boss, he chose coffee as his natural outlet. Initially considering a coffee cart, he quickly realised that there was no consensus must-visit coffee shop in Newcastle. Spotting a gap in the market, Flat Caps Coffee was born. For a long time Joe was a one-man band, but recently he has taken on what he terms “an apprentice” with the view to being able to take the odd day off without having to close the shop!

Flat Caps Coffee will celebrate its fourth birthday in August, making it something of an established player in Newcastle’s fledging speciality coffee scene. I spent a very happy hour perched on a stool at the counter chatting coffee with Joe (who disappointingly wasn’t wearing his trademark flat cap) pausing only while Joe served his customers.

You can find out what Joe had to say after the gallery (which is from my original visit to Flat Caps Coffee).

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Pink Lane Coffee

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One of the intimate nooks in Pink Lane Coffee, appropriately enough painted pink...I present the third of four Saturday Supplements taken from an extended version of my article in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine It features Pink Lane Coffee, a coffee shop which has taken the same journey as the subject of the previous Saturday Supplement, Ouseburn Coffee Co. (OCC), but in the other direction, branching out into roasting via the Colour Coffee Company. I chatted with founder, Anthony Atkinson (Anth), who runs Pink Lane and the Colour Coffee Company with his wife.

Anth started as an account manager for a large coffee supplier, but as self-confessed coffee geek, Anth wanted the freedom that he wasn’t getting working for a large company. As the rep for the northeast of England, he visited lots of great coffee shops in the region as well as travelling to legends such as Colonna & Small’s in Bath.

It was while travelling around the northeast that he spotted a gap in the market in Newcastle, which, despite boasting Flat Caps Coffee and Pumphrey’s, still didn’t have the sort of coffee shop Anth was seeking. This led to the setting up of Pink Lane, where the focus is on coffee and all its glorious variations in flavour.

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Ouseburn Coffee Co.

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The Ouseburn Coffee Co. logo: the letters OCC above, with 'Ouseburn Coffee Co.' below, separated by a thick horizontal line.I present the second of four Saturday Supplements, drawn from an extended version of my article in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine on the Newcastle coffee scene. Although not specifically written as part of my Meet the Roaster series, it ticks all the boxes, so I have included it as such.

In complete contrast to Pumphrey’s, the subject of my previous article in this series, today it’s the turn of new-kid-on-the-block, Ouseburn Coffee Co. OCC, as it’s known, has been around for less than two years, but has quickly established itself a reputation as a roaster of some of Newcastle’s finest coffee. Based in the sometimes-overlooked Ouseburn valley, just east of the city centre, Al, Simon, Pete and James, the men behind OCC, have created something special. All friends, who grew up in Newcastle, they gigged together in bands in their early years before going their separate ways.  They returned to Newcastle two years ago and got back together, this time to create coffee rather than music.

Each of these Special Saturday Supplements can be read as a stand-alone article or the four can be read together as a coherent whole. The more astute amongst you will notice that in a radical departure from recent practice, this Saturday Supplement has come out on a Saturday! For more details, please see my recent State of the Nation(s) 2014 post.

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Caffeine Magazine Newcastle: Pumphrey’s Coffee

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The Pumphrey's Coffee sign: 'Pumphrey's Coffee Served Here'As promised in my recent State of the Nation(s) 2014 post, I present the first of four Saturday Supplements taken from an extended version of my article in Issue 6 of Caffeine Magazine. This was my feature on the coffee scene in Newcastle, which, since Scott wouldn’t let me fill the entire magazine with one article, had to be cut down somewhat. This left me with lots of interesting things to say, but nowhere to say them.

Until now, that is…

We start, appropriately enough, with where it all began in Newcastle, and that’s Pumphrey’s, a venerable company which can trace its roots all the way back to 1750 when Leigh Smith established the company that was to become Pumphrey’s.

Each of these Special Saturday Supplements can be read as a stand-alone article or the four can be read together as a coherent whole. It also forms part of the Meet the Roaster series, although it wasn’t written specifically a Meet the Roaster. The more astute amongst you will appreciate that I’ve actually published this Saturday Supplement on a Thursday, but that’s just the way it is…

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State of the Nation(s) 2014

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An espresso, in a classic white cup on a white saucer on a tableThis is my second State of the Nation(s) post, coinciding with my annual trip to North America. Readers with long memories may recall that I made a similar trip this time last year, taking in Boston, New York City and Montréal. This year’s itinerary is slightly different, starting in Boston and ending in New York, with a stop in Philadelphia to catch up with Greg Cohen of Coffee Guru App fame (still no Android version, Greg?). And, of course, I’ll be visiting lots of coffee shops along the way.

The purpose of this post is to let you know what will be happening to the Coffee Spot while I’m gone. In an ideal world, I’d be posting regularly about all the fantastic coffee spots I’ll be visiting, but the reality is that I won’t have time. This is, after all, supposed to be a holiday and while I do dearly love the Coffee Spot, I can’t spend all my time blogging or I won’t actually see anything!

However, last year I hardly posted anything while I was gone and I think that the Coffee Spot suffered for it. So, this year I do intend on posting on a regular basis…

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Birthday Coffee Tasting

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The set-up at my Birthday Coffee Tasting at Bar des ArtsI celebrated my birthday last weekend by inviting a group of friends down to the closest thing I have to a local, Guildford’s Bar des Arts, for a coffee tasting. I’d originally been given the idea by Lee Hall of Matthew Algie when he did a similar demo at the Caffé Culture Show. There he put two different coffees through a pour-over filter and a Chemex and I was astounded by how different they tasted.

So, when thinking about how I wanted to celebrate my birthday, I could think of nothing better than surrounding myself with some friends and replicating this experiment. I approached Bradley of Horsham Coffee Roaster, who supplies Bar des Arts, and he provided three very different coffees for us to try. Meanwhile, I brought along my trusty Aeropress (and one of the guests, Richard, brought his down) to go with Bar des Arts pour-over filters and cafetiere.

So, the scene was set for an afternoon of good company, coffee tasting and cake (although, very disappointingly, I seem to have taken exactly no pictures of the cake!).

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Coffee Spot Calendar: Last Chance

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An espresso on one of the tables in the garden at the back of the Boston Tea Party, Park Street, BristolA little while ago, I decided to take the plunge and go into the brave world of Coffee Spot merchandising with a Coffee Spot Calendar for 2014. I have to say that I’ve been overwhelmed with the response: I thought that if I could produce 50 of them and break even I’d be happy. As it was, I printed 100 and, as I write this, I have just seven five four two left  sold out! If you still want one, I might be getting some returns and I can always print some more, so do let me know if you are interested.

If you have somehow managed to miss the calendar so far, it’s professionally-printed, A4 in size, with the week starting on Monday. It’s on extra-glossy 235 g/m2 paper and I have to say that I am really pleased with the quality which far exceeded my expectations. However, you don’t have to take my word for it since fellow-blogger, The Coffeisseur, has written a review of it. Each month features a full-sized picture from one of the Coffee Spots I covered in that month. You can see all the pictures and which Coffee Spots have been featured in the gallery below.

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The 2014 Coffee Spot Calendar

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An espresso on one of the tables in the garden at the back of the Boston Tea Party, Park Street, BristolSo, I’ve decided to take the plunge and go into the brave world of Coffee Spot merchandising with a Coffee Spot calendar for 2014. The idea is to produce a professionally-printed calendar, A4 in size. Each month there will be landscape, A4 picture from one of the Coffee Spots I covered in that month.

Each calendar will cost £12.00, with a flat fee of £1.20 postage and packing (UK only), regardless of how many you order. For non-UK orders, I will provide you with a specific quote for the postage.

Update: it looks as if the calendar will be going ahead! However, I’d still like some more pre-orders please…

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