Well, it’s all about consistency again.
Sometimes you get so involved in something and you forget why or you always buy a particular product that you forget what drove you to adopt a particular habit or to buy the same type of product over and over again. I come across this occasionally when for example in order to satisfy my coffee fix, I stop over at a cafe, even sizing the place out for equipment and checking out the baristas tamping skills, only and sadly, more often than not, to be disappointed. Then I think why did I do that ? So, I become a creature of habit – visiting the same cafes (i.e. Workshop Coffee in Marylebone) and ordering the same type of drinks (milk based espresso or filter if I have lots of time to spare) or in this case buying the same type of coffees. (term, square mile coffee roasters) Why ? Well, in a nutshell, I don’t want to be disappointed – I’m not a cafe. If I order coffee, I can only spare 18g of wastage for espresso from a 350g bag. If I order online, I can’t take it back and say “what’s this rubbish eh?”. So, I prefer to stick to what I know. I confess that occasionally, my adventurous side takes hold of me and so I try new things (see previous posts on blacktop coffee) which pays off when it works to your delight. But, of course, when my palate has become accustomed to a particular level of standard – a standard that feels betrayed when experimentation goes horribly wrong, then I think “why did I do that ?”.
But, there’s more.
When you get used to some type of standard and you let people enter that realm, then you also get awakened to how privileged you are. Like when I introduce colleagues and friends to drinking speciality coffee brewed especially using the Hario V60 – then they’re like “wow! I was very sceptical” “oh! this is the first coffee I’ve drank and I don’t need sugar” or like when I had a cafe in Cape Town “this is the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life” – but usually it all comes down to a very few variables – the coffee, the way it was sourced, roasted and brewed and to sum up, “consistently cared for”. Looking after the bean “from coffee with love”.
So, in summary you don’t know how privileged you are until you try something new and it tastes bad or you let people taste what you take for granted and they’re like, “wow!”.
Let’s focus on the bean, the way it was cared for.
I could give you a bio on square mile coffee roasters, the birth of a collaboration between 2 world barista champions (James Hoffmann in 2007 and Stephen Morrissey) and a top roaster, Anette Moldvaer, but read my first post on them here in 2009 for more info. Back then, only one cafe (Flat White on Berwick Street, used their coffee) and they sold most of their coffees on line, thank God, as I was living in Vienna, as I still do now.
Since then they’ve expanded naturally, providing coffee to countless cafes in London and beyond and their online presence has grown. They have a large customer base because they are consistent – you know that if you get their espresso blend and other specialty single origin coffees for filter that you’re getting something good that you can rely on and I’m proud to say that I’m also a victim of their success and their consistency. Sure their taste profile has changed a bit, earlier it was buttery toffee (I must confess I miss that) and now it’s a bit more diverse but their passion for sourcing the best remains.
So, in a nutshell, when I want to order coffee online then I safely order Square Mile Coffee, because I know that I’m not going to be disappointed that if I set my espresso grinder to the point where I get an extraction of 25ml in 22-25 seconds, it’s going to taste nice, that if I brew it using a hario V60 or aeropress then I’m going to get a pleasant taste on my tongue.
Before I go, I should nevertheless mention another fave coffee roaster of mine, when it comes to single origin filter type coffees and that’s Workshop Coffee, see here, which have now started shipping to Europe, so expect a post very soon God willing on them. Usually when I’m in London, even for a few hours, I stop over to buy coffee from their shop in Marylebone, by St Christopher’s Place, just off Oxford Street, near Selfridges and Bond Street Tube Station.
When you find something/someone good, hold on to them and don’t take it for granted – some coffee wisdom to sign off on, ciao.
From Coffee With Love 
