Bean There – Cafes – Page 5 – From Coffee With Love

August 30, 2015August 30, 2015

Drinking Coffee in Dubai: The Sum of Us and more….

The Sum of Us

I could easily have done one post on this cafe, which comes from the team behind Tom&Serg (click here for my post on them) because the space and what’s on offer here is quite extensive. Located at the top end of the famous Shaykh Zayed Road (the road lined with all the skyscrapers, The Emirates Towers, et all and famous 5 star hotels), The Sum of Us is just behind the new Sheraton Hotel and easily located at Burj al Salma Centre, 6th Street, Trade Centre. During the cooler months, it would be ideal to sit outside, but we visited a few weeks back, when it was 40C outside and sanely sat inside. It was a bit quiet when we visited as it had just opened a few weeks back but that gave my kids and I the leisure to stroll around and take lots of pics and for me to specifically chat with the staff and head barista, Fiona, from Ukraine, but more recently of Nude Coffee in Soho, London.

First up what’s different ? The Roastery – I strongly believe that in developing markets, the tide rests with the supplier and in this case, the roaster. In developed markets, it’s fine for a busy cafe, pumping out 600 to 1,000 cups of coffee a day to order from a reputable roaster, because the investment financially and time wise is huge. However, when you’re in an economy like the Middle East or Africa, then roasting and selling your own opens up “multiple revenue streams” – the buzz word for spreading your opportunities with just one capital investment. Ok!, enough of my economic baffle, but I speak from experience with escape caffe and just my observation of the huge margins when you roast greens into drinkable coffee. So, in summary, as hinted to Tom and Serg, roasting your own is great. However, not to steal their thunder (a British term), Raw Coffee Roasters, (read my post on them here) the current premium roaster in Dubai, suppliers of Tom and Serg, are also helping the Sum of Us with setting up their roastery. In fact I spotted their van outside the cafe when we were there. It’s very magnanimous of Raw to help what would potentially be a competitor, well done to Kim and her team.

Sharing the space downstairs with the roastery, is their in-house bakery, displaying recently baked goods and famous for their sourdough bread. In addition, there’s a coffee bar with a La Marzocco Strada and some seating and a take away booth.

Upstairs, there’s a lot more seating with an airy feel and some subtle decor and fine touches, open plan kitchen, complete with another brew bar and La Marzocco Linea, naturally.

On offer is coffee, of course, together with small but filling, no frills food, celebrating the eclectic culture of Dubai, which means carefully chosen street food from around the World. For the not so adventurous, there are burgers, and for the hardcore brekkie fans, like me, there’s breakfast served well into the afternoon. I must admit I was tempted to order of the breakfast menu but decided to try the Chicken Katsu Bowl instead, as I’ve never heard of it.

On coffee, first off was the flat white

and after my meal, I asked Fiona to make me an Ethiopian using a Hario V60.

Coffee fix done, I was glad to visit the Sum of Us and look forward to reading more about it in the future and of course visiting it again God willing. Before I leave, I should add that another major difference between tom andsErg and the Sum of Us, is that the latter are also offering dinner. For me that means one thing as a coffee geek; finally a place to get great coffee in the night when in Dubai, yay! Read more about their focus on http://thesumofusdubai.com

Kaffeine Projekt @DubaiMall

So, you’re in the largest shopping mall under one roof in the World and after walking around for hours googling (nothing to do with the internet but the original English word for looking at something) at the World’s top retail brands from Louis Vuitton, Rolex, to Zara, Topshop, Hamleys et al, you need coffee right ? Well, I did mine in reverse, as we traversed the valet parking with Bentleys, Ferraris and more into the main entrance of Dubai Mall, I was already looking for coffee and stumbled at Kaffeine Projekt. After quizzing the barista, Ren, about how long he pulls an espresso shot and I asked him where he was trained, I decided to try their coffee and went for a cappuccino, which I often do, when I want to try both their espresso and milk frothing/pouring skills.

So impressed was I with him, that the next time we visited Dubai Mall before the end of the holiday, I stopped there again and posted pics onto my instagram (fromcoffeewithlove). I’m not sure why they spell project the German way, but there. So, when you visit Dubai Mall, check them out at the main entrance, where al, the posh shops are and right behind the information desk.

Plato’s Cafe @Atlantisthepalm

Ok! I confess, we stayed at a real icon hotel in Dubai, Atlantis the Palm on the Palm Jumeirah. My daily coffee fix consisted of coffee using my aeropress, brought from Balthasar Cafe in Vienna but on one occasion I was really craving espresso based coffee. I decided to take the plunge and visit Plato’s Cafe in the West Wing. After quizzing the barista about how long she pulled an espresso shot, we decided to not agree on her 30 second shot. Next was the milk frothing and pouring interrogation – gee! I’m really a coffee snob – my wife and daughter quickly ran to sit down, rather than be associated with this coffee fanatic.So, I asked her if she could pour a tulip and she said yes and then I took the plunge.

Using illy coffee, like all the restaurants at the Atlantis, the coffee was fine but it satisfied my fix with a carefully poured cappuccino using posh villery and boch crockery – very posh indeed. Ok, so if you do visit or stay at the Atlantis, try the coffee at Platos Cafe in the West Wing.

So, that’s my take on cafes in Dubai, but I have heard that Speciality Batch will be opening a cafe very soon in Dubai, so search out for them if you live in Dubai.

July 19, 2015July 20, 2015

Drinking Coffee in Oxford

So, it’s the holiday season again , yay! Time to explore new cities, experience new food, explore history, learn a new language, soak up another culture and of course check out new cafes. So, if you’re off to England and the most visited city in the World, London, and it gets a bit hectic and hot – then I recommend you pop over to one of the most traditional and historic cities in England, Oxford. Famous for its World Class university and cappuccino brown traditional buildings, Oxford is about a 40 minute train ride or 1.5 hours bus ride away from London, with buses running almost every 15 minutes from Victoria Station, you can easily visit Oxford in a day.

Zappis Bike Cafe

So, after you’ve soaked up the Oxford sites, and want to relax your feet, then it’s time for a great cup of coffee to finish off the experience. Lucky for you, I’ve done some research and I start with the best, just a stone throw away from the bus station, Zappi’s, which is actually located on the first floor of a bike shop with the same name on 28-32 St Michael’s St, Oxford.

It’s not posh looking but the owner (I forgot his name) was very welcoming. He doesn’t confine himself to one roaster and when I visited, he had just got a batch of coffee from Caravan in London, which was eager to try out. He focuses on getting the best from each coffee and wants customers to have a tasteful experience when they visit. They’ve got a la marzocco Linea and I had to get a flat white, see pic above, yummy. There are cakes, sandwiches and some chairs to relax and of course bikes to ogle at.

The Missing Bean

It prides itself as the first independent antipodean cafe in Oxford, so it’s soaked in Oxford independent caffe culture tradition. Located not to far from Zappis, on 14 Turl Street, Oxford, The Missing Bean also roasts their own coffee and have opened a second shop in Oxford city too. Check out their website www.themissingbean.co.uk for more info. As for me, I visited for my milk free espresso experience on the way to catch the bus back to London, a double espresso.

It was a bit quiet and low key but I can imagine this cafe being the “it” spot with students during term time. They’ve got the gadgets and from what I saw of the menu, food and treats to get you by and accompany your caffeine shot.

So, there, two places to have tasteful coffee if and when you visit Oxford.

That’s it from me, as I’m off to Dubai tomorrow, God willing, for sun, relaxation, great hotels, great food and coffee, yes, coffee – see my post on Tom&Serg, who now have a new place, The Sum of Us, which I pray to try when there and of course blog about.

Wherever you go this summer, I wish you a safe journey, an unforgettable pleasant experience, great food and of course great coffee, ciao.

June 21, 2015June 21, 2015

I was @ Kaffeine II

Lucky me, it seems like I just travel the World visiting cafes and sampling good coffees, BUT, it’s really not like that, trust me. It’s just that whenever I get the opportunity to try something out involving the bean and new cafes, then I try and make the effort. So, I’ve got 7 hours in London on a beautiful war spring day in London and if you know my coffee fix programme, that means at least 2 cafes have to be visited in between my other passion, men’s fashion and food. So, my final stop this time, was literally like “saving the best for last”. Just opened in 2015, is the London renowned Kaffeine, who won best cafe in Europe a few years back – see my first post on them here. In any case, after all these years, they’ve now opened another shop, a lot closer to the shopping nirvana of Oxford Street, near the Tottenham Court Road End/Soho on 15 Eastcastle Street to be precise.

The first thing you notice is that it’s bigger than the first one – famous for great coffee, light bites and delicate sweet offerings, the first shop was always jam packed and you literally wanted to get in, drink up and get out, unless it was a Saturday morning – so here we have space, space for books, gadgets and coffee on sale, notably Square Mile Coffee Roasters, whom Kaffeine have been very loyal since their inception). The offerings are the same – deliciously named sandwiches, light bites and sweet treats – I was tempted by the latter… and of course great coffee, prepared with care, but wait for it, there’s more…
I unusually ordered a piccolo (similar to an espresso macchiato but with more milk and latte art). Sat down and went through the recent coffee books by James Hoffman and Anette Moldvaer of Square Mile Coffee Roasters.

Took some pics, ate my sweet treat and drank my coffee, but wait, what’s that in the corner – what kind of espresso machine is that ?

Ever curious, I walked over to the barista and he was so keen that someone came up to him to ask about the machine that he gave me a very quick run down and I must say, I don’t think his colleagues appreciated it (hope he doesn’t get into trouble). In any case I recognised the machine from the Vienna screen showing of “a film about coffee”, the Nuova Simoneli Black Eagle VA388. After some brief reading, the machine was designed in collaboration with James Hoffmann and as stated on the Nuova Simoneli website, it’s the first espresso machine to have;

both “T3” and “Gravimetric” technologies. The first ensures thermal stability, the second always provides the right amount of coffee in the cup. The combination of these two technologies means the barista can ensure a consistently excellent espresso, personalized by enhancing the features and aromas of each type of coffee

The gravimetric one really got me – the ability of the machine to weigh the coffee and extract the right brew weight all in one – Wow! that is really taking it to the future and it comes as no surprise that this espresso machine is the most expensive in the World, as the barista proudly told me.

So, in summary, Kaffeine have upped the game – they’ve got a new site, nearer to more people, bigger than the first, with an expanded menu and the best espresso machine in the World, so why go, I think you have the answer, GO get your self some great coffee and more.

February 8, 2015

Best Coffee Moments of 2014

I just wanted to share with you some of my top coffee moments of 2014 (yeah, I know we are already approaching the mid half of the second month) but this site is about sharing the love.

First up, was my first Chemex experience, which my palate witnessed at Curators Coffee new shop on Margaret Street, just off Regent’s Street, Oxford Circus, London. As I had a bit of time to burn (i.e. I wasn’t in a rush) I decided to try a non-espresso based coffee and have my coffee expertly “curated”, selecting their top coffee to be brewed on the chemex. I wasn’t really expecting anything out of the ordinary as I’ve only really had a few exhilarating experiences when having filter brews outside my home or office. But wow! the flavours of the Kenyan coffee were at one point refreshing then, fruity with a balanced acidity pic at the top of this post. OK, I know the coffee plays a really important part but I think on this time, the brew process was able to extract some really precious delicate flavours, making this one of my key coffee moments of twenty 14.

OK, let’s move to where the coffee was the “star”. Fresh after making coffee for Tom Cruise and team on the set of Mission Impossible 5 in Vienna, Jo Wechlesberger (Vienna School of Coffee) asked me to help her lift a very heavy La Marzocco Strada 2 group into her shop. A few bloodshot marks later, she invited me to taste a very exquisite coffee she had just roasted.

After a very delectable palate experience, I was like “wow!” that was great – wild berries and a fruit bomb in your mouth – what s that ? An Ethiopian Sidamo, scoring over 90 and known as Nekisse N2, mixed heirloom varieties and naturally dried in the sun. Jo’s taste profile was wild strawberries, peaches, passionfruit, rhubarb, creamy with a long lasting clean finish. But it gets better – I was actually on the verge of buying what undoubtedly would be my most expensive coffee at 100 Euros a kilogram – yep, that’s right, instead Jo gave me a 150g bag for free, for helping her and another gentleman lift the espresso machine inside her shop. I was more than ecstatic, even declining the offer, preferring to pay to support the artisan coffee trade, but Jo insisted and I could see my wife in the background, winking just take the gift, so I did. Of course I enjoyed every little bit of this coffee, sharing it on one occasion with a colleague who loves wine and has been schooled how to taste – naturally he was very excited.

I don’t have a picture for this next experience but having a cold brew coffee served in a tall wine glass was another wow experience courtesy of Otto from Balthasar Coffee, Vienna. To emphasise the point, Otto gave me a trial in a typical porcelan cup and most of it in a tall wine glass – again another fruit bomb but with a delicate cocoa and long lasting finish, proving that how you serve it is very important.

January 11, 2015January 12, 2015

First Flat White of 2015 @ the Ampersand Hotel

As a treat to the family to end our two week long holiday in London, I decided to take up an offer of two-for-three at a lovely looking boutique hotel in South Kensington called The Ampersand – in case you are wondering what that means an “ampersand” is the official name for the & sign. So that’s your English lesson for the year. Now to the coffee.

We checked in on the first day of the years, 1 January 2015 – obviously and I was kind of worried that to celebrate the beginning of 2015 I wouldn’t get a decent cup of coffee – others wanted champagne but for me it’s coffee of course, love. So after checking in I noticed a cafe like setting adjacent to the checking in lobby, a nice pretty place for English Tea and cakes, and spotted…. a La Marzocco Linea 2 group machine (ahhh!). I naturally got excited and after quizzing the poor young Australian waitress about if she knew how to make good cup of coffee, I decided to take the plunge – she kind of retorted with “I’m Australian, so I know a good cup of coffee”. I’m not sure if the pressure from moi (coffee snob) was too much but her colleague, a waiter, decided to make the coffee and I could see in the background that he was really taking his time, et voila

Naturally, I was impressed as I won’t be blogging about this experience and I told the waiter afterwards that it was a good flat white and he was really happy. So, first lesson of the year “don’t misjudge people based on your own bad experiences and always give people a chance”.

So, I came to find out that their coffee beans are from a new London coffee roaster group, called “black sheep” and to top it off, the use pure robusta – they are supporting an Indian coffee farm to bring you the best. See here for more info http://www.leavetheherdbehind.com

I had a couple more tasteful experiences which showed me that the waiters/waitresses had been trained properly – very important.

Also, it was a great hotel to stay at, very well located for the museums, near the South Kensington tube station and if you are stuck in this vicinity looking for good cup of coffee and a hearty avocado filled breakfast, pop into the Ampersand on 10 Harrington Road for a quick cup – they also have take away cups if you’re really in a rush.

July 13, 2014

My Fave Cafe in Vienna: Balthasar

It seems that all good things come to those who wait and sometimes they kind of creep up on you. So, one fine sunny day in Vienna, after a fine lunch, I was rushing again and what did I notice, a La Marzocco Strada to my right in a shop – of course I stopped, walked in, saw a friendly guy behind the brew bar and state of the art espresso machine and said “wow! is this a new place…. you’ve got a La Marzocco Strada machine… erm… I’ll be back” And sure I was in 10 minutes and ever since then, several times, taking colleagues, the wife, the daughter, the son and more.

It also helps that Balthasar, is about 15 minutes walk from where I live and about 10 minutes on the underground (in Vienna it’s called the u-bahn) from where I work, so very easy access.

So, what else is there to know about Balthasar apart from the flashy machine.

Well, it’s run by Otto Bayer, a very friendly guy, whose family have been in the catering business for over a century, who gets his coffee from a specialist coffee roaster in Germany, who sources coffee “directly” and often visits the farmers themselves.

On one occasion coffee from the long mile coffee project in Burundi was on offer. In any case, all the gadgets are here, two Mazzer grinders, cold brew system,

Cold Brew - great for a hot day — Cold Brew – great for a hot day

V60 brew bar and semi-retired La Marzocco G3 (Otto trained on it, but as he spends all his time in his cafe, it might as well be in the cafe.

On offer also are cakes, brownies and some savouries, as well as tea and Otto’s other speciality, wine – he loves the relationship between wine and coffee and of course the tasting experience of both.

His customers usually order a coffee and then a glass of wine afterwards. Balthasar has been opened for a few months and is decked out with new age furniture like Kartel and palettes, topped with magazines and low hanging light bulbs.

You can also buy coffee and gadgets like V60, the filters, aeropress and other bits. The good thing is that it’s opened from 7:30am to 7pm everyday except Sundays, so visiting on Saturday are great even Otto though must be exhausted but he really loves his job and his cafe.

The coffee menu is not extensive but to the point like the top end cafes in London – cappuccino, flat white, espresso and cafe latte

and a new way of brewing an Americano – brewed for 45 seconds on 5 bar of pressure.

So, what else, just go visit and you won’t be disappointed.

Balthasar

Praterstrasse 38

Vienna 1020

http://www.balthasar.at

May 1, 2014

The Best Pop-Up.. Caffe Couture @ Stephansplatz, Vienna

Just the other day I was running to the cinema and on looking to my right, I noticed in the window a…

Naturally I got excited – could this be… another cafe in Vienna dedicated to serving great espresso. So I walked in and lo and behold it was Georg Branny, owner of caffe couture and he mentioned that this was a pop-up shop.

A pop-up ? Yeah! in summary, a pop-up shop is a temporary site for a shop or in this case, a caffe, only available for a short period and Caffe Couture have a spot just off Stephansplatz (the St Stephens Cathedral – Vienna’s most famous landmark) in the heart of Vienna on Jasomirgottstrasse until the end of May 2014, so if you’re near, “pop-in” for great espresso style coffee and filter style coffee too.

Fully equipped with not one, but two La Marzocco espresso machines – a refurbished Linea 2 group and a GS3 complimented naturally with some top class grinders.

I don’t have to reiterate again about the dedication of Georg Branny and his commitment to producing great espresso, but nevertheless, you won’t be disappointed if you visit to satisfy your caffeine fix in the centre of Vienna until the end of May, so pop by.

April 13, 2014April 14, 2014

I was @ TomAndSerg, Dubai

It seems the coffee scene is vastly improving in Dubai. It was only about a year ago that I was excited when I visited Dubai and visited RAW Coffee – see my blog here. Now, just a few months later, two guys called Sergio (from Spain) and Tom (from Australia) team up and open up Tom&Serg – a post-modern Aussie style cafe, dedicated to offering artisan prepared coffee using the state of the art La Marzocco La Strada, hearty well prepared food in a no frills atmosphere – exposed brick, blackboard walls, open plan kitchen with noise to create a homely feel.

Most of us visiting from NY, Melbourne and London will instantly feel at home here. For me it is reminiscence of Workshop Coffee (Clerkenwell, London), cum St.Ali (Melbourne). In fact its a style I very much like, because it was not long ago that the it was very difficult to get artisan coffee and well prepared food under one roof. I remember my trips to London, where I had to eat in one place and then trek to find good coffee in another and vice versa, but that’s changing now. So, to Tom and Serg, Dubai and to my freshest post ever, as I just got back from Dubai yesterday (12 April 2014), that’s how excited I am.

I didn’t hesitate upon entering to let the waitress know that I’m here because of the coffee and persisted to let her know that when I owned Escape Caffe, my Magic was made with a triple shot of espresso in a 150ml glass. In any case, that’s what I ordered and then I asked who was in charge of coffee and she directed me to Jamie, who hails from Melbourne and has done a stint of jobs at Melbourne’s finest cafes such as Proud Mary, Auction Rooms, Sensory Lab (St Ali’s sister shop) and Seven Seeds, so in summary, a well-trained barista that knows what he’s talking and drinking about. My wife looked at me and was like “you know you want to, so go and talk to the chief barista”, so, I walked by for a chat to talk all things coffee, blend, taste profile, market preferences, etc. I was glad to know that they get their coffee from RAW, but the blend is made specifically for them under Jamie’s guidance. In summary, it hails from Central and South America with medium acidity, roasted just after second crack (where the oils begin to sip out) – ok, I’m getting a bit geeky here, so I’ll stop. In any case, ti goes well with milk, with chocolatey and caramel overtones with not in your face sweetness.

For me however, what blew my mind was the cold brew, offered to me by Jamie and his description as on point – it’s very unusual in that you need to take several sips to try and pin point the taste and so that’s what I did and I have to confess it wasn’t easy.

All I know is that the first couple of sips sent flavour profiles literally through my whole body. In fact it puzzled me so much that I ignored my lunchand then realising that I hate cold food, had to succumb and indulge in my burger and fries.

I washed my palate with more water and went back to the coffee. After that I took a stroll around the shop, which is fairly big as there’s also an upstairs area, a black board describing the coffee.

a library area and another La Marzocco Strada, supported by another barista from Australia – this time from Brisbane – wow! two under one roof – baristi from Australia and La Marzocco Strada that is. As we literally got there 30 minutes before they close on a Friday – 4:30pm I rushed through the place and tried to take some original pics and on our way out, I met another lady, Michaela, from Melbourne, who used to live in London but never had a chance to try out some of the top cafes there. I reassured her that if she ever visited London again that she would be wowed by the quality of cafes there, who could rival those in Melbourne too, encouraging her that London’s acceleration to the top of the World coffee drinking cities was partly due to the influx of baristi from Melbourne itself – she was happy with that confirmation.

All in all, a great place to visit and from what I read (the owners were in the Esquire Middle East Magazine for their dress sense), there’s more to come from Tom and Serg, perhaps more shops, definitely more publicity and similar concepts. Please try Vienna, Austria, where I live.

For more info, see http://www.tomandserg.com

Open from 8am to 4pm (4:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays)

March 30, 2014

A Flat White, An Espresso and An Espresso Macchiato in London

As some of you know, my real job, working for one of the United Nations (UN) Agencies, gives me the opportunity to visit different parts of the World a few times a year, and usually I’m lucky enough to connect through London, which means a day visiting cafes and shopping. So, just last week (21 April 2014), I was in London again and decided to try a couple of different cafes that I had never been before, so here goes a summary of my experience.

A Flat White

Nominated for the 2013 European Coffee Shop of the year, I had to visit New Row Coffee, located on 24 New Row, London, WC2N 4LA, in the Covent Garden neighbourhood. It was a bit of a trek from nearby Leicester Square underground station, as I was dragging my hand luggage, but it was worth the wait. I was early enough to avoid any queues, gape at the array of delicious cakes on show, but sadly I had just stuffed myself with food at the BA arrival lounge and can’t wait to visit again to taste some of these treats.

Anyway, back to the coffee. Their espresso blend hails from Union Roasted and unlike most of the reputable coffee shops in London, have a darker roast. I ordered a flat white as I hadn’t had an espresso milk based drink for a week.

It had hints of caramel, which turned out to be more pronounced for at least 30 minutes after I left the shop, developing into dark cocoa and toffee syrup, YUM! especially on a brisk Friday morning manouevring through the theatre land of London. So, if you visit London and happen to be in the theatre district and need a great coffee fix before your show and prior to eating out, where most probably they won’t serve great coffee, then check our New Row Coffee.

An Espresso

When you’ve only got a few hours in London to drink coffee and shop (my new past time, but one of my previous career dream was to be a fashion designer for men’s clothes), then you know that you may be pushed for time to sit down and divulge your taste buds in London’s exciting and very diverse culinary delights. So, when I entered Foxcroft and Ginger at 3 Berwick Street, Soho, London W1F 0DR, off Oxford Street in the West End, I initially wanted to have a quick lunch, but looking at my time, just after 2pm, knowing I had to be at Heathrow Airport at 5pm, I decided a delectable lemon syrup cake and of course a double espresso.

It took longer than I expected, almost 10 minutes before my cake and coffee, so I didn’t waste time “being Italian” gulping my cake down (sugar rush to help speed around the shops) and an espresso (because I like coffee). Now back to that “Italian” thing. An espresso – this was probably the best “Italian” style espresso I’ve had, like how they should make espresso in Italian restaurants and why do I say this ? Because, it looked like a typical Italian espresso, using darkly roasted beans but on this occasion, the espresso had the right consistency of crema and had a sumptuous nutty syrup taste, which lasted long after I had left the shop – not bitter at all and a right digestive and pick me up for the afternoon, well done Foxcroft and Ginger. On the location, don’t get intimidated as the shop is located on a busy vegetable and fruit market part of Berwick Street, not far from a few famous restaurants like Polpette (an up and coming Italian restaurant) and famous restauranteur, Alan Yau’s Yauatcha. The good thing is that they are opened until 10pm every night, except Sunday and Monday, so again if you have a great meal in the area and want to finish with a great espresso, visit Foxcroft and Ginger.

An Espresso Macchiato

I was rushing to the airport and thought, I’ve got to make a stop at my favourite coffee shop in West End London, Workshop Coffee, located at 75 Wigmore Street, around the corner from the World famous Selfridges Department Store. I thought, would I prefer to get to the airport 2 hours before departure, as opposed to visiting Workshop, drinking coffee and buying a bag of expertly roasted coffee too – hmm ! well, you guessed – of course coffee won. I was truly rewarded with probably the best espresso macchiato I’ve ever had, wow.

a little heart that packs a punch – silky, syrupy, buttery sweet caramel, toffee macchiato – the milk was just little enough to lift the other elements front he espresso. An of course I got a bag of coffee too.

That was me done for the day. Three great coffees at 3 must-visit coffee shops in London.

March 15, 2014March 15, 2014

Essenti: A Marriage of Good Food and Coffee in Vienna

Essenti, located on one of the famous streets to eat in Vienna, is a London style designed coffee shop, reminiscence of Otto Lenghi with freshly made food served in huge platters and offering frozen yoghurt with fresh fruit toppings and of course coffee. It opened during the latter half of 2013 but already has a regular customer base. Whilst I’ll say they make a decent espresso, it’s probably the ideal place to get a good lunch to compliment an above average espresso. The owner, Marko, is very hospitable and warm and has a keen eye for detail. His shop is small, cosy but homely and welcoming with food prepared like home. There’s a lot of choice for a small place, with about 6 offerings of exotic salads, a daily quiche offering, two main dish specials and sometimes 3, small good-looking cakes and a huge array of nuts and condiments to top your frozen yoghurt, plus a whole list of drinks too.

It’s not often that I eat food that feels like you didn’t eat anything – confused ? Yes! you should be. What I mean is that so often you go out to eat and after you’ve eaten you feel full, a slight indigestion perhaps, bloated and worse, heavy. BUT, when was the last time you ate out and you actually felt nourished – like the food contribute to your well-being ? Think about it – for me, it was the last time I ate at Essenti and for me the first time I felt like that was at Zaika, located at the very prestigious London address of 1 Kensignton High Street, London SW1 – a Michelin Indian/European Fusion Restaurant. But, back to Essenti.

I was treated to a larger than life bowl of beetroot and mint soup, followed by a plate of joyful colours, see below:

All freshly prepared with carrots, rocket (rucola), roasted sweet potato (my favourite), bulgur, decorated with raspberries, pine nuts, pomegranates and more. I finished off with an espresso naturally.

But, if you don’t know me by now – followers of my baking blog www.atastyblog.wordpress.com do, I also love dessert. I didn’t have time for it, but I took it back to my office and shared a bit with my daughter who happened to be passing by – ricotta and quice pastry tart – yummy! with a berry coulis.

OK! now that I got you drooling. You’ve got to check Essenti out – the food is great and for my standards, that’s a lot as I don’t usually use that adjective, ask my colleagues or the wife. I can’t wait to check out the frozen yoghurt when it gets warmer.

Before I go, I’ve got to talk about the coffee. Using a La Marzocco 2 group Linea, with support from Mazzer grinders and coffee from probably the best coffee roaster in Austria, Vienna School of Coffee (I’ve written about them on my blog – plus see my last post) and trained by Jo (of the Vienna School of Coffee), the standard of the preparation is above what you get in Vienna. Marko has two blends – one for pure espresso and one for milk-based espresso drinks. Essenti is getting so popular that MArko now has to double his staff from 2 to 4 and I hope he keeps up the standard with the coffee too, so that it compliments the great food on offer.

Location: Servitengasse 5, 9^th district

Open Mondays to Fridays only – so extended lunch breaks are your best option.

Website: www.essenti.at