St Martin’s Coffee and Tea
May 9, 2011
Sorry it’s gone quiet, but a couple of so-so meals about which I couldn’t think of much of interest to say and general lack of writing mojo led to me taking a bit of break. But I’ll try and climb back on that pony now. Just hope some of you are still there.
I did get quite excited this weekend when I discovered that, finally, Leicester has acquired something approaching a specialist coffee and tea merchant. I’d been indulging in a favourite dream of mine to open a coffee shop featuring 50 varieties of unusual coffees that people would try whilst discussing politics and listening to my eclectic playlists of Sufjan Stevens, Charles Trenet and John Coltrane. The next day I stumbled across St Martin’s Coffee and Tea when passing through, err, St Martin’s Square. I think it only opened last week and seems closer to my ideal than anywhere else in the city.
Big jars of clearly labelled coffee and teas line the walls, along with coffee making paraphenalia. There’s nice looking cakes too and Leicester-made Helsham chocolates, and the design is all modern clean lines. There appears to be just a couple of seats so I think the plan is to develop a market for high quality beans and leaves to take away. A quick chat with the owner Andy suggested he knows whats he’s on about and he was keen to point out the beans are all roasted locally – well Nottingham anyway – and in the last few days. Whether turnover means they can continue to meet that aspiration I don’t know but at least they want to do the right thing. Beans aren’t cheap but there is a broad range of stuff that I don’t think can be bought elsewhere in the city – blends start from £4.95 for 250g, while current stock also includes Monsooned Malabar, Ethiopian Sidamo and Djimma, Sumatra Mandheling, and Pasajquim from Guatamala. If you’ve got curiousity or just money to burn you can also get Kopi Luwak, the beans that have famously passed though the discriminating digestive systems of civet cats in Indonesia (£25 for 100g).
I’ll be going back soon for a longer look and to try some of the produce. Those interested in knowing more about coffee might want to sign up for a handly little email course run by coffee evanagelist and roaster Stephen Leighton who trades out of Stafford as Hasbean. As well as selling wonderful coffee online and producing videos, blogs and podcasts about his life in the business, he offers Coffee 101, a course providing a daily email for 10 days covering the history of coffee and an introduction to techiques of harvesting, washing, roasting beans and making the drink. Each one is an interesting five minute break with a cup of your own favoured bean. Find out more here: http://www.coffee101.co.uk/ or go to www.hasbean.co.uk .
Life is too short for instant coffee
November 19, 2009
Had a delivery of coffee today. I know some of you have already noted and indeed used the link at the very bottom of this blog to a company called Hasbean. I heartily recommend the unstuffy, no-nonsense approach they have and the customer care is great. Best of all are the beans themselves.
I remember the day I decided I would never again drink instant coffee. Given the pleasure available from freshly roast, freshly ground coffee, to drink Nescafe seemed like a betrayal. I get tremendous satisfaction from opening the sealed pouches of beans from Hasbean, that may have been roasted less than 24 hours before, and breathing in deeply. Another deep inhale awaits when the beans are ground. And then there’s the pleasure of pouring water on the grounds in a cafetiere and seeing the foaming head that appears – almost like the crema on an espresso. You only get this from the freshest of beans, not from stuff that may have been on a supermarket storehouse and shelf for months.
Coffee is every bit as varied, subtle and complex as wine. I’ve tried to capture some of this in these two photos. On the top is Celebes Toraja Kalosi, from Sulawesi in Indonesia. Look at those bad boys – dark, mysterious, glistening with oil. The coffee they make is similarly dark and brooding, earthy like the forest floor. On the botttom is the Costa Rican Finca de Licho, lighter, sweeter, more approachable with almost citric acidity but chocolate notes too. Two very different drinks for different moods, different times of day. Marvellous.