Saturday cuppings, home brewing, home espresso
Cuppings and courses
A cupping every Saturday at ten, six coffees on the table, £15 with a bag to take home; a two-hour home brewing course for filter and cafetière; and a home espresso course for people who have bought a machine and are fighting it.
Cupping is how we decide what to buy and how to roast it. It is also the quickest way to learn what you actually like, which is usually not what you thought.
Saturday at ten, before the café fills: six coffees ground into bowls, hot water, four minutes, the crust broken, and everyone slurps off a spoon and says what they taste. Nobody is wrong. By the third bowl most people can tell a washed Ethiopian from a natural Brazilian, and by the end they have found the one they want to take home, which is in the price.
The home brewing course covers cafetière, pour-over and AeroPress: the grind, the water, the ratio, the timing, and why your coffee at home is bitter (it is the grind). The home espresso course is for the people who have spent £500 on a machine and are getting sour shots: dialling in, milk texturing, cleaning, and the one adjustment that fixes most of it. Both run monthly; dates and booking are on the events board and the beans page.
The short version
- Cupping every Saturday at ten, £15 with a bag
- Home brewing course, two hours, £45
- Home espresso course, two hours, £65
- Six people maximum, four for espresso
- Bring your own brewer or machine
- Vouchers available for all three
Prices and when
Saturday cupping £15 including a 250g bag. Home brewing course £45, two hours, six people. Home espresso course £65, two hours, four people, bring your own machine if you can carry it. Prices include VAT where it applies. The full café menu is on the menu page, the shelf on the beans page, and the wholesale price list on the wholesale page.
Questions about cuppings
I know nothing about coffee. Is the cupping for me?
Especially for you. The whole point is that tasting is easier than reading about it, and the people who come in knowing nothing usually enjoy it most. Ten o'clock, Saturday, no booking needed unless it is a group.
Come in, or have it delivered.
Open from half seven on weekdays, roasting in the window on Tuesdays, cupping on Saturdays at ten. Beans by the bag in the café or on a fortnightly subscription; wholesale from £24 a kilo with the price list online.