If your recommending them though...you must have some comments. How have you found the coffees, which coffees have you tried....how long have you used them for?
gwilym2 Senior Member Joined: 24 Jan 2008 Posts: 13 Location: east london Expertise: Just starting
Posted Sat Jul 5, 2008, 1:46pm Subject: Re: Roaster with best espresso blend in London?
i have used at least 60kg of their espresso blend. assessment - my customers enjoy it. for me their coffee has renewed my interest in espresso though it is more than just their coffee, their attitude is just what i as looking for.
TimStyles Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2007 Posts: 48 Location: London, UK. Expertise: Professional
Posted Mon Jul 7, 2008, 5:22am Subject: Re: Roaster with best espresso blend in London?
If your recommending them though...you must have some comments. How have you found the coffees, which coffees have you tried....how long have you used them for?
I believe the question was posed as "the best espresso blend in London", and although it's largely forgotten that coffee (like food) is seasonal, the current blend they're offering of El Bosque and Nyamagabe is quite simply far better tasting than anything I've been offered by anyone else. Components will surely change in the future, but knowing the individuals involved in the roastery, I can't imagine that the quality, attention to detail, or passion for quality coffee ever will. Presently I can't bring to mind any other espresso blend I've tried in London over the last 2 years that I'd prefer to either drink or serve.
I'm not going to launch into a negative diatribe on the downfalls of the other major players in espresso, but it's suffice to say that I still have no hesitations in saying that Square Mile Coffee offer the best espresso blend in London.
But let's not split hairs here... the Sq Mile blend certainly is tasty.
DaveUK: It seems that the directors of Sq Mile are holding back on promoting in the public forums due to the forum rules. As far as I know they are just supplying wholesale at the moment, but the best thing to do would be to email them: info@squaremilecoffee.com
Kwoffee Senior Member Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 15 Location: London Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Tue Jul 8, 2008, 1:02am Subject: Re: Roaster with best espresso blend in London?
I'm not going to launch into a negative diatribe on the downfalls of the other major players in espresso, but it's suffice to say that I still have no hesitations in saying that Square Mile Coffee offer the best espresso blend in London.
Pretty sweeping staement when there must be 20 or more guys roasting coffee in London. They all pretty much buy their greens from the same place, including Sq Mile.
A lot of these people have been around for 20 + years so they obviously know there stuff and more importantly they know their consumer.
Having great espresso for a handful of geeks is different to selling to the masses. Ive made crap espresso from crap Lavazza beans and theyd told me they loved the espresso...!
In my experience the way a customer tells a good coffee from a poor one is the how nicely frothed the milk is! Not how the espresso at the bottom of that Latte had lovely sweet, big mouth feel and creamy body.
Posted Tue Jul 8, 2008, 8:41am Subject: Re: Roaster with best espresso blend in London?
Thanks to everyone for the kind words - it is great incentive to keep working to improve what we are doing, and we hope we live up to the hype (or at least get close) when the retail webshop goes live. We'll be looking forward to people's feedback.
If there are 20 roasters in London, we got to about 12 or 13 on our list, then I feel confident that they are not all buying from the same place. We are constantly looking for ways to source new and interesting coffees to share with people, and we are certainly not alone in that. To say that we all buy from the same place does a disservice to people like Union Coffee Roasters and others who work hard to develop longstanding direct relationships. There are at least 5 green coffee merchants based just in London that I can think of, in additions to several on the continent.
As for the consumer - I think they have long been starved of either well made drinks (in general) or high quality coffee, and their reaction to either or both is usually strongly positive. Certainly milk goes a long way, and I think good milk often helps new consumers get into coffee, but my experience working with a huge variety of coffees over the last few years has left me with a great deal of faith in the consumer. I think the quality of the espresso does matter, both in its brewing and its raw materials - though I suppose that is probably a given considering what I am now doing for a living.
TimStyles Senior Member Joined: 6 Jul 2007 Posts: 48 Location: London, UK. Expertise: Professional
Posted Tue Jul 8, 2008, 8:58am Subject: Re: Roaster with best espresso blend in London?
Pretty sweeping staement when there must be 20 or more guys roasting coffee in London. They all pretty much buy their greens from the same place, including Sq Mile.
A lot of these people have been around for 20 + years so they obviously know there stuff and more importantly they know their consumer.
In the last 20 years, would you say that London has had a good or terrible reputation for quality espresso? Had this city been a world leader in producing espresso blends and drinks, you're point there would hold some water, but as it stands, London has largely been the laughing stock of the rest of the coffee world, so I fail to see how someone's longevity in producing a sub-standard product attests to their worthiness.
This is not to say that there is no decent coffee out there, but that wasn't the question.
Yet again, I stand wholeheartedly behind my first answer given - Square Mile Coffee.
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