Food on Friday: See you on Espresso Street

Today on Food on Fridays we talk about coffee we had on the trip,  in honor of the fact that this past Monday, September 29, was International Coffee Day. Well, at least it was in England and a handful of other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, but not in France or Germany.  But that’s OK, since by far the best coffee we had our on recent trip was in England, at a cafe we dubbed “Espresso Street”.

Now the real name of the cafe is “Store Street Cafe”, as it is named for the street it is on. But their claim to fame is having specially roasted espresso, and so Chris and I took to calling it “Espresso Street Cafe”, since Store Street has several other cafes on it, none of which we liked nearly as much. The espresso at “Espresso Street” was actually very good, some of the best we’ve had outside of Italy that wasn’t made by Italians (there’s a good cafe in Berlin we found in March, run by an Italian ex-pat living in Berlin.)

Anyway, fancy coffee shops seems to have really taken hold in London; there were several new cafes that have popped up in the last 6 months alone in the neighborhood we usually visit.

Of the new places, we initially thought we were going to like a new  cafe with an Italian name that had opened up. We tried it a couple of times, but it turned out to have rather mediocre espresso, although it did offer some of the most interesting variations on espresso drinks that we encountered.  I don’t think I’ve ever had an ice-coffee from a Pilsner Glass before, for example, nor come across a mini-cappuccino:

Iced Latte drink, London

Iced Latte drink, London

Mini cappucino drink, London

Mini cappuccino drink, London

But the best tasting coffee, and the best cafe experience, was at “Espresso Street”. Interestingly, I never did take a photo of the coffee at Espresso Street, perhaps because there wasn’t anything odd about it, it was just good to drink.  Chris was able to get a good regular espresso there each day; one day, he described the blend of the day as  “fruity” in flavor.

I tended to order what they called a “piccolo”, which is a shot of espresso with some heated milk in it. In Germany and Spain, and at other cafes in London, the same drink is called a “cortado”. It’s also the coffee drink that Chris and I prefer to order (when we can find it) in Tübingen.  As I’ve previously mentioned, we haven’t yet managed to develop a taste for the German Milchkaffee drinks, which are IMHO merely hot milk drinks combined with a little bit of weak coffee.

Anyway, I found out about International Coffee day from the article in a British paper  about the “new” espresso drinks in London the you can read by clicking here. In addition to the health benefits of coffee, they also have a fun slide show of graphics that explains who drinks what when it comes to espresso-based beverages. According to them, as a blogger, I should be drinking a Flat White, an item I saw on menus but never ordered.

But that’s OK — as cortado-drinkers, Chris and I are at least considered trend-setters. Nothing wrong with that. 😉

 

 


Comments

Food on Friday: See you on Espresso Street — 3 Comments

  1. Very sensuous photos! And thanks for the latest info, which helps your loyal readers feel we’re up to date with trends, if not quite trendsetters like yourselves.

    How has this coffee trend affected that most civilized of British drinks, tea?

    Here in the U.S. we’re preparing for October 6, National Noodle Day, something you probably don’t have in Germany, where every day is noodle day.

  2. Thanks, Will. Re the coffee trend vs British tea in London, that is a good question. Some time of research is probably needed here…we will need to look into a funding source for all the coffee shops we’ll need to visit for the surveys…
    Have fun on National Noodle Day, if that’s what it is tomorrow where you are. Here in Schwabia, we don’t see noodles very often, just some Spätzle. And lots and lots of potatoes. 😉

  3. Pingback: Wednesday Dispatch: London | Two together … wherever

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