In the summertime... Iced Coffee!

Iced Latte From Costa

I've never enjoyed iced coffee as much as I have this year. The summer snuck up on us here in the UK, and much as I'm still drinking hot coffee it doesn't always hit the spot in the same way.  I'm being careful to only drink the iced versions of my normal faves though. The fabulous icey frappucino drinks are a bit too calorific for me at the moment!

So, do you do iced?
I've tried the costa version, and the starbucks a few times too. In fact, if you hit starbucks on your way into work at the moment you can get a £2 tall iced drink with your receipt in the afternoon.

Treat Receipt promo from starbucks

This can save you a little bit, especially if you are a regular customer there.

So, my next plan is to attempt an iced latte at home! I'll let you know how I get on.

Pandora's Kitchen, another quaint Norwich coffee shop

I met a friend for coffee today, and in my ever ongoing quest for new places to try I thought I'd give Pandora's Kitchen on London Street a try. It was a gorgeous sunny day here in Norwich so the outside seating was lovely and a great place to catch up with my friend.

I think there may be seating upstairs, I didn't explore too far, and I know they do hire out their space too.

The Coffee
As ever, my weapon of choice was the skinny latte, which was £2.15, pretty reasonable I think. There was only one choice of size, probably equivalent to a medium in one of the chain stores, so good price in comparison.

I'll admit, for me the first taste was a bit strong, I needed to add a little bit of extra milk, but it was a nice flavour, not bitter at all. According to their website the coffee is roasted and packed in nearby Suffolk, I shall have to find out more!


Everything else
The service really was lovely, smiley staff with a warm greeting and they bought the drinks out with milk and sugar. The food looked lovely (sadly not diet friendly! so I didn't partake) and the quaint touches, like bunting and decor made me feel very welcome.

Overall, if I'm that end of the city again I will definitely pop in, maybe I'll have to ask for less shots in my coffee though!

Whittard wishlist.... (warning picture heavy!)

Today's blog is a little daydream through the Whittard of Chelsea website. I love this store and was very sad when the Norwich store closed down. It is by no means the only coffee store in the world, but one I like. This is not a sponsored post!

First up, a grinder to replace my broken one, this time with no pesky 'electric's:

Classic Coffee Grinder - £25

I've always liked these stove top espresso makers, and think this red one is adorable:

3-cup Red Stovetop Espresso Maker - £20

Keeping with the red theme, the classic way to make coffee at home is of course the cafetiere. I have an adorable 3 cup purple one that is going to grace my desk at my new job, but sticking with Whittards, this red one is cute:

3-cup Red Bistro Cafetiere - £12

I think that is enough equipment, let's look at what else they have to offer...

I'm a sucker for flavoured coffee (a whole blog post coming up on those soon) and this cute little gift set of flavoured syrups is lovely:

Flavoured Coffee Syrup Set - £10

And whilst we're looking at gifts, this set of 9 coffees of the world looks like a lovely way of trying some different coffees:

Coffees of the World gift set - £20 

Looking at the china (there is a lot of china!) I love these hand painted mugs in the Florence range, sticking with the red theme again (but available in blue, green and orange too, as well as stripes):

Florence Red Spot Mug - £6

Currently they are running a promotion, where if you spend £35 you can get a free set of raspberry stripe mugs (though the promotions change pretty regularly!)

Current Promotion

And don't forget if you are ordering online you can go through Quidco and get 8% cash back. If you aren't a member of Quidco yet I have a referral link here.

What would you put on your Whittard wish list?

The Window Coffee, a special treat in Norwich

Today I had a rare chance to grab a quick coffee at The Window, a gorgeous, tiny coffee shop in Norwich.  Often described as "The world's smallest coffee shop" (I don't quite know if it is true, but it is tiny!) it really is a wonderful place to go.

Run by Hayley one of the nicest baristas in the world (that is true!) it is such a treat to go there and taste her beautiful coffee, there is even room to sit in, but my meeting today took place in the sun :)

This isn't a review, it is just a small post of joy! If you ever find yourself in Norwich and you love coffee then you should treat yourself to a visit with Hayley!

Starbucks new reusable cup - Only £1

New reusable cup from Starbucks

I got an email from Starbucks last week explaining that they were launching a new reusable cup in time for UK Coffee Week which I talked about last week.  The new cups are only a pound and every time you use it they will give you 25p off your coffee.

For UK coffee week they will also donate 25p to Water charities as well.

Made of plastic instead of the usual cumbersome ceramic, it looks like a Grande paper cup.  It reminds me a little of the keep cup the original reusable cup, the same sort of plastic and weight.  I don't know if the cup is dishwasher safe (and I forgot to ask!) but it doesn't take a huge amount of effort to wash it up.

My big wonder (not worry) is whether I will actually bother to take it out with me in future.  I'd like to think I will, and I know that if I worked in the city I would definitely use it, I thought it was worth a punt anyway. It'll actually save me a little more than 25p a time, as my usual drink is a venti, which is more expensive!

I'll report back on whether I actually use it over the next few weeks, or if it'll just get used at home to make me feel like I'm getting my starbucks fix! Would you make use of a reusable cup?

UK Coffee Week

Next week is UK coffee week and coffee shops around the country are coming together to help raise money for Project Waterfall.

2012

Over 360,000 people participated in UK Coffee Week 2012 by donating 5p to the price of their coffee, hosting a fundraising event or participating in projects such as Coffee@Work. 

Get Involved

There are a whole host of ways to get involved, including adding as little as 5p onto the price of your coffee at participating stores.  All of these chains are involved, as well as local independents, check the list lower down that page for details.

If you work in an office you could even host a Coffee@work event to raise additional funds.

I only heard about this today, but hopefully we can all manage to do something, to help Project Waterfall through the product we love so much!

Strangers Coffee Shop, Norwich

Remember when I wrote about the local barista in the finals of the UK barista championships? Well, as I promised, I went back and visited the coffee shop, taking some notes whilst I was there.

The Coffee Shop
Strangers is a beautiful little cafe, in the heart of Norwich's lanes - kind of on the corner of Pottergate and Lower Goat lane.  I love this area of Norwich and twice now I've managed to snag the window seat to indulge in a little bit of people watching whilst enjoying my latte! The Lanes is full of little indie shops, charity shops and places to eat and drink with very few chain shops and Strangers fits right in.

With 5 tables inside the shop is small but perfectly formed and for warmer days there are some seats outside too. I love the atmosphere in the shop, the staff are friendly, the music is excellent (opinion I know!)

This is the counter - view from my seat by the window

The Coffee

My drink is a latte, usually with skimmed milk (if it is available) and as large as possible! The number of shots are advertised on the board and a large latte comes with 3 shots, costing £2.65.  3 shots is often a bit much for me, so I ask for just 2, and it is perfect.  The staff are happy to do it.

In the mornings, before 10am they offer a regular (assume medium size) latte/cappuccino for £1.50 and my large was only £2.  

According to their website they offer the best latte art in the city, and my beautiful coffee was not a disappointment: 

Pretty leaf in my latte

My coffee was served with a biscuit, those yummy lotus ones, all caramelly and lovely that go so nicely  with coffee so I was able to resist the amazing looking cakes (only just though!) though I did get takeaway sausage rolls and donuts for lunch.

The Verdict

Overall this is the kind of coffee shop that just makes me happy. The prices are reasonable, the atmosphere is welcoming and the coffee is out of this world. I didn't notice any kind of loyalty scheme (I'm a sucker for those!) but it doesn't matter! The coffee is enough to make me want to make it a regular haunt.  I can't wait to get back there!

Remember my friends at "The Fountain"?

Well, they have been featured in the local newspaper in Bedford.
There has been a lot of talk about suspended coffees around various social media sites recently, which is what The Fountain guys have been doing all along.  If you have spare cash, you can buy a coffee for someone less fortunate than yourself.

The general consensus is that it is a good idea, I certainly think so, and I'd love to see more places fully embrace the idea.

Here is a copy of the article:

Norwich Barista is a finalist in the UK Barista championships 2013!

I was very excited to read the news this week that a barista from one of the coffee shops in Norwich, Strangers in Pottergate has reached the final of the UK Barista championships to be held at the London Coffee festival on 27th April.

I've yet to try Strangers, I've walked past it a few times and it looks lovely, so I will give it a go and report back! I've also got a roving guest blogger who will be at the Coffee festival, so watch this space!!

The Fountain, Bedford - A Coffee shop with a difference

I want to tell you about a place I haven't ever actually visited (yet! It is on the agenda for this next month or so and I am soooo excited!!) but I want to share a little bit about what they do....

The Fountain is a cafe/coffee shop in Bedford that doubles up as a youth venue, they describe themselves as "A charity coffee shop and community venue for Bedford" and I've been following them for a while, being friendly with the wife of the director Chris.

In a world where we all need a little bit of help, this charity coffee shop is able to do just that, as well as serving (I'm told) awesome coffee, they are able to provide warm drinks when people can't afford them, a safe and welcoming environment for the young people of Bedford when there isn't a lot else for them to do and the team are there to lend an ear when things get tough.

Of course, they are a charity and are always looking for donations and there are various ways to do this listed on the link.  They set up a text donation process too, so if you are in the UK, and feel you can help them provide a warm drink for someone who needs a bit of help I know they would be incredibly grateful.

I can't wait to go along, and when I do I promise to come back and write a bit more about the coffee itself!