Last week I had the opportunity to be part of an all female collective of designers and makers called “We are the Women” curated by Enmasse London. There were 9 interesting artists whose work ranged from structural textiles, unique acrylic veneer composite furniture, to bespoke knitted interior products and incredible fine art drawings that exhibit as wallpaper and fabric. They were a great bunch of ladies and it was super fun to see their work and get to know them.

However, I didn’t have much time to explore as much as I would have liked because I too had work to do...

The past few weeks have been a flurry of organizing and sorting things out for my pop up cafe at Clerkenwell Design Week. There were a few hiccups early on, but there always are. One being no wifi or signal because the building was a historical bunker deep below the ground. For a social media blogger it was a weird experience - it also explains my strange update blasts. It only became annoying when I was trying to use my phone to communicate - I would notice undelivered texts to order milk from Northiam Dairy late at night (and we all know dairy farmers go to bed very early for early deliveries - sorry John!). But we made it and what an amazing experience it was. I always learn a lot from doing each new project; like what I would or would not do next time or how I could make the event more interesting and fun. Its always so insightful to see how other individuals and businesses operate, behave and handle different situations and it reminds me to look at the same of myself.

I must say, that it was a dream being back behind the the Lamazocco linear PB making coffee and steaming milk from Northiam Dairy. Silky, pillowy, tasty goodness! The difference from my last pop up (I used a Rocket which I also loved) was that I could of course make more coffees but also keep things cleaner and use the hot water function regularly without loosing pressure.Thats a real luxury when doing small pop ups or stands. Its efficiency and design is second to none.

This Pop up Concept:

Last time I wanted to bring you the best and interesting coffees from 8 countries around the world to you so that you didn’t have to travel there to try it ("Around the World in 8 Weeks" at Stone & Crow, Leytonstone). This time, I wanted to design and match food with coffee from some of the best roasters in the UK. To be honest, I wasn't sure how this process would work, but I wanted to give it a go.

Not only did I choose three amazing coffee roasters to match with the food, but I invited a newcomer on the baking scene to join the fun - Two Hands Bakery and she was a hit. Elle Johnston does baking like your grandma but better! She was a gem to work with and her baking was incredible. I felt really proud to have her food at my pop up. Her french Vanilla & Raspberry "Financiers" were a winner with the crowd.

When I first discussed with her the brief, I requested items that were fuss free, visually tempting but absolutely delicious.

We got the selection down to five items. Then from my tasting notes of the food (similar to coffee – texture, smell, strongest flavor components etc) I compared the flavors to categories within the coffee wheel, to see if they fit in any way. Sweet and sugary, Chocolaty, fruity, vegetal, spicy etc. Constantly trying, eating and tasting her divine biscuits and slices was of course a horrible process - as you can imagine!

Separately, I noted what characteristics of coffee I wanted to drink if I were to eat a particular biscuit or slice. I'm quite a textual eater and I wanted a coffee to balance the flavours and experience from the food. The food tasting notes turned out to be more or less opposite notes/categories on the coffee wheel! This made it much easier when discussing with roasters. Squaremile and Modern Standard had coffees that were almost immediately what I was looking for in terms of what I wanted to pair the food with. The Roastery Department roasted me a one off roast which gave me different qualities that I was looking for to contrast with the food.

An example of my thought process for my pairing would be: The Pecan & Rye kiss with a grainy texture and a chocolate ganache to hold it together (rich, smooth and tacky in consistency). It wasn’t overly sweet and there were flecks of salt that also bought the sweetness down. What I thought it needed was a bright, fruity, smooth and clean coffee to go with it.

The Roasters:

Squaremile Coffee Roasters

Squaremile coffee roasters is probably one of the UK’s leading specialty roasters. Not only is it owned and directed by two of the most well known coffee experts in the world they source and operate an incredibly slick roastery. Squaremile director, Anette Moldver is a world cupping champion – so she knows her beans and is often out at origin sourcing the best. There aren’t many female coffee buyers out there, so I’ve always found her fascinating and hugely inspiring (watch out for her on an upcoming TGITC web series episode in a few weeks time). When we spoke about this pop up concept, she was super excited about their new Kenyan Kagumoini Peaberry that they will release soon. It was so awesome I could offer it to people as a PRE-release - the reaction was super positive. If you can get your hands on some, do. It paired beautifully with the Hazelnut brownie and Pecan & Rye kisses. It was perfect – bright, fruity, round and clean with plum and blackberry notes. They roasted a one off espresso roast of the same bean for me too so I could add milk to those who wanted it.

The Roastery Department

This year I’ve gotten to know Dumo, the man behind The Roastery Department and he’s such a great dude. They roast for a few independent cafes and also exclusively for The Department of Coffee and Social Affairs. The Roastery Department have regular cuppings and trainings at their roastery, which has introduced me to some of their incredible beans from quite a wide variety of sources. One, which I’ve been banging on about ever since I tried it is their natural Guatemalan (Atitlan) for filter. They’ve managed to secure the whole next season’s “lot” so I’ll be sure to tell you more about that one soon. If you caught me at the Clerkenwell Design Week, you probably experienced my enthusiasm for this one. Though, the coffee I had on as espresso and with milk was a Costa Rican which was roasted especially for my pop up was just as awesome. It was fuller bodied, rich and chocolatey - people loved it. Super easy to drink and work with. I paired it with the lighter, brighter flavoured foods that had citrus or tart qualities – the Anzac Citron slice and the Raspberry and Vanilla Financiers. I want that now!

Modern Standard Coffee Roasters

Modern Standard Coffee Roasters were a coffee I had seen around and knew must be good because Macintyres Café use it. But it wasn’t until I tried their coffee and met founder and owner Lynsey (and her charming roaster Zsuzsa) did I realise my hunch was correct. Lynsey knows what she’s doing when it comes to coffee, with a rich background in coffee having worked at United Coffee and Falcon (a reputable green bean importer). I also find Lynsey really down to earth and interesting (when I can decipher her thick Scottish accent!). What is really cool is that a certain selection of their coffee will be available at Sainsbury’s from June 12th. This is exciting because it now means that you people at home have more access to better coffee and therefore no excuse not to be able to enjoy good coffee in and out of home! I'm well up for that! At my pop up I had their Guatemalan on as espresso which was well balanced with milk chocolatey notes. A restauranteur Shaun who became a "regular" in the short time I was there commented that this was the best coffee he'd ever tasted! I like to think it was down to my barista skills, but I shan't take all the credit ;) I paired it with the traditional monte carlos with raspberry jam and vanilla butter cream. Delicious!

At my last pop up for filter I did V60's and Aeropress. I always have these with me, but it was a lot more efficient this time to do higher volumes that taste just as good through my Bonavita 8 cup brewer and Baratza Encore grinder I bought with me from home. Having so many top filter coffees on tap was dangerous...

Thank yous:

Thank you all three Coffee Roasters for being awesome to work with and for sourcing and producing such fine beans. Thanks John from Northiam for your patience as this was my first Clerkenwell Design Week - we will meet face to face properly soon I hope! And without Estelle from La Marzocco to help me install the machine and cart everything around, I’d probably still be at home watering my plants or something! maybe not?

Thanks to Helen for helping out with coffees on the machine; Jay for putting up with my decal-demands, and friendly muscles Mario and Thom too for your help and support - I like to be prepared, which means I have a lot of stuff to carry... love ya'll!

Thanks to Clerkenwell Design Week (especially their security staff) and Enmasse London for inviting me down to be part of your collective – you ladies did a great job on the building the exhibition space and showing some wonderful work.

And of course thank you to all that came by to support and join in the fun; It was awesome to see friends and meet talented designers, new coffee lovers and instagram followers face to face for the first time. Loved the chats too. It was a blast. Til' next time!

Peace out. xx

Clerkenwell Design Week 2016!