Coffee, Bikes, Photo's and Sports Science: A Day Trip to Liverpool

Coffee First Thing

I was excited this morning as I had a new bag of single estate Nicaragua Finca Los Miligros beans to try! They were only roasted a few days ago so I may well have been better off waiting another few but it was all I had!

Having a day away from the office was great as I could relax and pay attention to every detail, letting my Pavoni get up to temperature, measuring exactly 16g, tamping evenly.... My first pull of the lever felt good straight away; just the right resistance. Wow....I could see the crema building up only as it does with young beans; slightly too light with not quite enough tigering but spot on 30ml.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating though, or drinking in this case. I think Steve at Has Bean's taste buds are similar to mine. I wrote down buttery caramel before I looked at his description but his of butterscotch is possibly more succinct. I also tasted supermarket plums, you know... the ones that never quite get ripe enough, sweet(ish) and a nice balance of acidity. My 2nd , as always with the Pavoni, was at a higher temperature....I had tamped a little harder and added a few more degrees of fineness on my grinder to little effect. There was a real tobacco after taste which I quite liked though.

Overall, I love this bean! For some reason I prefer single estate to blends for my espresso and I think I have found the perfect one to keep me happy for a few months.

To Liverpool

I always enjoy a day trip to Liverpool, especially Tate Modern. Today had added incentive as I was dying to try out Bold Street Coffee and their new pop up shop in Duke Street. Wayne at NTP had recommended them and I'd seen good reviews. I had also joined their Facebook page and bike club and was feeling a bit of a fraud having never been.

As ever, Liverpool was freezing and grey but at least it was dry. I had my camera and was determined to keep it in manual all day which I did. This couple were interesting so I took a quick snap.

27 Duke Street

As it was freezing I was dying on a coffee to warm me up so headed off to Duke Street first. Ohhh No! It was empty but I wasn't going to let that stop me. They had 3 El Salvador coffee's on V60 but I chose the San Rafael Bourbon. By the time it was served another few people had come in so it felt more comfortable.

The coffee was of a very high standard but maybe not my favourite style. It was rich and nutty....getting sweeter as the temperature went down and with quite low acidity. I do prefer lighter, fruitier and more acidic coffee so its no reflection on the barista's skill that it wasn't my fav. I chatted away for a wee bit with the Barista who runs transition espresso; she was really nice and we talked about various coffees and cafe's in London and Edinburgh. They also has Aeropress coffee makers and Porlex ceramic grinders for sale which were very tempting but I'm hoping one or the other may fall down my chimney in a few weeks so I resisted. Overall, I really liked this cafe and would certainly go back.

I'm All Shook Up!!!

Tate Modern

Off then to Albert Dock and Tate Modern. Did Elvis the Pelvis once go to Liverpool? I played about trying to get a nice pic of the statue in the docks and the one on the right is about my best one. My fingers where white with cold at this stage.

The Christmas Alice in Wonderland exhibition looked good, that was until I was thrown out for not buying a ticket. I wandered round for a bit and decided that I must do a photo project to copy the style of the Gillian Wearing prints that I really love. I played around with taking pics of the sculpture below that was in the Philip Treacy exhibition; this is one of the best but I've used another one for my blip. I think this looks nicer than the one in the catalogue too!!

Don Brown : Yoko VIII

Bold Street Coffee
I was excited about coming here as it's already built the reputation of serving the best coffee in Liverpool. It was really busy when I got there and I just managed to get a seat.

I ordered a the Sumatran Takengon Gayon fully washed V60 as it was too late in the day for an espresso and they didn't have the Ethiopia Shakiso that I fancied. Again, it wasn't quite to my taste but it would make a great Christmas coffee with the deep tobacco and spice taste. I love what Steve does at Has Bean but just cant't help preferring Square Mile. Maybe because it's double the price and I've not discovered my fav Has Bean coffee yet.

I can't fault a cafe with a bike on the wall though and the carrot cake was excellent. It was just a wee bit busy to be a relaxed experience so when I visit again it won't be at peak time on a Friday.

The Walk to the Station
On the way back to Lime Street I wandered into this strange place full of weirdo shops. I took a picture of this old boy in a ganja pipe shop. He just kept on reading his paper. As I was taking the pic, a drunk said hello to me then asked "are you American?" to which I replied "no, I'm Scottish" to which he replied "I fucking hate Scottish people" and he walked away laughing!!! Ha ha!!