Cycling home from a course last night, I did a double-take on spotting three of Henri’s cousins in a compound.  On closer inspection, all was not what it seemed … these are fibre glass replicas of Citroen HY vans that look quite convincing, if you squint a bit, remove your contact lenses and wait until dusk.

They’re mounted on a trailer so they can be easily towed around and sited in shopping centres etc.

We can see the appeal!  Unlike with Henri, with one of these, you wouldn’t be awake at night worrying about rust, oil incontinence, the next MOT, or an inability to cruise at a heady 50mph.

But let’s be honest – unlike Henri, they’re not the real deal, right?  So we don’t intend to swap any time soon.  And Henri isn’t concerned either as he believes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

There are parallels with our service, the more we thought about it.  We could install an automated coffee machine and press a button marked ‘latte’ every time you wanted a caffe latte.  Or we could buy all of our cakes in from a big food wholesaler.  Your coffee would arrive a bit faster and would taste a bit like a latte.  Your cakes might be a little cheaper and more uniform.  But they wouldn’t be the real deal!

When we make your caffe latte, Americano, mocha, or … it will be authentic and made with passion and care, just like Van Henri.  We’ll source the best beans we can find from local roasters.  We’ll grind them fresh for each drink so your coffee is as delicious as possible. We’ll time every espresso shot so you get the optimum flavour.  And we’ll steam and texture your milk to the best of our ability, every time.

This all takes a little longer and sometimes, very occasionally(!), we’ll make mistakes.  But just as with Van Henri, there is no substitute for the real thing…