One of the main drivers for starting Cafe Allez! was that we genuinely love good coffee. We will even admit to an addiction here. For me as a cyclist, the prospect of settling down with a really good flat white at a mid-ride cafe stop is one to relish, especially knowing there are genuine performance and health benefits to one’s daily cup, as a Brucie Bonus.
Trouble is, truly good coffee is genuinely hard to find and the more we learned about what it takes to produce it (and consistently!), the less shocking this became. I was having this discussion with Paul at Caffe Velo Verde, (an establishment that shares our values and passion for coffee) – and this prompted me to consider what goes into your £2.50 – £3.00 cup of coffee (if it’s done right!). So we’ve published the table below and once you’ve read it, you might be surprised that we can achieve all this for the same price as an ice cream!
Does Cafe Allez! get it right first time, every time? Well there may be exceptions but I can promise that we genuinely strive to and that, on the rare occasions when we don’t, we tend to spot it and put it right.
So, are we suggesting you’re being overcharged for your coffee if your coffee shop doesn’t follow every step? Very possibly!
That being said: how can you tell if other coffee shops are taking the same level of care over your drink? Firstly, you should notice that step up in the taste, texture and appearance of your coffee.
Secondly, you can ask some questions of the barista on the day. If they love their job as much as we do, they will be delighted to talk about it and tell you about the provenance of the coffee, when it was roasted, how they’ve produced your drink and so on …
£2.50 – £3 doesn’t buy an awful lot these days, but if you know where to look, it could get you an outstanding, delicious drink to savour. You have a right to be discerning!
| How To Serve Fabulous Coffee | |
| Step | Frequency |
| Source fabulous beans from a local roastery | |
| Manage ordering to ensure optimum roast date vs. date of serving | Weekly |
| Store it in the right conditions and do not leave in grinder hopper overnight | Daily |
| Source a very high quality espresso machine (£000s) | |
| Ensure water filtration system is in place and well maintained | |
| Clean, backflush and maintain the machine well: circa 25 minutes per day | Daily |
| Source a very high quality coffee grinder | |
| Clean grinder internals at appropriate frequency | |
| Change grinder burrs at appropriate frequency | |
| Ensure appropriate weight of coffee is ground and dosed (per roaster’s recipe) | Daily (sometimes more) |
| Ensure appropriate volume of espresso is brewed (per roaster’s recipe) | Daily |
| Ensure appropriate brewing time to deliver appropriate volume (per roaster’s recipe) – can vary through day | Daily (several times) |
| Purge group head with clean water before each espresso shot | Per Drink |
| Wipe portafilter clean before each shot to ensure even extraction | Per Drink |
| Tamp coffee into portafilter with even pressure, exactly level | Per Drink |
| Source British dairy milk and serve as close to production date as possible | Daily |
| Source very high quality non-dairy milks (Oat, Soya): cheaper alternatives don’t steam well | Weekly |
| Ensure milk jug and milk are cold before pouring milk | Per Drink |
| Steam milk to exact right temperature for the drink (different technique for non-dairy milk, skimmed milk) | Per Drink |
| Steam milk to get exactly the right texture for drink being produced | Per Drink |
| Wipe and purge steam wand to ensure hygiene and machine health | Per Drink |
| Pour milk into espresso at exact right level, speed, cup angle | Per Drink |
| Produce latte art (optional!) | Per Drink |
| Train baristas to ensure cafe standards are met and include counter staff to help advise customers | Ongoing |
| Serve it with a smile | Per Drink |