The land of the long flat white

Flat White at Midnight Espresso

In the pursuit of great coffee I have searched far and wide and naturally that search should include New Zealand. The capital, Wellington, often referred to as the Capital of Cool was the first stop. It's widely reported that Wellington has more cafes per capita than New York and from what I found they are all excellent. Producing fine and fabulous Flat Whites, I was left buzzing for the whole stay. A truly Antipodean drink there is some dispute about which country actually invented the Flat White - was it Australia or New Zealand? My reading up on the subject could find no definitive answer, however, due to their virtual addiction of to the brew, lets settle on New Zealand for this post.

It is prepared by pouring microfoam  (steamed milk from the bottom of a pitcher) over a single or double shot of espresso. A quality cup is topped with a touch of barista art and comes in a small cup - so its not drowned by milk.

Midnight Espresso

If you want to sample the local Flat White in Wellington, head on down to Cuba Street a mix of pedestrianised shopping precinct and trendy cafes and a few bohemian shops. We were confidently recommended Midnight Espresso that's been around since 1989 and it didn't disappoint. It was strong, full bodied and bloody beautiful.

But it wasn't only Midnight Espresso that delivered the goods, every cafe we tried came up trumps. Fidel's Cafe (again on Cuba Street) was fab, Caffiend in Petone (up the road from Wellington) perked us up on a Sunday morning and the lovely Sugar Juice in Opunake (more to follow) was fab, we also loved Elixir in New Plymouth and indeed we never had a bad coffee in the week we were in the land of the long white cloud.

Breakfast at Kaffiend

If you google Flat White or New Zealand coffee there are lots of statistics to keep you occupied for an hour or so, the site I loved most was Kiwianarama - a sort of Kiwi Wikipedia - here's a link to check out: http://www.kiwianarama.co.nz/the-flat-white/

The London Coffee Festival

I am a lover of good coffee and champion (when I can) independent cafes serving quality roasted beans and perfectly brewed coffee. So, The London Coffee Festival is music to my ears. In it's second year and promising to be bigger and better than before, there are some great names lined up. Nude Espresso, Sacred, Caravan, espresso machine producers, food places, chocolate specialists, coffee roasting houses with all of their fine blends even Gelupo - which serves incredible ice cream. Please don't eat all of their delicious salted caramel before I get there.

The London Coffee Festival is the flagship event of UK Coffee Week (23-27 April). UK Coffee Week 2012 provides a unique opportunity for branded coffee chains, independent coffee shops and industry suppliers to collaborate and celebrate the success of the industry while giving back to an extremely worthy cause. A nationwide programme of charitable collections, in-store activities and public events will raise funds for Project Waterfall to deliver clean water projects in coffee-producing African countries.

So, more on the London event - Last year over  12,000 coffee lovers and food fanatics, professional baristas, coffee shop owners and industry experts gathered for a unique celebration - coffee.

This year promises to offer Street Food and Artisan Markets. You can learn about coffee through tastings and demonstrations, watch the UK Barista Championships (honestly) and enjoy live music throughout the themed zones – Hyde Park, Shoreditch, Soho, The Lab, The Showroom and The Growing Community.This is one event that shows London is truly on the coffee map of the world. Tickets are from £9.50 in advance (more expensive on the door).

The London Coffee Festival
27-29 April
Old Truman Brewery
Brick Lane - London

Click here for more information

Stylist Magazine: Top 10 Coffee Shops in London

London has thankfully, over the past 5 or so years seen a growth in the number of cool cafe's serving great coffee. Forget Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Costa. I am talking about quality roasted beans, the introduction of the flat white and even a latte served in a small glass. This is all familiar territory for me. I grew up in Australia and coffee culture there is honed to a fine art. To the point that if a particular barista is not serving, my friend won't partake in a coffee. Melbourne is the coffee capital of Australia and some of that style is now being served up in London (and very slowly in the regions). Stylist Magazine captured the essence of this in a great article this week and not only did a round up of our new found love of fabulous coffee, but featured a top 10 list of the best. Sadly, Lantana Cafe in Fitzrovia and Caravan in Exmouth Market were missing from that list. So I've given them my thumbs up here. A theme running through most of these start-ups is that they are run by or inspired by the Antipodean coffee culture. We musn't forget New Zealand, as coffee is big for Kiwis too. I can attest to that as I can still remember a most fabulous latte I had in Central Auckland in 2001. Seriously. 

So in the latest issue, Stylist rounds up coffee culture in the UK. OK, the chains may have got us hooked on caffeine, but as our taste buds for the black liquid matures, we are refining our requirements and it seems en masse. From the list of Top 10 Coffee Shops I have to say Flat White has a special place in my heart - I feel like I am home in Hobart (Tasmania) every time I walk through the doors. Kaffeine - a new found friend, is alive with an electric buzz every morning. It's my pit stop of choice before client meetings in the heart of the fashion district. And if I every venture "out East" then I always head straight for Nude Espresso. These are all independent, interesting British based businesses that are doing something a bit different. Visit them today and join me in the campaign for real coffee. Now.

Stylist Magazine's Top 10 Coffee Shops in London