Coffee with the Romans

 

10€ for a coffee…

In 1763 Australia hadn’t been discovered and England and France ruled the Americas and the Holy Roman Empire was coming to its end. What could a cup of coffee cost then?

Fast forward to 2017 and it feels like the world is about to change again. Donald Trump has taken office and is handing out executive orders like cupcakes and Theresa May is mildly excited about claiming back her country to the ‘good old days’ (were they that good? I seem to forget all the bad bits in my past). 

So how much would a good cuppa cost in 1763? Surely there were 3 Italian chaps sitting in cafe Grecco over a doppio and discussing world events and politics. Today it will set you back €10 – rather steep for a robusta strong Italian coffee in what is an unassuming front and interior decor that has seen little change in the last century. The only hint of the prices are the expensive neighbours: Cartiers, Hermes and Bulgari next door. What’s 10€ if you just spent a fortune on fashion and a bit of bling? 


The coffee won’t rock your world, the soy has strong vanilla flavours but the place throws you back in time to the ‘good old days’. And yet, you wish someone called out the emperors clothes and sent them to a land far away to gain new experiences and make seriously good coffee. 

 

Bath, coffee and spas

Rare to see this many grinders at once

Rare to see this many coffee grinders at once

After having experienced old spas the way Romans would never do (3 queues, audio guides and a ‘do not touch the water’ policy) we needed a break before plunging into a real spa.

Collona & Small’s seemed like the place to choose in Bath. As soon as you enter you feel the positive vibe – these guys are dead serious about coffee, except that they are not dead serious at all. They are super friendly and helpful. C&S ticks so many boxes that I feel dizzy. Not what I expected from our short stay in Bath.

blackboard with large selection of different coffee beans

Spoilt for choice

Bright interior, wooden natural feel, amazing coffee selection, lots of cake and pastry options (including gluten free options).

My Bonsoy flat white is good, but not the best I’ve ever had, however the Ethiopian espresso is simple perfection. I feel like I am in coffee heaven – how much do apartments in Bath cost?

View to the outside from the inside of the cafe

Inside of Colonna & Small’s

IN SUMMARY:
C&S really surprised us. Usually it’s hard to find a good coffee in the UK outside of London, but we were proven wrong. This place really knows how to do coffee. They use a La Marzocco Strada and offer ten changing specialty roasters from around the UK.

where to find the best coffee in the world.

Melbourne, Australia. You can stop reading now.

Now I know this title is extremely biased. But then anyone who has been to Melbourne will understand.

There are few, if any, cities as obsessed about coffee as Melbourne. It is quite normal to walk an extra 5 blocks, because your friend or colleague is not happy with the cafe around the corner. There is cafe ditching on a daily basis, because there’s simply no excuse for bad coffee in Melbourne.

Albert Park Lake, Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne at its best: sunny Albert Park Lake

On occasions I have gone as far as ditching entire restaurants for serving Coffex. If they skimp on the coffee, then their food ingredients can’t be of great quality either, right?

Well, having been back in Europe for over two years now has taught me that there’s more to life than just complaining about bad coffee. But hey, have I complained!

Fights with German cafe owners about what a latte is (and I still insist that it is NOT a latte macchiato), lots of returned coffee, lots of unfinished coffee, lots of burned coffee, the list goes on. But it has had its positives, I’ve learned a lot about black coffee in Portugal, I’ve done my best to convince anyone who’s been brave enough to go out for a coffee with me that there are better options out there then burnt milk with coffee flavour and three spoons of sugar.

Monk Bodhi Dharma

Inside of Monk Bodhi Dharma

Since my love for coffee started in Melbourne, I was very excited about being back in April and, not surprisingly, quite a few things had changed in the coffee scene. St Ali has been sold to a foreign investor and lots of new cafés have popped up everywhere.

Now, although I was unable to visit all of the new places, since we spent most of the time on the Mornington Peninsula, I caught up with Paul a friend of mine, who is a Melbourne Barista and who gave me his tips, as to the best cafés in Melbourne 2012.

So here it goes, very personal and biased, make sure to check them out for yourself, but this is Paul’s Top 9, in no order of preference:

  1. monk bodhi dharma
  2. the final step
  3. patricia
  4. auction rooms
  5. proud mary
  6. axil
  7. omar and the marvelous coffee bird
  8. hobba
  9. dead man espresso

After going through that list I decided to start with Monk Bodhi Dharma and this place certainly did not disappoint.

Tucked away on Carlisle Street next to the police station, this small but friendly place oozes with charm and you feel welcome right away. Very nice staff and happy to chat about their coffee.

Soy latte in hand

Monk Bodhi Dharma soy latte

At the time of drinking I was enjoying the house blend of the month, which technically was no blend at all, but a single origin from Papua New Guinea and tasted amazing.

The Synesso produced that fine rounded chocolaty drop I was looking for and the Muffins were great, too. Would I live in Melbourne again, I’d be a regular for sure!

Hopefully this page will keep you caffeinated in Melbourne for a while… If you feel there are other special places in Melbourne that I’ve left out, then feel free to add them in the comments section!

Location: Monk Bodhi Dharma, Carlisle Street, Melbourne, Australia

Visited: April 2012

IN SUMMARY:
Melbourne did not disappoint. Good coffee everywhere and Monk Bodhi Dharma has the right balance between a relaxed friendly atmosphere and simply excellent coffee.

 

austrian-portuguese anyone?

There’s something really special about finding that right place.
I suppose it is a bit like finding a good book to read.

In most cases, you have to work through a lot of rubbish to get there. A lot of excited moments of discovery, only to be followed by severe disappointment.

When we got to Lisboa, we were very excited about the coffee. It was black, it was strong, it was everywhere.

Combined with beautiful pastries, Portugal most definitely has developed its own distinct coffee culture. Unlike the Germans, who often insist on 100% Arabica beans, the Portuguese like a fair dash of Robusta in their coffee mix, based on their strong ties to Brasil, I read somewhere. Coming from Australian coffee culture, I believe it can really add depth to a coffee.

Putting the entire Arabica snobness to one side, coffee is all about taste. And tastes always differs. I happen to enjoy a really good blend – coffee or wine.

inside the kaffeehaus

Kaffeehaus Cafe, Rua Anchieta, Lisbon

As much as we liked the classic Portuguese culture with traditionally dressed waiters, pastellarias combined with great weather and happy people, you can imagine, that it’s not really the place to openly confess your lactose intolerance. Everyone drinks espresso anyway. But after a few days of tasting bicas and duplos through all sorts of pastellarias, I must say a serious craving for a good soy latte was starting to creep in.

When we told our friends in Lisboa that we really like coffee, they right away had a few suggestions. One of which was the Kaffeehaus in Bairro Alto. Ironically, a café run by Austrians. The first week we struggled to find it. After we finally did, it turned out that the owners were on holiday and would only open a few days before we were due to leave. Fun fact about Portugal: in summer everyone’s at the Algarve, which makes Lisboa a really relaxed place to visit.

So, full of anticipation we arrived for a late breakfast on the day it reopened. A beautiful sunny morning, and you could tell that the locals had really missed the place. It was buzzing, the ever changing lunch menu looked very appetizing.

The interior is bright, a mix of modern and classic, with enough space to go round and some plastered walls with contemporary Austrian art posters. Most of the staff are Portuguese, but the second day we met one of the owners, who cheerfully noted, that his scrambled eggs on toast must be really good, if I was taking photos of it…

scrambled eggs for breakfast

looks simple, but tastes great!

The café had been running for seven years. Having worked in gastronomy for many years, he had come with his partner and opened this café to live and surf in Lisboa. Sounded like a great plan to me, that he obviously didn’t seem to regret in the slightest…

We pretty much tested half the menu over two visits (we HAD to come back the next day): amazing crumbly sour tarty cakes, always with a creative twist to traditional meals such as scrambled eggs and sausages with mash, made to perfection.

After having tasted the delicious items on the menu, the biggest question of course was: what about the coffee?

Sticking with Portuguese tradition, soy was not an option, so I ordered a café duplo (elongated double espresso, in Australia we call it a long black), which hands down was probably the best cup of black coffee I have ever tasted. Well balanced, smooth, not too bitter and with the perfect amount of crema, it left you wanting for more.

cafe duplo

This cafe duplo is a must try.

Luke’s first order was a café com leite. This turned out to be a big mistake. Coffee and milk do not mix well in Portugal. We rectified it immediately by ordering a second duplo and so we both enjoyed an amazing cup of coffee.

IN SUMMARY
If you are fortunate enough, the book you take along on your trip will be just as good as the food and the café duplo at the Kaffeehaus. If you travel to, or if you live in Lisboa, this place is a MUST visit.