Blog

UK Coffee Week is back!

2013-04-23T21:26:34Z

Yes, after two years of successful fundraising UK Coffee Week is back so look out for events and if you have a second, check out the site and see if you can help too. You can donate, organise or enjoy an event or simply tweet out call to support it! All for a good cause! And at the end of the week I hope to see you at the London Coffee Festival too! (We will be there on Sunday evening!). Exciting times for coffee lovers!:)

Happy (Coffee) Easter!

2013-04-02T09:53:42Z

Easter is almost over now but we are still celebrating! This time I spent this time away from home enjoying amazing views of British shores of Dorset! I hope you had a nice family time too!

Coffee at home

2013-03-12T22:01:37Z

I have been experimenting with food photography tonight. Here is one of many shots I took. You can find the rest on Flickr. Fun!

Coffee at our local museum - you're invited!

2013-03-04T21:25:58Z

If you are in Wantage this or next week and have a second for a coffee at our brilliant museum don't forget to check out my current photo exhibition! Few of my friends will be there on Saturday from 1 to 3PM if you want to join us! Hope you'll enjoy this one! More photos over on my portfolio here.

Coffee shots or food photography

2013-03-04T19:40:00Z

I am so blessed to have friends who are passionate about blogging and love to share their skills. The evening before Barcamp Nonprofits, an event I initiated and now organised in London, I had the privilege to stay at CoffeenVanilla who shared her food photography secrets with me;) I am not sure if it was her specific tips or the very passion she has for her blog, amount of preparations, small yet amazing ideas that inspired me to invest in a little and open up my lightbox again. Here are few initial shots. I need time and silence to enjoy more of this activity, but I love it and I am sure you will see more. Now let's see if I can add those photos to my coffee reviews in the near future too;)

Happy Valentines!

2013-02-15T20:16:00Z

I celebrated it with my first attempt to prepare a chocolate souffle!;) It was edible but I think it nees more work and instead of the tips from the packaging of those sweet heart shaped ramekins I got at Waitrose next time I will go for one of the following:

Choc soufle by BBC Good Food
Choc soufle by Great British Chefs
Dark choc soufle by Great British Chefs (Christmas idea, but I would like to try it out even now in spring),
Choc soufle by Cadbury's (I did not even realise they have a recipe site!),
Dark choc soufle by Cadbury's.

With my skills I might as well start with a video, but hey, why not;) And once I try them all out I will let you know which one is the best! Great times ahead of this family!:)

The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee - book review

2013-02-01T19:09:00Z

"The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee"

"The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee" is a great introduction to full understanding of that one cup of coffee you have on the table. From growing process, through roasting and finally tips on preparation of various types of coffee drinks (some points on Turkish coffee serving were quite new to me!) up to the desserts making our coffee experience well...perfect!

I don't know how about you but me, when it comes to coffee drinking, I allow myself a little bit of sugar rush with it too! Affogato with smoky almond ice-cream and Ellsworth Kelly Fudge Pops are so far my favorites, but we will see if I can actually re-create them at home;) Until then, enjoy the story of the book and if you love coffee, go and grab a copy on Amazon. With great photography, stylish design and quite a unique cover texture too, I think it's worth grabbing the printed copy! And if you are in San Francisco or NY, go and grab a snack made in one of their stores. For now, I will just follow them on FB and Twitter for updates on those amazingly looking drinks and sweets!

My personal top 3 coffee snacks

2013-02-01T18:10:00Z

As some of you might know the more I experiment with types of coffee beans consumed at home, I am also testing additional sweets and snacks for perfect coffee presentation and consumption. So here are my top three so far:

1. Chocolate coated coffee beans.

Sometimes you can get them at Starbuck's or Cafe Nero, but last weekend on our local farm I managed to get hold of a pack of coffee beans produced all the way in my homeland. I am yet to taste those particular ones but I really like the idea of smooth chocolate and crispy, earthly taste of coffee beans together with my favorite cuppa.

2. Small, decorative chocolates.

The best type fits in a little box so if you can try to get hold of Spanish Amatller boxes. Boxes are super cute! their content will not let you down, though I will need to leave a professional review to chocolate specialists like Judit. I really like to serve them next to a small cup of espresso. I also like the fact that you can get them almost in every good quality food store (look out for smaller, local stores though).

3. Chocolates filled with alcohol.

On a cold winter evening I really like to drink a cup of coffee with a chocolate filled with Irish Cream. It gives me that gentle push to post one more thought or simply enjoy a warm sip of coffee and something a little bit stronger;) The Signature Collection is perfect, but I am yet to try the Coctail Collection too!

What are your favorite coffee snacks? Let me know!

The London Coffee Map - app review

2013-01-31T22:37:05Z

London Coffee Map, iPhone app

The London Coffee Map (please check the link to it here because there is one more coffee map of London and I suspect there will me even more apps for London in the future) makes my life heaven every single time I travel to the capitol. I am sure it is useful as much for a Londoner as it is for anyone visiting, in need for a good quality cuppa.

Let me tell you quickly why I like this app. It is simple to use and contains all the information one might need to actually find a good coffee place - not less, not more! With four tabs: nearest, list, explore and about its author, Mark Holdsworth included exactly what an iPhone owner and coffee lover needs. In "nearest" section you can simply check your location and scan the neighbourhood for quality coffee shops. In "list" section you can browse all included venues, or you can go to the overall map and do it there. I am glad to see that Mark thought of web users too and included all this data on the app website - why? Well, not every coffee lover own an iPhone;) I like this inclusive, professional approach to quite a good data set!

I have already discovered few amazing places in London and I hope you will do so as well. If you do, share your experiences with me and do not forget to get in touch with the app author on Twitter or follow the app account on the same social network (I hope the app account will be re-activated, it's a great source of coffee news!).

One more note: for coffee lovers in Paris there is now their local version of this app too!;)

Christmas coffee presents!

2013-01-29T19:19:00Z

I have to admit that I love to experiment with presentation of my favorite drink so I am extremely happy that after hours of browsing on Pinterest in search for interesting ideas this set simply landed under our Christmas tree. Maybe it sounds crazy from a person who already owns quite a few sets of coffee cups, but I really think this one makes a huge difference. You see in our house we somehow do not like to carry snacks to the living room - I have a mild phobia of turning into a couch potato, so I tend to each in the kitchen on the large kitchen table, not living room. Yet occasionally in the evening (yes, we tend to drink coffee in the evening too) we like to sneak in a cuppa and share it while we watch a movie. So these are perfect for any small biscuit or a piece of chocolate you might wish to enjoy next to your drink. Unique ideas are the best! Big hug to Gabi and Kim for their lovely present!