Monday 29 April 2013

Week beginning April 29th - UK Barista Championships - Using foraged products

This blog entry is over a week late but to keep up with consistency of running a blog, I will write about the UKBC (United Kingdom Barista Championship). When you read next week's blog entry you'll hopefully understand why I'm a week behind.

Kaffeine's very own Shaun Young made it to the finals, which is very impressive as he has only been making coffee for just over a year--21 and already 2012's UK aeropress champion.
Shaun came 7th place and missed out on 6th place by 2 points out of a possible 700. When you think of the thousands of baristas in the UK and the hundreds that entered the regional heats, this is a very impressive display of talent.

This year I developed Shaun's signature drink. He must present 4 espressos, 4 cappuccinos and 4 signature drinks that correlate with the tasting notes of the coffee to a panel of judges. For Shaun's signature drink he wanted an aroma jar that was infused with spice and apple notes, followed by a fruity drink that had sweet and sharp notes. For this we simmered buckthorn juice, rowan berries and birch sap together and sieved out the bits. Once chilled this creation is the perfect balance of sweet and sour. Lastly, an espresso shot was served with a teaspoon of pudding rice starch that had been cooked with meadow sweet, a foraged weed that when infused permeates hay and vanilla notes. This gave the coffee a pleasant buttery mouth feel.

Shaun may have come seventh but I think more importantly he highlighted several ingredients that, given a bit of time, will become more and more in demand. Best of all, he did it before anyone else. These are ingredients already used in the world's most exclusive restaurants, however not been introduced into the world of coffee, until now.

You will find all these ingredients used at Kaffeine in one way or another, whether it be salads, tarts or baked treats.


We must also congratulate John Gordon, the overall winner and Estelle who came 3rd. Both have worked with Kaffeine very closely over the years and been good friends of ours. Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.70 (add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 4.00
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Porridge - Served with rhubarb and raspberry compote, chopped nuts, muscovado sugar, golden syrup or honey 3.00

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: peanut butter and jelly 2.20
Savoury Scone: pickled ramson and chilli 2.20
Sticky date friands 2.20
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Afgan cookies 1.80
Lamingtons 2.50

French retro baguettes 4.90
Pancetta, baked nectarine, mozzarella, rocket
Roasted courgette, red onion, red peppers, spinach and pesto

Foccacias 5.00
Smoked salmon, capers, red onion, dill, aioli, rocket
Red onion jam, gherkin, spinach and taleggio

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Quinoa, black olives, saffron, cashew nuts, oranges and garlic mustard
Wild sorrel, pama ham, beurre bosc pear, smoked mozzarella, pommary mustard dressing
Raw sliced Cauliflower, capers, lemon and bladder wrack

Tart: 4.00 or 7.50 with salad
Fennel and red Leicester

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