Southeast caffeine-free micro-meet 7/3/15
 

Well Adrian and me to be precise in the Staines/Chertsey area about 10am today, arranged rather late yesterday. :ROFL:
Met up so that I could acquire a part-worn Michelin PS2 255/35R20 tyre from him to use as a spare on my new FE 20's.

Agreed a venue of the Red Lion in Thorpe which opens at 10am to "do the deal" then talk car crap over a coffee. No, opens at 11am despite what the web site says. :(
Headed for the Hungry Horse Twynersh, just over a mile away. Also opens at 11am. :mad:
So we just stood in the empty sunny car park, had a natter and headed off. :o

On a positive note (plug!) Adrian gave me an RNS-D navigation CD to try on different (even better) media than the last one I bought from him, which has had fairly regular "glitches" (read errors) though usually recoverable after an eject/reload. So far, so good - it's working fine. +++

Made some nice fresh real coffee, grinding the beans myself, when I got home. ;)
I've been using this place since it opened in 1978 when we lived nearby: http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/our-shops/covent-garden

My kind of coffee shop that. I'll try to call in when I'm there next week.

Another coffee connoisseur I see...

How do their beans differ from say Costa or Starbucks?

I'm hooked on oily Espresso beans from Starbucks. I use a Delonghi fully automatic bean to cup, and while oily beans aren't recommended with automatic machines I can't tolerate any beans but dark oily ones.

Have you ever roasted your own beans? As much as I'm addicted to Starbucks beans I'm really attracted to the idea of roasting my own...

Never roasted my own beans, though back in the late sixties (wonderful time to be a student in London) I lived in Saint Reatham (just off the High Road) for a while and at least twice a day had to walk by a coffee shop with a roaster which was just by the end of the road. Wonderful aromas!
Been a real coffee addict since my schooldays, really don't like instant. :tuttut:

Monmouth source coffees from individual estates all over the world, my own personal favourites are many but some of the Ethiopian ones are superb. +++
Depending on the bean I often have a "mixed" roast - a mixture of standard and high roast, but some of the more delicate ones, such as Kenyan, are best not roasted too dark.

As for Costa and Starbucks, I hardly ever patronise them so can't comment. If I do (because I'm with someone who likes them) I usually have a large milky bucket of weak Americano just to quench my thirst.

I too have a DeLonghi bean to cup, and every day starts with an espresso.
Bean wise I'm experimenting all the time. I get them online at the supermarket and specialists, and hopefully the aformentioned one in Covent Garden in a couple of days.
I've wondered about roasting as well. Perhaps I'll trip over unroasted beans sometime and have a go. Just for the hell of it

Yep, was lacking on the caffeine front but good to catch up and park the S8s together :D

Ref coffee, I get mine delivered from Brian Wogan in Bristol - they roast on site and will sell as bean or ground to your choice.

Verona is a favourite for filter coffee :)

http://www.wogancoffee.co.uk/

Free courier delivery if you spend £40

Interesting that Wogan's coffee of the month is one of my favourites - Yirgacheffe. +++