Two of our regular and very lovely customers, who are residents to the area, were in recently and sitting on what is known as table five. This table is in line with the espresso machine and is perfect for doing what I intended it to do, allowing the customer (if they wish) to watch the […]
Emergency, Emergency – An Explanation Read More »
We’ve got 100 kilos of espresso, a 2 group La Marzocco Linea, 3 grinders, 5000 cups, it’s 30 degrees and we will be wearing sunglasses. So starts our week this week as we prepare for one of the most famous sporting events in the world, the Ashes at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Some of you may
The #Ashes #soexcited Read More »
Earlier this year, we were asked again if we wanted to enter the annual Cafe Society Awards, of which we have entered the previous two years already. In 2011, Kaffeine was Highly Commended, coming second to Allpress Coffee and I was personally awarded the highest accolade of the Cafe Society Award for influence on the
Cafe Society Awards results – Gold! Read More »
We are almost four years old now, amazing really. We have been described on a certain blog somewhere as being old school but still cool. Chef Jared is our longest serving employee since day one, and on the floor and kitchen we have staff who have been with us for two years, Claire, Julia, Karolina,
The O.C’s (Original Customers) Read More »
He is our second longest serving staff member after Chef Jared. Turns up every day for work (well actually he stays over night, like a guard dog), and is put outside every day whether it be rain, hail or shine. Unfortunately, when it’s windy he tends to fall over, so we bring him in. Everyone knows
Blackboard of Knowledge – We’d thought we’d lost him Read More »
In planning the design of Kaffeine, we were, some may say…particular. I had a long, long list of what we did like and what we did not like. The architects we employed also had some very strong and great ideas. They suggested the bench style service, the espresso machine being at the back end and were adamant
Wouldn’t it be amazing if Pret really did come in and…. Read More »
This is the week that all the preparation, the practising the sourcing of beans, signature drink ingredients, equipment, music, clothing, aprons, checklists and the final practice sessions come together to be ready for the weekend of the UK Barista Championships to be held at the Truman Brewery as part of the London Coffee festival. Those that follow us regularly or come into
UKBC 2013 – (the lead up) Read More »
Seventh overall in the U.K., at 21 years old and in your first barista competition against one of the toughest and most experienced fields ever assembled. That is a very, very good result, something that I am very proud of as are all the staff who work here and have helped Shaun along in his
UKBC 2013 – (the results) Read More »
Just before we opened Kaffeine, James Hoffman, the Director of Square Mile Coffee our coffee roaster, spent a bit of time helping us get set up and providing advice here and there. I am eternally grateful for the time he spent back then, as well as the time spent since we opened in yearly reviews
Valuable advice from James Hoffmann (again) Read More »
When I wrote the original business plan, part of it was to write a mission statement and core values for the business. This then went into the induction manual, along with a list of standards that we all should be working towards and bullet points on how to achieve those standards. However, these were the only two places that all this
Mission Statement, core values and standards Read More »
