decoder

Like most creatives we here at Decoder love a good cup of coffee. So when an invitation* came in to attend a coffee masterclass by World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies and Australian Latte Art Champion Kirby Berlin at Prufrock Coffee, Leather Lane, we were onboard quick smart. The masterclass was being hosted by KeepCup and Prufrock Coffee to celebrate the launch of an espresso-sized KeepCup.

KeepCup is a cleverly designed, barista standard, reuseable coffee cup that comes in a variety of sizes and colours. Created and manufactured in Australia (those aussies sure love their coffee) KeepCup is now available here in the UK. When you think how much coffee the creative industries in London alone buy it makes sense to cut down on the waste of disposable cups and carry your own colourful cup. The KeepCup is designed to sit under the group heads of commercial coffee machines, it has the same volume as standard disposable cups to ensure consistent portioning of espresso and milk and it comes with a lid to prevent spillage as you jog off to the studio! Don’t you just love good design?

The masterclass kicked of with an introduction to coffee by the lovely Beck from Prufrock. This is where we picked up some good home brewing tips for a good coffee such as:

• use freshly ground coffee to get the best taste, keeping your beans in a cool dark place (NOT the fridge),
• water temp should be between 90-94C,
• 6 g coffee per 100 mls water,
• slowly add the water if using add a cone filter, allowing the coffee to saturate thoroughly,
• don’t squeeze down with the plunger on a cafetiere.

Then followed a chance to make an espresso under Gwilym’s tutelage, all exact measurements of coffee and water, a barista’s little weighing scales is his vital piece of equipment it seems. And then came the latte art. Who knew how much fun that would be. We all managed to get to grips with the steamed milk (no big bubbles please) and poured out our little hearts.

Needless to say no-one came close to matching latte champion’s Kirby’s casually poured but lovely to look at fern leaves.

All that remained was a couple of coffee based cocktails and a quick chat to all while we listened to the live music before we decided to take our KeepCup espresso gifts home. The music was in full flow as we walked down the lane, still full of beans!

* Many thanks to our friends at Westbury Communications for the invitation.

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