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Barista boffins give grounds for revival of the filter coffee
Daisy Dumas22 Jun 2010
For years it's been frowned upon by coffee aficionados who would choose espressos and flat-whites instead.
But now the humble filter coffee is enjoying a resurgence thanks to east London coffeehouse Penny University.Named after 18th-century London coffeehouses that charged a penny for entry, Penny University sells three types of filter coffee and nothing else.
The six-seater shop, which opened in Redchurch Street last month, is the first retail venture of coffee brewer Square Mile Coffee Roasters.
Melbourne-born manager Tim Williams said: “We don't offer takeaways, milk or sugar, but the place has been full. Coffee is taking over London.”
Penny University shuns the speed of industrial coffee machines. Mr Williams, 28, said: “Anything that easy is a huge compromise in quality. We pay a lot of attention to the coffee we buy and a lot of attention to the coffee we roast.”
The shop employs weighing scales, a precision water heater and special filters which “don't give a papery taste”. Microscales and a stopwatch help measure precise ratios of water to coffee beans, and a bunsen burner sits under a bubbling siphon to brew a cup of Yirgacheffe, an Ethiopian coffee.
Next to the three filter coffees — at £2.50-£3.50 — the menu features a “tasting flight” for £12. Coffees are matched with William Curley chocolates and customers get a description of the flavours they are sampling.
Mr Williams had believed that London was “stuck in its ways” but now says: “We have a huge diversity of customers. There will be an 80-year-old at one end of the bar and three goths at the other.”
World barista champion Gwilym Davies said: “When we go home, this is how baristas make coffee.”
Penny University has been enlisted to help launch a “coffee map” of London, 10,000 of which are being distributed for the Caffe Culture show at Olympia from June 23.
The show will be hosting the World Barista Championship until Friday.
The London Coffee Map is at www.worldbaristachampionship.com
Leave dregs of your prejudices at the door
It's impossible not to leave your filter coffee prejudices at the door.
Scientific wizardry and enjoyable, in-depth explanations of coffee bean characters make a tasting flight at Penny University an experience in itself — and one that completely changed my opinion of coffee.
Ethiopian Yergacheffe is so light that it is verging into tea territory — refreshing and floral with notes of bergamot and lemon, it is paired with a yuzu and chocolate ganache which brings out its citrussy edge.
Colombian La Linda is a balance of acidity and sweetness with chocolate and cherry notes.
Complemented by a raspberry and toscana chocolate, La Linda is about appreciating the balance of tastes. Brazilian Capao is your Sunday morning mug of coffee. Very sweet, comforting and rounded, it is accessible and full and goes nicely with a hazelnut ganache which brings out its toasted nuttiness.
