Until recently, I was not coffee’s biggest fan. Even in Italy I refused to sample this unknown delicacy. Too sour for me, I like sweet things. Alas, my youth faded much too quickly and I now relish more savoury dishes.
I found myself in Genius Coffee, Carlisle one morning for work. Driving an average of 1000 miles a month had me exhausted so I stopped for coffee. I was at once mesmerised at how flavoursome and awakening this beverage is. From then I was hooked.
Stepping closer to coffee perfection was incremental for me. I received my first Bialetti from my dear friend Edoardo when I went to Rome in February. I soon realised I needed something with a greater capacity. Mother and I traded Bialettis. Now in possession of the six-cup beast, I was able to fully explore coffee varieties.
While on one of my vegetable runs in Coventry Market, Ed’s Coffee House caught my eye. A wall and table stuffed to the gunnels with stacks of coffee. Kilner jars as far as the eye could see. I was in coffee Nirvan.
Chris, manning the desk, knows everything there is to know about each of the many kinds of roast coffee beans he sells. I have thus far tried the Indian Monsoon Malabar; Olympic Blend; Cuban Serrano and Q blend. Each of which have a unique effect. The Olympic blend, as Chris will be able to relate to you in much greater detail, comes from the North East Africa, where the soil has an usually high nitrogen content. This translates into a cup of Joe which makes you feel as though you’ve been hit by a bus.
Each coffee is unique. Chris knows I use a Bialetti. He grinds my coffee beans in front of me, into the finest powdered coffee for my machine. But my grandmother has a peculator so the grind was different. Ed’s Coffee House caters for everyone’s coffee needs. They even sell their own coffee for £1 a cup.
They have changed my life. I know they will change yours too. I can say with confidence that my days are powered by Ed’s powdered coffee beans.
And the best part of it all is that they deliver. So when I leave the Warwickshire region for good, I know Ed’s Coffee House will never be far from my Bialetti.