Many of the UK's 'traditional' Christmas celebrations aren't as old as you might think. For example, there's the Christmas tree - made popular by Queen Victoria - and Santa Claus, who only adopted his current red-suited form in the 19th century.
We think that making a decent cup of coffee is something of an art. But then we discovered an American woman who's taken coffee art to a new level. Karen Eland paints using espresso. That's right - she uses coffee. Most of her coffee pictures are painted in her local coffee shop and are coffee-themed interpretations of classic artworks.
Recently we've had a few people ask us for a "flat white" coffee which - if you're not familiar with it - isn't as simple as the name suggests. The flat white is rather like a latte but with less milk and no (or hardly any) foam. Or, from another perspective, it's an espresso with steamed milk on top - which makes it a little like a macchiato but with the creamy part of the milk insted of the foam. A flat white is usually served in a cappuccino cup... well, anyway, that's what we do!
We've mentioned our loyalty card before - but we wouldn't want you to miss out, so we thought we'd mention it again. Pick one up and ask us to stamp it every time you buy a coffee. When you've collected eight stamps we'll give you your next coffee completely free. That's a free coffee every fortnight for our weekday visitors!
The Caffè Americano is simply an espresso with hot water added. The result is a black coffee that can be served with or without milk. If you're after "a normal cup of coffee", this is the one for you. It's the closest in strength to filter or instant coffee, except it's fresh and therefore has a different (we'd say considerably better!) flavour.
It's hard not to become a little obsessed about coffee when you're making it all day. Did you know that the average espresso is produced using pressure of 9 bar (around 130 pounds of pressure per square inch)?
espresso macchiato) was originally served with a tiny amount of milk - rather like a small, strong white coffee. More recently, the milk has been replaced by foam, making it look like a little cappuccino. Incidentally, the Italian word macchiato means 'marked'... and that's led to some confusion with the latte macchiato - almost the opposite of a caffe macchiato. The caffe macchiato is espresso with a little milk, the latte macchiato is milk with a little espresso!
As cars become increasingly complex, so the number of people servicing their own cars has fallen. The same is true of coffee machines, we're sure. Fortunately, ours is a traditional design... which meant we were able to tinker under the bonnet at the weekend. And we resisted the temptation to add go-faster stripes down the side!
There was a bit of bad news from Management Today yesterday. (Yes, we read the business press occasionally!)
Remember our excitement about sourcing the perfect takeaway coffee cup? Remember the launch of The Laine Deli loyalty card?
We've previously mentioned our Outside Catering... but here's a different perspective on that phrase. The Laine Deli has a patio that catches the sun when it's out - and it's also protected by a canopy when the weather becomes a bit dodgy. (Not that we ever have dodgy weather in Brighton, of course!)We love our coffee machine. It's an Italian work of art. And we love our Italian coffee, too. Together they're a persuasive combination. We've now added a third ingredient to clinch the deal: The Laine Deli loyalty card. Make sure we stamp it every time you buy a coffee. Collect eight stamps and we'll give you your next coffee completely free. It's as simple as that!
The Laine Deli is open again after four frantic days of decorating, cleaning, baking and paperwork. The paint is now out of our hair - at least, we think it's all gone! - and the deli is back in business. So, before our breakfast customers arrive, there's just time to introduce our most important non-human member of staff: Rancilio, the coffee machine. Italian, of course.
