Espresso Macchiato

The Macchiato can be a confusing coffee. These days when someone orders one, they usually expect an espresso with a little foamed milk on top. But that's not always been the case. The caffe macchiato (or 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 More recently, the milk has been replaced by foam, making it look like a little cappuccino.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!

Call in to The Laine Deli and we'll serve the macchiato that most people expect: an espresso with a foamed milk 'hat'. But we're also happy to make any coffee exactly as you ask - so don't worry if you'd like your macchiato slightly different from everyone else.

A nice cup of tea

Here at The Laine Deli we like a nice cup of tea. So we thought we'd take a moment to explain what that weird one is at the bottom of the list. (Unless you already know, in which case it's probably not weird to you).

It's sometimes spelled rooibos, rooibosh or rooibosch - and it's often called "redbush" here in the UK. Redbush tea is grown in South Africa and is naturally caffeine-free. It's also low in tannin, has a slightly nutty taste and can be served with or without milk.

Picnic hampers

There's nothing better than a picnic on the beach... except a picnic on the beach that someone else has made for you!

We'll have everything ready for you to pick up - and we can even supply the hamper.

Tyrrell's Potato Chips

There are those who would say a sandwich isn't a proper lunch without a packet of crisps. While we wouldn't condone a diet that's too high in fried potato, we've done our best to make sure we sell decent crisps. Actually, we don't sell crisps at all - we sell Tyrrells Potato Chips. Their potatoes are sliced and then cooked without removing the starch, which improves the taste and means they absorb less oil than other crisps.

And Tyrrell's is our kind of business, too. Not only are they fans of smaller businesses - as their headline-hitting battle a few years showed - they're also pretty innovative. Tyrrell's potatoes are now being used for making vodka as well as for their chips!

You're the inspiration

We were thinking the other day about the people who'd inspired us to open The Laine Deli. There's family and friends, of course - and then there are other people who don't even know who we are. For example, Peter Jones offered encouragement in a radio interview by saying the current recession was a great time for young people to start their own business. Then there are all the 'big name' chefs we enjoy: Jamie, Nigella, Bill Grainger and Gordon Ramsay, to name a few. But now that we're here, what really keeps us going is the feedback from our customers. We wouldn't be happy if we weren't making you happy as well.

Service, please!

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!

Secret ingredient

We've mentioned our Rocky Road before; it's a cake (although some people try to convince themselves it's just a biscuit!) that contains milk chocolate, marshmallows and crushed biscuits... with proportions and a few other ingredients that we're keeping to ourselves. But for those of you trying to recreate our recipe at home, here's an extra clue. The secret's out - you need some Golden Syrup.