Brian Hockenhull, who runs Toast! coffee shop and wine bar in Delph Business Centre, talks about the world of coffee and introduces you to their Coffee and Wine of the Month.
For more information, phone 01457 820 270, visit their website or find them on Facebook.
THE WORD about TOAST! is spreading far and wide.
Recently, a couple from New Zealand dropped in – they were visiting relatives in Saddleworth as well as Wilmslow and Alderley Edge – and guess which area they thought the prices were highest?
So it came as some relief to them to find a place like TOAST! and, for us, an encouraging boost to keep doing what we do in the way we do it.
You don’t have to charge more than £1 for a coffee or extortionate prices for wine, and you can help small local businesses by letting them have rent-free space and not marking their goods up – it’s completely against convention but TOAST! grows from strength to strength…
It’s a busy time for us now as we prepare for Christmas – we’re getting things ready for hampers, gift sets, and introducing things like Xmas Pudding or Orange Brandy flavoured coffee beans, Xmas cookie fruit infusions, and specialist chocolates from Lauden. We’re working over 90 hours a week – but we’re having fun!
COFFEE OF THE MONTH – VIETNAMESE TRUNG NGUYEN SANG TAO
Deep in the central highlands of Vietnam, Dak Lak Province is the gateway to a mysterious, captivating area, complete with waterfalls, wild elephants and local tribes.
Trung Nguyen, who are based there, are Vietnam’s most successful coffee company, with an astounding 1000 cafes across South East Asia and plans to introduce a further 1000 into Europe.
Most of the coffee produced in Vietnam is fairly low quality, but Sang Tao (“Creation”) is one of Vietnam’s heirloom high quality Robusta coffees.
Sang Tao fills the room with a superior aroma of coffee and a distinct toastiness adding deep chocolate notes to the elixir, which originates from the long ripening process.
It’s hard to brew this coffee too strong, but watch out as it does have about 40 per cent more caffeine than Arabica coffees.
It’s dark, strong, full-bodied, smokey and bittersweet and can stand up to plenty of milk and sugar. The base coffee can be brewed as a filter coffee or even a simple press pot with condensed milk.
For dramatic effect, serve it in a clear glass mug: the resulting caffeinated kaleidoscope can be as hypnotic as it is delicious, great for something different after dinner.
THIS MONTH’S WINE RECOMMENDATION – PRADO REY, RIBERA DEL DUERO
Ribera del Duero is a glamorous, trendy wine growing region to the North of Segovia in Spain. Vega Sicilia (Spain’s most prestigious wine) in grown here, but wine from the region can sometimes be inconsistent.
Prado Rey, however, is a true star, heaps of black fruit pulling plenty of punch. At 14.5 per cent, it’s not for the faint-hearted! One for those cold, damp nights ahead…
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