Unique Gloucestershire March 2016

20 21
The Scandinavian Coffee Pod
Cupping
If you've been down St George's Place in Cheltenham town centre, you might have noticed a
little glass cube with some decking outside. Once upon a time it was yellow - though now it's
blue (you're not going mad) - it is probably not what you'd expect it to be. This is the home
of The Scandinavian Coffee Pod.
18 months in, the 5m2 cube - which originally just served up some
of the best coffees in town - has now progressed into becoming a
specialist coffee roastery too. Incredible for such a small space, I think
you'll agree. They're all about the small batch roasting of seasonal
beans, and surrounded by glass walls, there's really nowhere to hide;
it's obvious that they're giving the greatest care and attention to the
beans in order to supply their customers with the best tasting coffee
possible.
The roasting team - headed up by Chris Shadforth, who has coffee
experience from around the world, and James Ecendance, an exproduct-designer
who learnt his trade in Norway - are keen to
promote their wares, and being Cheltenham's first micro-roastery,
the The Scandinavian Coffee Pod are certainly making waves.
Something that they've been looking into organising are 'cupping'
events and, as a trial run, a group of local bloggers and journalists
were invited to take part. Not knowing what a 'cupping' involves (I
wouldn't encourage Googling it), I accepted the invitation and looked
forward to seeing what was in store.
Taking place inside Formal House - a creative hub a stones throw away from the pod - the
smell of coffee lured us in. A large table meticulously laid out with
numbered coffee beans, along with flavour profile posters artistically
arranged on the walls, told us that we were in for an evening of
enlightenment.
Although the name could be misconstrued with something a little
dodgy, 'cupping' is a process that is used
around the world for tasting coffee; it allows
everyone to talk about it in a universal way
and keeps quality at the forefront. Usually
occurring 8-24hrs after roasting (the window
where the fullest flavours of the coffee show themselves), roasters
can then decide what's best and what they could do differently.
Welcoming outsiders into this coffee-geek-get-together not only
gives valuable consumer feedback, but it highlights just how
much work goes into your daily Latte; something that none of us
probably ever think about.
The Scandinavian Coffee Pod ethically source their coffee from
the world's finest farms - Union Direct Trade and Rainforest
Alliance Certified - and they seasonally change their single origin
beans to reflect the natural harvests. At the cupping, we had
five mystery beans, which we ground, added water to, and tried
to decipher the aromas. It's a bit like wine really; beans have
different flavours depending on where they come from, not just
in terms of country but also farm to farm. Location, weather,
altitude, and so many other factors affect the taste, and that's just
the growing! Fermenting, washing, drying, milling and all those kinds of processes make a
difference too, and I'm told that there are actually more ways of describing the flavours in
coffee than there are for wine!
From charred to chocolate, herbs to hazelnuts, fruits to flowers,
we collectively picked out aromas for each, and much to the
despair of Chris and James, we even got a note of baked beans!
Next came tasting, and with a spoon we slurped our way around
all five deciding what flavours we were getting. Smooth, sweet,
sour, tangy; each had their own unique taste, and it was really hard
trying to choose a favourite.
Unveiling their origins, and telling us what we should be tasting -
probably not a tin of Heinz - two of the beans were in fact identical;
both Brazilian just roasted differently.
One was Nicaraguan, sweeter in style with
mandarin notes, one Rwandan, which apparently gets marzipan-y
when mixed with milk, and one super-fruity Ethiopian number,
which isn't really suitable for espressos or milky coffees. The
Nicaraguan was favoured most, but it was clear to see that each
would come into their own when served up properly, not being
sipped from a spoon.
Interesting, fun, and full of 'cupping'
innuendos, The Scandinavian Coffee Pod's
first event went off with a bang. As we were just guinea pigs, there
aren't any dates for future cuppings as of yet, but do keep an eye
out for them on Twitter and Facebook; I'm sure it won't be long.
In the meantime, you can try and buy their coffee at the pod (64
St George's Place), or you can order beans online. They are also
available at Green Coffee Machine near the train station, Brew &
Bake on Bath Road, and Coffee Dispensary on Regent Street. There
really is no excuse not to get a Scandinavian Coffee Pod caffeine fix.
Lucienne Simpson Food & Drink Editor