Eastlife Spring 2021
This is our fourth issue during the pandemic. Fourth! I can’t quite believe it. Like many other businesses we have learned to adapt. I am no longer flustered when events are cancelled at the last moment before print, it has become the norm.
This is our fourth issue during the pandemic. Fourth! I can’t quite believe it. Like many other businesses we have learned to adapt. I am no longer flustered when events are cancelled at the last moment before print, it has become the norm.
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FOOD & DRINK<br />
The Cambridge Foodie<br />
Cool Beans<br />
The boom of artisan coffee in Cambridge<br />
Written by Gerla de Boer | www.cbtravelguide.co.uk & www.cambridgefoodtour.com<br />
It’s a cold and rainy day in Cambridge, and I spot a long<br />
queue outside one of the small coffee shops. My initial<br />
thought is that they are waiting for a sandwich. How wrong<br />
could I be? One after the other comes out with a steaming<br />
hot cup of coffee. What is the big attraction of clinging onto<br />
an umbrella in the blistering cold just for a cup of coffee? The<br />
answer is the type of coffee. Artisan is much sweeter than<br />
regular coffee, which tastes quite bitter. Most importantly, it’s<br />
roasted with love and care.<br />
A good artisan coffee starts at the source. An artisan coffee<br />
roaster chooses his supplier with care. There are important<br />
considerations such as the type of bean, the conditions it<br />
has been grown in and the harvesting practices. As with<br />
everything artisan, it requires plenty of time, dedication<br />
and practice. You don’t become an artisan coffee roaster<br />
overnight. Unlike the big brands, artisan coffee is roasted in<br />
small batches and not stored for months.<br />
There is more to it though. The place to get the perfect artisan<br />
cup of coffee is a small independent coffee shop. They<br />
prepare it with love and care, and unlike some of the big high<br />
street brands, they make you feel special.<br />
The artisan coffee movement is growing. Many coffee<br />
fanatics are practising their barista skills at home too. One of<br />
the first coffee roasters who spotted a niche in the market was<br />
Nespresso over 30 years ago. They created a coffee machine<br />
building on the earlier work of Luigi Bezzera with the simple<br />
idea to enable anyone to create the perfect cup of espresso<br />
coffee – just like a skilled barista. Being a lover of a fine cup<br />
of coffee, I bought mine in 1992. My flavour palette changed<br />
over the years, and my Nespresso coffee machine made its<br />
way to a barista-style coffee machine, Sage.<br />
Where to find artisan coffee beans in<br />
Cambridge and Ely?<br />
Silver Oak<br />
Available online and at Ely market<br />
Kerb Project<br />
Available online and The OtherSyde, Cambridge<br />
Hot Numbers<br />
Available online, at their two cafes in Cambridge<br />
on Gwydir Street and Trumpington Street, and Hot<br />
Numbers Roastery in Shepreth<br />
XueCam Coffee<br />
Available online, Cambridge Market and at the La<br />
Latina Bustaurante in the Grafton Centre<br />
Coffee Temple<br />
Available online and from their van close to Orchard<br />
Street at Christ’s Pieces, Cambridge<br />
Town and Gown<br />
Available online and at their cafe at Raft Market on<br />
Sidney Street<br />
With so many excellent local artisan coffee roasters around,<br />
it is sometimes difficult to make a choice. It all depends on<br />
your preference as to which coffee bean to choose. I use<br />
Silver Oak coffee beans at the moment, but I have used Hot<br />
Numbers and the Kerb Project too.<br />
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