COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS & MORE / AT $64 PER CUP IT BETTER BE SOME KIND OF DELICIOUS

Check the price of a coffee cup before you order.

A week ago, this column was reporting on the nastiness of coffee plant rust in Central America. 

 No fun in the trenches combating a devastating fungus. So many are working night and day to prevent the rust plague from ruining coffee farm production. We salute them. 

 But, let’s take a furlough. 

Grace (left) & Victoria

Now, we’re in the Mayfair, a nice part of London, where siblings Victoria and Grace Sheppard opened a small coffee housed called Queens Mayfair. Open since March 2020, the café has been getting attention, especially since a CNN Travel article pointed out the sisters are charging $64 per cup for a very, very deluxe coffee made from award winning Ethiopian beans. 

 At that price it better be one of the finest cups of coffee in the world. 

 The grind at your table process involves a three-minute "blooming phase," which is when the flavor really develops and intensifies, say the owners. In all, 250 grams of water is added to 15 grams of coffee. The liquid passes through the glass filter into a carafe, before being served in a crystal glass (see image, below). 

Purists will be pleased to hear that the coffee is served black and straight up. Adding milk would be "like getting a fine wine and topping it up with soda water," says Victoria Sheppard. "It's very much about the raw taste in something organic and unmodified." 

 This column has added a stop at Queens Mayfair to our travel bucket list. For now, we’re saving up for that day. 

 Reading CNN’s article by Lianne Kolirin and Maureen O’Hare we did learn quite a bit on the thinking that goes behind charging such a sum. It makes sense, but it’s out of our league. 

 For the CNN article, click here. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/expensive-coffee-london-gbr-scli-intl/index.html 

For a local London article, click here. https://mayfairtimes.co.uk/2020/03/queens-of-mayfair/

*****************************

WEEKLY COFFEE QUIZ (below)

Where in the world is this coffee establishment? Answer next Saturday in PillartoPost.org Coffee Beans & Beings post. 

 *** 

LAST WEEK’S COFFEE QUIZ ANSWER. Bajareque Coffee House & Roastery is located along the waterfront in the Casco Viejo neighborhood of Panama City, Panama. This small roastery and café in a narrow colonial building is also home of the region's Elida Estate coffee, which includes the award-winning Café Geisha, one of the most prized and expensive coffees in the world.