Starbucks Aroma Lab @ Conduit St

Earlier this evening I went along to one of the infrequent Starbucks ‘Aroma Labs’ at their flagship UK store on Conduit St in central London.

Alan Hartney, the Starbucks ‘Coffee Ambassador’, assisted by the ‘Coffee Master’ for Central London, Arlene (I’ll explain the difference in a moment) sat us down in their swanky basement seating area to talk to us about how you make a good cup of coffee, to highlight the differences between the coffees grown in different regions, and to introduce us to the upcoming Starbucks Christmas 2010 range.

Alan, (who, by the way, wears a distinctive brown apron with a roasting coffee bean embroidered on the front to signify his position right at the top of the Starbucks coffee-appreciating pyramid – Arlene, as a regional master, wears a black one if you’re interested) also supplemented the small cups of each blend that were handed around with some visual and olfactory aids. We started off with three plates of ground coffee being shown to the assembled group, where Alan explained that whilst coffee made into an espresso needs to be ground very finely, the best cup of coffee to be had from a cafetiere (or ‘French press’ – you learn something new every day!) should actually be quite coarsely ground. He also believes that beans are best, and that you should grind them when needed. Alan also recommends, and here’s another thing I didn’t know, that you shouldn’t put coffee in the fridge once a packet is opened because that affects the moisture content and thus the flavour, and that you should aim to use it within 7 days to ensure that it’s doesn’t go stale. So, after putting 8 level ‘scoops’ of ground coffee and filtered water – that has been allowed to go off the boil for two or three minutes – into a 1 litre ‘French press’ we had just 4 minutes to wait until it was brewed and we could sample our first cup.

First off the block, and accompanied by a large plate of nuts to signify the smell and flavour we were about to experience, was a coffee from South America, the Starbucks Colombia Narino Supremo. Now, this one isn’t too strong, and has a distinctly nutty aroma and a corresponding taste, full of pecans and caramel. Personally I prefer South American coffee to anything else, because its not very heavy and I find that I can drink it all day. I’m not particularly fussed about country of origin – I’m happy drinking Colombian, Costa Rican or even Guatemalan, so as you can imagine this one was a bit of a winner with me. It clearly works for other customers too, because they’ve been selling this particular brand for twenty years, almost since the coffee chain started up.

Next on the taste test was one of the African coffees that Starbucks sells, the Kenya Bold, with a plate of citrus fruits and flowers on the side. I did enjoy this one – it’s got a buttery, creamy and fruity taste and a very big flavour, but far too big for me to consider this as an everyday coffee. I can imagine drinking this after dinner, but certainly not first thing! Very nice though, all the same.

Last on the regular list of coffees was the one from the Asia Pacific, the Sumatra Extra Bold. Now this one is very strong, with a peppery, smoky and herby taste and smell, and was far too harsh for me. I’m sure it appeals to many peoples tastes but I prefer my coffee to have a mellow, rounded flavour, and this one was basically all angles! Arlene brought out some foccacia finger food and plates of cheese and biscuits to signify the characteristics of this one (which of course we tucked into) and Alan was keen to emphasise that, in his view, coffee can be a good pairing for various foods. Now, I know that he’s the coffee king as far as Starbucks are concerned but I’m not convinced. Now I can’t imagine having a slice of cake or a dessert without a cup of coffee to go with it, but savoury food? Maybe, maybe not.

Now even though we’d sampled something from every major coffee region, that wasn’t the end of the evening because it was time for a little bit of early Christmas cheer, with the Starbucks Christmas range. At this point Alan brought out their very popular ‘Christmas Blend’ which, I was surprised to find is a mixture of South American and aged Sumatran beans (that is, the beans have been stored for 3 to 5 years after picking, which apparently develops their spicy qualities). They say that when this is introduced every November it flies out of the percolator and off the shelves and I can see why – you get the nuttiness of the South American combined with a spicy note from the Asian beans. It’s perfect with ginger cake (did I mention that they also brought out a few samples from the Christmas range of cakes? No mince pies unfortunately, but I suppose it is a bit early!). They’ll also be bringing out a Christmas Blend version of their VIA instant coffee this year – I’ve tried VIA before, which is created using a unique micro-blending technique, and it really is difficult to tell that you’re not drinking the freshly brewed stuff…

To send us on our way Alan personally brewed our favourite Christmas drink (I had a gingerbread latte) and gave us each a goodie bag stuffed full of Christmas products. I had a fantastic evening, and I left feeling quite struck by how very seriously these guys take their coffee. It is their business, but wow, talk about commitment!