Austria (and Vienna in particular) are famous for their coffee houses and Austrians like nothing better than to sit with a cup of coffee ....and usually a delicious pastry or cake of some sort. Sitting in a coffee house in Vienna is a luxurious unhurried pastime. There is always a newspaper to hand and the waiter will bring you a fresh glass of iced water to accompany your coffee. Many coffee houses in Austria open in the evenings with piano music and some host literary evenings. Very cultured.
When ordering coffee in Austria you are generally given a menu and get to choose the bean type as well as the way it arrives - espresso, cappuccino, mocha, latte, ristretto. I found this a complete novelty at first, but I ended up trying out many different coffee bean types than I would ever have done had I been buying the beans myself. One of my favourite drinks on a cold Winter's day was the Einspaenner - a strong black coffee served in a glass with lots of whipped cream on top and a small bowl of powdered sugar on the side.
Finding good quality coffee has been a bit hit and miss in the UK, although it has improved tremendously over the years and there are now specialist shops that will grind beans to your taste. The range in some of these shops (especially in the larger towns) is excellent, but it is not always possible to travel to buy the coffee and the cost of travel can often offset the value of the purchase. I believe that fresh coffee should be bought in small sizes, so that it is used at its freshest and has no opportunity to go stale.
I was quite excited then to see a leaflet in a magazine for a company that offers fresh coffee delivered to your door. PACT say that their mission is to get us all drinking better quality coffee by making it accessible to everyone. They roast in small batches and post out within seven days so that the coffee is at its very freshest.
The leaflet I saw offered a trial first order for £1.00 (usual price £6.95) so I thought "Why not? At that price it has to be worth it".
The process of ordering coffee is very straightforward and you can choose to receive beans or ground coffee (tailored to your own type of machine). The frequency of deliveries is again your choice and there is no ongoing commitment. I elected to receive different coffee every time and to let the team choose for me. I was a bit concerned when I saw the first choice was El Retiro (Roasted hazelnuts) as I don't like hazelnuts (!!), but I decided that I should give it a try. And I'm glad I did.
The coffee arrived two days later in a brown bag suitable for storage. The label clearly shows both when it was roasted and ground, so you can be sure it is fresh as can be.
I am glad I stuck with this choice of coffee as it is very smooth and flavoursome. Not too nutty and very mellow. It's a great breakfast choice with a warm croissant and some homemade jam.
The coffee arrived with a little coffee magazine - the first edition as it happens - that contains some great tips for improving your cup of coffee.
I was just thinking about writing this post when I received a call from Brendan at Pact checking I had received the coffee and that I was happy with it. We had a discussion about how I liked the strength of my coffee and he offered to adjust the type of grind of the coffee sent to me to suit my particular liking. He also suggested a different coffee for the next time than the one originally chosen for me following our discussion. Truly a personalised service!
I will definitely be continuing with this service and am already looking forward to the next package!
If you would like to take advantage of the same £1.00 trial that I used, then just leave me a comment with an email address and I will send you a code.
Happy coffee drinking!!
No comments:
Post a Comment