Going for coffee in Brighton
After another lockdown Lloyd, one of our senior baristas, found himself in Brighton on a sunny day in June. Here is his blog.
LLOYD ON BRIGHTON:
We had the pleasure of taking my first trip to Brighton on an extremely hot day in June. Being the start of half-term it was extremely busy, but luckily we made it to the most recommended coffee bar in Brighton.
Bond St Coffee is a delightful spot right in the heart of the old lanes of Brighton and a short walk from central station. When we arrived, there were a few benches outside but being the weather it was, we missed out on these. I was happy to sit inside and take a look at the various equipment and retail coffee beans that covered the walls at the front of the shop.
As a lot of places during social distancing were not offering V60´s, I ordered a batch brew and my partner ordered an oat flat white. I loved my coffee. It was a natural Ethiopian which I usually get quite excited about anyway. I was really impressed by how clean and smooth it was – something I don´t usually associate with this process. It had very strong notes of tropical fruits and a light mouthfeel. The coffee was from roastery Black Rain, which Bond St use regularly, along with Horsham Coffee Roaster, who own the shop.
Upon chatting to the friendly baristas I was offered to taste the espresso that day. It was a single origin washed Rwanda bourbon. It was very characterful and the tasting notes were chocolate, Orange and caramel. I definitely had strong tastes of each of these through diferent points in sipping the coffee, through various temperatures.
I came away with a bag of Horsham coffee. After speaking briefly with a barista there I went for a pink bourbon Colombian with an anaerobic fermentation process. The tasting notes were Raspberry, Pineapple and Fruit Syrup. We shared this between the guys at VvW and the response was good! I would have liked a bigger bag, to hone the V60 brew at home slightly. The few attempts I had, I felt like I was bringing out some tasting notes over others, but it was very tasty!
It was a very hot day and the two staff were dealing very well with the volume of customers. I would definitely recommend Bond St Coffee to anyone visiting Brighton, the coffee is of the highest level!
Lloyd visited:
Bond St Coffee, 15 Bond St. Brighton, BN1 1RD
