How did coffee cast its spell over you?
Rich: I grew up in Chandlers Ford, near Winchester, and was first intrigued by coffee and its effects when seeing my dad filling a flask to take on his night shift. He told me of its magical effects and the smell had me hooked. It was when studying that I truly fell in love with coffee, more through necessity than a desire to have it. It was whilst at uni that I trained as a barista, too.
Let’s talk beans.
Our house blend is Allpress Redchurch. Their medium roast, four-origin blend caters for most palettes. We offer different speciality roasters as our guest filters, rotating this fortnightly and preparing it using drip, v60 or an aeropress.
Give us some tasting notes.
Tasting an espresso and deciding if it’s ‘good’ is pretty subjective, but things to consider are look, smell, taste. Look for a good crema, an even caramel colour with no white spots. Smell the rich aroma, avoid any shot that smells sour. Finally taste: let the shot glide over your tongue, hoping for a little acidity, velvety texture and slight bitterness similar to cocoa. If it’s too watery, send it back!
Where did you taste your worst ever coffee?
At a service station.
And the best?
The ones we tasted at London’s many speciality roasters before opening – and since.
What else do you serve at the cafe?
Homemade sausage rolls (inc All Day Breakfast with Bloody Mary ketchup, Pig Wellington and three more); grilled cheese & chorizo croissants, pastries, cakes, artisan sandwiches, freshly squeezed juice and delicious cold brew coffee.
What has been a surprise for you?
The growing trend for filter coffee and cold brew. It’s great to see customers embracing new experiences, and these two methods of brewing are a great way to get them trying different single origins, each fortnight.
Who are your regulars?
A mixture of friendly office staff and freelancers during the week and all the truly wonderful folk who live near the shop at the weekends – plus a few fun tourists for good measure. We feel blessed that approximately 90% of our trade is regulars and it is always wonderful to see a customer returning for that second visit full of praise for the coffee they had before.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Don’t scrimp on your coffee – it’s what you are! Otherwise: buy good shoes, prepare for minimal sleep and smile lots.
What’s next?
We’ve always planned to open at least one more place in north London. Something more day to night, offering both excellent coffee with an additional bistro element and slight more space to run fun events. We’d always keep TwoDoorsDown though – it’s our baby.