Coffee shops and cafés have taken over city centres and high streets; in the 17th and 18th centuries, coffee shops were the meeting place for intellectuals and politicians (men) to share ideas and conduct business. Then tea took over. Today the growing millennial population is fuelling the worldwide growth in coffee drinking, coffee shops are an expanding niche market. If you are an entrepreneur, a freelancer or someone who can work remotely, the WiFi and comfort in London’s coffee shops make them a suitable office from which to conduct your daily business whilst enjoy your cup of coffee with a pastry or a sandwich, for the best part of a day.
Also, ready to drink cold coffees with a variety of added flavours (caramel-liqueurs-nuts) are breaking through replacing some soft drinks on shelves at supermarkets and garages, and the new kid on the block is Nitro coffee dispensed out of a tap in a keg, similar to beer, this coffee has a foamy texture and is only available in coffee shops or cafés.
Globally coffee is the second most traded commodity after crude oil, value wise. Presently, the Europe Union followed by the US is the largest market for coffee, but Asia Pacific is catching up, India and China’s young urban middle class are enjoying the variety of brewing methods and the hit of caffeine, coffee is mankind’s primary source of caffeine.Fair-Trade labelled coffee, which provides fair conditions and a fair price to small-holding workers and artisan growers, is the largest Fair-Trade commodity globally. Fair-Trade has become its own brand gathering the public’s support for its ethical, environmental and gourmet qualities.
Previously a rarity coffee beans from the lush coast of Kerala and Karnataka, the Monsooned Malabarbeans have now become one of UK’s favourite brews. A dark roasted Arabica or Robusta bean with an unforgettable syrupy, plum and chocolatey taste, achieved by exposing the warehoused beans to the elements, the wind and rain swell the beans and give them their characteristic strong musty delicious flavour. The exposure also takes away the acidity and makes the coffee almost pH neutral. The usual harvest season is November to March, sometimes the British consumer finds Monsooned Malabar so delicious the supermarket shelves are disappointingly empty from February until new supplies arrive.