The late 1990s saw the speciality food boom echo across the North American continent from the West Coast and in coffee the explosion originated in Seattle, in the eclectic coffee houses and gourmet coffee shops such as the original Starbucks. 

A new awareness of the variety of coffee both in origin and the way it could be served and drunk saw small enterprise grasp the banner and the independent coffee house and small town roaster was reborn. Suddenly Coffee House owner became at once a credible and viable lifestyle for free spirits across the 50 states.

With the support of the Specialty Coffee Association of America a new breed of entrepreneur became entranced with the variety of different coffee available in the exotic locations throughout the globe where coffee is produced and the constant demand was for the highest quality beans, showcased in imaginative ways. Continental Europeans have long felt that they held the high ground in the quality of coffee that they buy, whereas in the UK the most popular beverage remains instant or soluble coffee. In the past 6 years cappuccino bars ( they don't sell much espresso!) have multiplied in London and certain other cities, but as yet the UK public at large has not quite figured out what it is they want in gourmet coffee.

We at Hill & Valley feel that, just as it took the "wine bar boom" of the late seventies and early eighties to launch discriminating wine buying in the UK, a similar phenomenon is about to happen in coffee. Once the mystique of the roasting and blending process is stripped away, consumers will be liberated by recognising the different taste characteristics that can be brought out in a correctly brewed coffee and they will begin to demand the freshest beans possible, which is the sole way to guarantee the release of the volatile flavours in the cup and not at the roasting factory. Conventional channels of retail distribution cannot support this need, and a direct relationship between drinker and roaster is the logical consequence to ensure delivery as soon as possible after roasting.

Secrets of the Trade

Shhhhhh! Don't tell any one, but there aren't many! Coffee people in producing countries are almost without exception open hearted folk. Coffee cherries have to be picked by hand, often in mountain locations, and then nurtured on their processing journey to the hard nutty green bean. It is the work of the gardener, not the Alchemist. Next time you are in the supermarket look at the packets of blends - where did the coffee come from? Would you drink wine that comes from "various countries"? How do you know what makes it taste like that? Could it taste better? Should it taste better for that price?

At Hill & Valley we will tell you everything you want to know about our coffee. We can bore you to death with it, if you like. Our blends are not secret recipes - they are our opinion of what goes well with what - that's all. Our single origin coffees are just that. We don't sell a "Kenya Blend", but we do have a Kenya AA Main Crop most of the time. Come and see it - sit on the bag, bite the Green Bean, bring the kids, watch your coffee roast, take it home, tell your friends. That's our philosophy.

We'd like you to go on a voyage of discovery in coffee and we'll try to help you along the way. Like us you'll find certain combinations that "hit the spot" and you'll stick with them. You'll dabble, like us; and experiment. That's the fun. You can't blend wines, but you as sure as hell can and should try blending coffees! We'll help you through the secrets of brewing - they are few. Grind just before brewing; use good water; get the right temperature; extract at the optimum rate for the machinery; wash up well. That is the route to coffee perfection.

The real secret is that it is not expensive or especially slow, but it can be wonderfully ritualistic.

Beans - why beans, not ground?

Simple - grinding takes away freshness. The seal's broken and a big part of the goodness flies away before it gets to the packet, never mind your cup. Each roasted coffee bean is a flavour capsule that the roaster has carefully allowed to stabilise with the volatile aromatics locked inside. We could try to explain the chemistry, but you can prove it yourself. Grind some coffee beans. Smell it. Come back in five minutes. Smell it again. Where did it go? Not in your cup. At Hill & Valley we will only sell you beans. Of course you could try going to Majestic and try to buy some opened wine, but you may feel a little silly.

So...fancy roasting your own?

If you want to know the issues of roasting your own beans, but are not sure where to start, look no further than this excellent article on Roasting Your Own Beans from Antony Prince.