Lady Gaggia
“Dear Poppy,
We would like you to come and play with us. We’ll be making coffee, smelling coffee, tasting coffee, learning about coffee, eating coffee cakies and we’ll tell you all about our new super duper amazers coffee machines.
Oh, we’ll also be making coffee martinis.
Love Gaggia.”
I was there faster than you can say Macchiato. (Love that word).
I took M with me, because he is to coffee, what Paddington Bear is to marmalade sandwiches. This was like a dream come true. In Farringdon. In an uber snazzy apartment. With canapés.
Once M and I had stopped jumping up and down with excitement, expert barista, Paul Meikle-Janney took the reins and talked us through, with enormous passion, the wonderful world of coffee. The history, geography, flavours and process… it was completely fascinating. We smelled, we tasted, we compared… and I learnt squillions of coffee FACTS!
Here are my top 3:
1. You should never put coffee in the fridge. (I know. I thought that I was so clever keeping my coffee in the fridge.) This is because it will become moist and coffee should be kept dry in an airtight container. Not. In. The. Fridge… Who knew. (Paul knew).
2. It was Achilles Gaggia, who in 1938 first applied steam pressure to ground coffee and was therefore the first chap to produce the crema layer (the white bit on the top which makes it look like a Guinness). Clever clogs.
3. The best milk for foaming is reindeer milk because it is rich in protein at 11%. (Cow’s milk contains just 3.4%) So next time you’re in your local Sainsbury’s, you know what you need to ask for. (You know it will be funny – go on. Do it.)
Paul then started to make every coffee you can imagine on the very clever (and very compact!) GranGaggia coffee machine. Lattes, Espressos, Long Blacks, Flat Whites, Macchiatos (still love that word) Cappuccinos… Poppy was beginning to see stars. I sat down.
To finish us off, Paul transformed into (a much taller version of) Tom Cruise, (with a cocktail shaker and everything) and used the GranGaggia to make us all ridiculously delicious coffee martinis.
M had his. I had some of mine and then became a bit wobblepops. M had the rest of mine and suddenly he found everything hilarious.
‘Twas time to go home, but not before we took one more longing look at the GranGaggia coffee machine and wondered if anyone would notice if I stuck it up my jumper.
We decided against it.
(Note to self – must get a bigger jumper.)
Gaggia GranGaggia Espresso Maker
£180
Available at Amazon, Argos and Currys
www.philipslovecoffee.co.uk
Win! Grow your own tea and coffee!
The lovely people at Gaggia have given me a super duper Gift Republic Grow Your Own Tea and Coffee to give away! (RP £10) All you have to do to win this super duper prize (see above pic) is one of the following, (the more you do the more chances you have.) Please leave me a comment below for each step you complete:
1. Sign up to my mailing list ((Completion of this step is compulsory to be entered – please look out for the confirmation email in your inbox, otherwise you won’t be registered!))
Smbumblebee
What a great giveaway! I am on your mailing list 🙂
Smbumblebee
Have liked you on Facebook 🙂
Smbumblebee
And am a follower of your blog 🙂
Smbumblebee
BTW it was only this morning that I read that coffee should be kept in the fridge …. tut tut! I do think its better in the cupboard though 🙂
staffstechgirl
just signed up to mailing list!
staffstechgirl
Have tweeted @staffstechgirl 🙂
caroles
I have signed up to mailing list
caroles
I’m following your blog
caroles
I’m a facebook fan
caroles
Twitter follower and have tweeted @caroles2311
Anonymous
Just joined your facebook page & mailing list.x
magic
wow lovely, have done all of the above, x
Diane Wood
I was already an FB liker but now I’ve signed up to your newsletter too