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NEWS
Special tea for children’s charity Dreams Come True Tea and coffee expert, Edgcumbes, along with tea consultant Malcolm Ferris Lay, has created a special tea blend for national children’s charity, Dreams Come True, in aid of its annual fundraising campaign, the Dream Tea. Edgcumbes and Malcolm Ferris Lay worked with Dreams Come True’s team to create a tea that everyone can enjoy. The tea is a special blend of orthodox Assam teas which give a strong and “malty” character, blended with high grown Kenya teas renowned for their brightness. Alice Rendle, managing director of Edgcumbes said of the blend: “Kenyan tea was introduced in 1903 and started to be grown commercially by 1924. Kenya is now
the third biggest exporter of tea after China and India. In the UK we drink more Kenyan tea than any other. The Assam tea which has been also used is what we call of orthodox manufacture. Dream Tea Assam is full of flavour and has a “malty” character which when blended with Kenyan produces a good cuppa.” Malcolm Ferris Lay added: “The result is a true tea of character and strength which epitomises the children whose dreams we are hoping to fulfil.” Sue Fowler, head of fundraising for Dreams Come True said: “The tea is absolutely fantastic and we are delighted that Edgcumbes and Malcolm Ferris Lay have worked so hard with us to create
such a special tea blend. Both Alice Rendle, Edgcumbes’ managing director and Malcolm have been in the tea industry for many years and their combined experience has helped us create a delicious tea for all our supporters.” Dream Tea corporate partner Bahlsen Biscuits sponsored the production of the Dream Tea tea bags. Coffee and tea shops across the country got involved this year, raising funds with a range of activity. This included anything from having a collection box on their counter, to donating a percentage of sales on the Dream Tea day, to selling raffle tickets or bespoke dream tea biscuits (For more information see www.dreamscometrue.uk.com/dreamtea).
Harris+Hoole opens new central London training centre Harris+Hoole, the speciality coffee shop venture, has opened a brand new dedicated training centre in Central London to teach new baristas the craft of making the perfect coffee – it’s latest step in shaking up the ‘complacent’ UK coffee scene. The coffee shop business has fitted out the training centre with the latest technology in espressomaking equipment so its new baristas can be trained to the same standards as barista championship competitors. The combination of worldclass equipment and the most comprehensive barista of any high street chain, with over 40 hours of specialist coffee training, is designed to produce an end product which stands out from the rest of the major brands, say the company. The cutting edge equipment at the training centre will be used to help teach budding baristas the science behind creating premium coffee that conventional high street chains can’t deliver, from the importance of the grind to the texture of the milk, and how to create perfect latte art. The opening of the training centre was celebrated along with Harris+Hoole’s second
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CAFÉ CULTURE
birthday this August. Andrew Tolley, co-founder of Harris+Hoole and head judge at the UK Barista Championships said: “We make sure our baristas live and breathe coffee and constantly strive to ensure every cup is as good as it gets. This is why we’ve opened the dedicated training centre – to produce world class baristas who create the best coffee on the high street. “We recognise that quality coffee can only be served by baristas meticulously trained
on high quality equipment with speciality grade coffee. Our training programme is delivered by three certified UK barista championship judges at Harris+Hoole, including two head judges. Together we’ve trained over 250 baristas, including a national champion, who had no previous experience in the last year alone through our unique training programme. “We want each and every Harris+Hoole to do things differently to the rest of the high street at every stage – from how we engage local
communities, the experience we offer to our customers in terms of our app and layout, the way we develop and support our employees, to sourcing top quality direct trade beans from farmers.” Harris+Hoole holds its own internal barista competitions to recognise those with outstanding skills and encourage all employees to produce only the best coffee possible. This training sits at the heart of Harris+Hoole’s ethos to provide the best customer experience.