Espresso Joe and the shopping mall grind 19 Dec 2011
Joseph Hoye
Grinding coffee is somewhere between an art and a science: too fine and the coffee becomes mud; too coarse and the coffee has no flavor.
Congratulations to the kiwi coffee house in the new Westfield Stratford City for getting it just right. The grind and the service is spot-on for London’s newest shopping experience.
It would be too easy to create another Pretbucks styled café in the Westfield mall, churning out milky flat whites and ginger-chai lattes with a twist of pumpkin foam for a faux Christmas retail pick-me up; the kind of place where the coffee cups begin to pile up on the tables and customers discover the noble art of Jenga with dirty crockery.
Instead, Grind seems intent on focusing on customer needs.
-
Grind’s staff notice when you’re a chair short for your foursome and do their utmost to rectify the situation.
-
It seems there’s always someone in Grind prowling the aisles to ensure the tables are clear and clean.
-
Grind bring your coffee to you instead of whispering or bellowing your name from the service counter.
-
Grind make good coffee.
And Grind is clearly a New Zealand house of coffee, from the moko-like artwork on the walls to the coffee-table books showcasing the best scenery Aotearoa has to offer – something that most other NZ styled cafes don’t allude to. While I sat sipping my Flat White and nibbling an Afghan, a young English couple walked by and said, “Look, another Kiwi place… they’re everywhere. We’ve got to try it.”
There is a New Zealand coffee house style in London and people search for good examples of them. As Jane Austen* so succinctly put it: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that New Zealanders make great coffee. Why not use the free PR?
Grind at Westfield Stratford City is the sibling of the Putney Grind, now approaching its second birthday. The espresso blend is fair trade with a South and Central American base and it’s run through a La Marzocco Strada espresso machine. Micro-batches of beans are roasted three times a week by Grind’s supplier and hit the machines two days after roasting. Some coffee drinkers may be a bit wary of the quick time between roasting and the cup but the results here are difficult to argue with.
Café staples are Afghans and Anzacs, brownies and muffins, ciabatta sandwiches and a generous serving of home-made bacon and egg pie.
If there is one let down at Grind’s Westfield Mall branch, it would be the décor –just a touch too bare for a London cafe, brought on by a very high ceiling. I’d appreciate a little more colour and warmth to gently entice me into that second or third coffee and persuade friends to meet up here. Perhaps the phrase I’m looking is Kiwi-utilitarian – it does the job.
For a self-confessed mall rat, finding a decent espresso at Westfield was an unexpected delight. When the snows start falling on London and the streets become a little too icy to navigate, I’ll be able to jump off the DLR, Jubilee or Central line trains straight into the heated warmth at Stratford to keep up the espresso intake – and indulge in a little winter retail therapy.
-
Grind Coffee Bar
-
Northwest corner of the Lower Ground Floor – near Waitrose
-
Westfield Stratford City, London
-
Open 10am-9pm Mon-Sat. 11am-5pm Sun.
*Ms Austen may also have been referring to men and marriage when she wrote this.
News
Hilary Timmins' Award-Winning UK Documentary Series To Inspire NZ Students
29 Jun 2020 Education
Dream Catchers, produced and directed by Hilary Timmins, celebrates the success stories of more than thirty inspirational New... more
New Zealand reaffirms support for Flight MH17 judicial process
7 Mar 2020 News
Ahead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to... more
Business
NZ Government's Economic package to fight COVID-19
17 Mar 2020 Business News
The Coalition Government has launched the most significant peace-time economic plan in modern New Zealand history to cushion the... more
NZ Government announces aviation relief package
19 Mar 2020 Business News
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today outlined the first tranche of the $600 million aviation sector relief package announced earlier... more
Living
Diversity was Key at New Zealand Trade Tasting in London
6 Jun 2022 Food & Wine
New Zealand Winegrowers Annual Trade Tasting was recently held in London, on Wednesday 4 May, in Lindley Hall.
It was the first... more
Kiwi author stuns Behind the Butterfly Gate
12 Jan 2022 Arts
Hidden behind the Butterfly Gate is where the secret has been kept for 76 years...
New Zealand writer Merryn Corcoran’s... more
Property
Fairer rules for tenants and landlords
17 Nov 2019 Property
17 NOVEMBER 2019
The Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer... more
New Zealand Government will not implement a Capital Gains Tax
17 Apr 2019 Property
The Coalition Government will not proceed with the Tax Working Group’s recommendation for a capital gains tax, Jacinda Ardern... more
Migration
Boosting border security with electronic travel authority – now over 500,000 issued
19 Nov 2019 Migration
19 NOVEMBER 2019
We’ve improved border security with the NZeTA, New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority, which helps us to... more
Christchurch reinstated as refugee settlement location
18 Aug 2018 Migration
18 AUGUST 2018
HON IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY
The announcement that Christchurch can once again be a settlement location for refugees... more
Travel
Gallipoli Anzac Day services cancelled
19 Mar 2020 Travel & Tourism
The New Zealand and Australian Governments have announced this year’s joint Anzac Day services at Gallipoli will be cancelled... more
New Zealanders advised not to travel overseas
19 Mar 2020 Travel & Tourism
New Zealanders advised not to travel overseas
more
Sport
The Skipper's Diary: Sir Richard Hadlee honouring his father and NZ's Forty-Niners
27 Oct 2019 Cricket
NZNewsUK London Editor Charlotte Everett spoke to Sir Richard Hadlee about why he’s chosen to publish his father’s... more
PREVIEW: All Blacks v England semi-final
26 Oct 2019 Rugby
The two most convincing quarterfinals winners are set to square off in a semifinal showdown for the ages when the All Blacks meet old... more
Columns
Gordon Campbell on the Gareth Morgan crusade
11 Nov 2016 Opinion
Gordon Campbell on the Gareth Morgan crusade
First published on Werewolf
The ghastly likes of Marine Le Pen in France and Geert ... more
Gordon Campbell on the US election outcome
10 Nov 2016 Opinion
Column - Gordon Campbell
Gordon Campbell on the US election outcome
Well um.. on the bright side, there (probably)... more
Kiwi Success
Congratulations to Loder Cup winner
26 Sep 2018 People
25 SEPTEMBER 2018
The Loder Cup, one of New Zealand’s oldest conservation awards, has been awarded to Robert McGowan for 2018... more
Appointments to New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
16 Aug 2018 Appointments
16 AUGUST 2018Appointments to New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
HON JENNY SALESA
Associate Education Minister Jenny Salesa is... more
Recruitment
Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
14 Aug 2018 Recruitment
14 AUGUST 2018Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
HON CHRIS HIPKINS
Prime Minister
The... more
Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
22 Aug 2018 Recruitment
14 AUGUST 2018Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
HON CHRIS HIPKINS
Prime Minister
The... more