Forsaking espresso entirely, we set about bringing to Londoners a side of coffee that had until now been tremendously underrepresented in a commercial environment, despite its near fanatical following amongst coffee professionals and devotees alike. Through Penny University, we brought filter coffee to the forefront, and aimed to portray it as accessible, lingering, constantly evolving, and most importantly, delicious.

Since opening our doors, the positive responses from our guests has been truly overwhelming. Similarly, the number of home brewers and grinders that have made their way into people’s homes through our store is truly wonderful and very encouraging. We have learned a tremendous amount about our coffees, the brewers that we stock, and most importantly about just how receptive to new ideas and the nuance of great coffee the London public are.

But now, in mid-July, that three month period is coming to a close. Despite having the opportunity to continue Penny University for a longer period, we’ve had a tremendously difficult decision to make. After a great deal of debate, and careful, considered deliberation, it’s with slightly mixed emotions that we announce that Penny University will be closing for business at 4:00pm Friday 30 July.

We genuinely feel that Penny University has burned very brightly, and served a great purpose in the London coffee community. We also feel that there are opportunities now for us to expand upon what we have started, tested, and learned from at Penny University. When and where those opportunities are likely to arise and be deployed is still largely unknown, but we eagerly look forward to the opportunities that await us in future retail endeavours.

It would be remiss of us not to deeply and sincerely thank the following people:

Tobias Cockerill, for diligently and tirelessly working one of the most demanding and exhausting coffee bars in the world, and for representing both our company and the craft of coffee brewing in the most professional, yet approachable way possible. Alex Goforth and Gwilym Davies, for also working the bar despite their already busy schedules, and doing so with great competence and affability. Anette Moldvaer, Jessica MacDonald and John Gordon, for providing the essential, yet often thankless and overlooked support of sourcing, roasting, production and build-out. Paul Stack of Marco Systems, for unwavering technological generosity and support, and everyone at Aesop for being such wonderful hosts.

And finally our deepest thanks to each and every guest who took a seat at our bar, placing their trust in us as both baristas and hosts, accepting and embracing our limited range and policy of no condiments. We hope that we managed to show you just how easy it can be to produce simply wonderful and delicious coffee at home, and we hope that your time in our store was rewarding, informative, but most importantly, enjoyable.
In months to come we will be exploring future retail opportunities, and fully expect that our Penny University bar will be featured prominently in the next project we undertake. For now, however, we’d like to say concisely and succinctly, thank you.

Tim Williams & James Hoffmann
Square Mile Coffee Roasters

We hope to see some of you there!  (Though please bear in mind that there are only 6 seats at the bar)

The Penny University
5 Redchurch Street
London
E2 7DJ

map

info@pennyuniversity.co.uk

If you have any questions then just leave a comment!

Opening Hours:

Weekdays – 9 til 5

Weekends – 10 til 4

Columbia Road is a magical place on a Wednesday evening in December, the lovely shops are open but it isn’t as crowded and bustling as when the flower market is on.

Need another reason to visit?  Join us for the first UBF we’ve ever held outside!  World Barista Champion 2009 – Gwilym Davies – is hosting us at his legendary coffee cart on Ezra street as London’s finest baristas prove that fine art can be achieved in take-away cups too!

Spectating is free!  Coffee (to keep you warm) will be free! Fun will had, and you can do a bit of Christmas shopping too!

If you want to compete there are a few spots left and you can book a place by purchasing your ticket here.

See you there!  It is going to be amazing!

Gwilym’s Cart
Ezra Street (Off Columbia Road – Map)
7.30pm
Wednesday December 17th

Event: UKBC Workshop

Venue: Square Mile Coffee Roasters
273 Poyser Street
London
E2 9RF (Map)

When:  5pm – 10pm Wednesday 6th January

As you may know we are hosting the South East regional of the UK Barista Championship this year.  There is a pdf download of information about the heat here.

We highly recommend competing (but then we would!), and as part of our involvement in the South East regional we are hosting a workshop about competition.

The aim of the workshop is to take some of the mystery away from competition, help competitors understand what is expected of them and how to get the most out of it.  We’ll cover the DOs and DON’Ts of competing and do our best to answer everyone’s questions.  It should be a lot of fun, as well as being informative.

Two World Barista Champions will be on hand to give talks and answer questions – this is a great opportunity to tune up those performances.

Numbers will be limited, and those who have signed up to compete in the regional event – which you need to do by December 31st – are guaranteed a space.  For those interested in attending/competing then we will also put tickets in the webshop at the start of January.  We anticipate about 15-20 spaces.

We’re working hard to make sure that the London/South East regional is a great experience for all involved, especially the baristas who compete.  Competition is a great learning experience and if you’ve made it through a single round of the UBF then anything else should be easy!

Any questions then do please leave a comment or get in touch.

Challenge: ACF 7oz cups.  Can you pour on demand? The wheel of fortune will decide the pours.  Can you bring it…..?

Competitors: Tickets – £5 (Prize fund of £50 + some barista wares)

Please arrive at 7pm for the draw, or let us know if you are running late.

Spectators: Do not buy tickets!  Entry – £4 on the door, £3 with a UBF Badge (or free if you bring some beer or food).

There will be beer and delicious eatings provided (hence the cover charge and option to avoid it).

Massive thanks to Paul from CoffeeHit.co.uk for agreeing to add to the prize pot for each event!

4 Roach Road
London
E3
map

Possibly the best kept secret in London, mostly due to its location.  Way off the charts of most coffee people/food bloggers.

Don’t miss:  The Big Breakfast (especially the homemade relish), the vintage cinema seating, a great mural, great coffee, finding an oasis in the oddest of places.  I love how much the owners did without spending on pointless things.  Love just hanging out here.

***IF YOU WANT TO COME, PLEASE LET US KNOW BY LEAVING A COMMENT OR BY SENDING US AN EMAIL!!!***

On Sunday March 8th you are cordially invited to join us at the roastery to watch the 2009 United States Barista Championships live via the internets! The top 6 baristas from across the US will battle it out for the crown and sash, and the lifetime opportunity to go to…. Atlanta GA in April, to vie for the WBC title.

The finals kick off at 20:00 UK time, and without too much of a delay the results and award ceremony should be done around 23:30. We’ll be open for business from 7-ish, and will make sure there will be plenty of coffee around to thoroughly frazzle your nerves before the grueling battle begins! If you want to bring something we suggest chairs (cus the floor is cold) a beverage of your choice (as stated coffee’s on us) or foods (we’ll need our strength).

Join us for an evening of cheering at people making coffee on a big screen, crying and hugging each other as the champion is announced, the Barista Drinking Games and a few more beers to fuel an uninhibited and uncoordinated latte art throwdown!

PLEASE drop us a line or leave a comment here if you are coming, so we know roughly how many flags to get for waivin’.

USBC Teaser from wrbc on Vimeo.

Yesterday saw the last of the UK regional heats take place in Lewes, featuring baristas from London and the South East plus a couple of out of region entrants.

We knew this last heat was going to be a tough one, with some very solid baristas battling it out for the coveted semi final spots. Unsurprisingly, five out of the seven competing scored high enough to move on to the next round, the highest number for any regional!

Gwilym gave a wonderful performance and served up some really tasty drinks in his 15 minutes on stage. (Or so we were told- James and I are rubbish at watching when the clock starts, so were nervously pacing the back room trying not to watch the clock ticking down!) But the hard work, late nights, endless dishes and constant nerves proved worth it, and he not only won the heat, he did so with a very, very good score and won best signature drink on top of it all!

A very deserving winner and all round top bloke, Gwilym is a fantastic barista and coffee advocate, genuinely doing what he loves best and serving delicious coffee to London’s thirsty masses from his carts on Whitecross Street and Columbia Road markets. We’ve been honoured to work with him over the last few months, and we’re very proud that he chose to use our coffee.

Of the 80-something entrants across the UK 25 have moved on to the semi finals in Glasgow, and the top 6 from there will throw down in a seriously intense finals on Wednesday. Hopefully there will be a live feed up somewhere so even if you can’t make it up there to watch, you can cheer online and along with all of us nervously waiting off stage be the first to know who will be representing the UK at the Worlds in April!

James and I, having been heavily involved in all sides of the competition for the last several years, have always been saddened by the lack of interest shown by London cafes and roasters. Support for the competition in the London scene has been disappointingly thin over the last few years, to the point where the ‘London Regional’ has been repeatedly canceled, and the one or two lone entrants moved to other regionals. This is the second year in a row where the lack of backing has lead to there not being a heat held here, but- at least now we have a few more actual London baristas signing up to compete! Finally! Next year we at SQM will do our very best to make sure the London heat will rock, no more sending our boys and girls off to compete in Birmingham, Penzance or Llandudno! With more and more great coffee places popping up all over the city we recon it’s time to get all these baristas putting their portafilters where their mouths are, and throwdown for the title of London champ! Those who do not dare do not win!

But for now, we’ll settle for Lewes, and would encourage every fellow barista, coffeegeek and competitor-in-the-making- London based or not- to head down for the day to cheer, chat, drink coffee, and steal ideas for next year…

In the immediate future most of the cafes we highlight will be serving our coffee, though we hope to cover others in the future.  Hopefully those searching for the best coffee in London, great London cafes and the like will find this series useful.  The London and UK Coffee Map is also worth checking out.

Taste of Bitter Love

276 Hackney Road
London
E2 7SJ
website
map

Don’t miss:  savoury muffins, a stellar cappuccino, records you wished you owned, an awe inspiring retail display, the John Travolta workout book.