I always want to talk more about what we are serving…

…but I rarely get the time. However, we have a couple items on the menu right now (one tea and one coffee) that I really want people to come down and try. The coffee is an Ethiopia Wote from the Yirgicheffe region as roasted by Square Mile Coffee. This is a great tasting coffee at any time and with any brew method but we’re employing the brewing technique that Mr James Bailey recently used and the World Brewers Championship. It’s being served through the aeropress and is definitely worth the 5 minute brew time and wait!

The tea has been sent to us by Canton Tea Co. It’s named Dong Fang Mei Ren and I like the little story behind the processing of the leaves. The farmer allows a cricket-like insect called Tea Jassids to nibble at the leaves. This creates the oxidation leading to it being classed as an oolong but also forces the tea to secrete an enzyme that adds a wonderfully clean citrus flavour to the drink.
So yeah, two new(ish) things for people to come down and enjoy, both have been incredibly well received today!!

Laynes Espresso is hiring

Laynes Espresso is looking for someone to come on board.

With a start time of mid to late May we’re looking to bring in another person that can comfortably work to the same standards that we currently aim for.

Customer service and a quality product are our main focus and experience in a similar setting would be of a great advantage. We will most definitely offer training when it comes to putting together and serving all the items on our menu but if you think you have the experience and confidence to walk straight on to bar then that would put you in a great position.

In the first 8 months of Laynes being a shop we have won ‘best coffee shop’ in the ‘Leeds Best Of’ awards and we were shortlisted in two categories in the recent ‘Oliver Awards’. To maintain and grow this standard and reputation is hugely important to us.

The position will entail a working week of around 35 to 45 hours including weekends. We do try to make sure that every person doesn’t work every weekend and the hours will usually be shared over 4 to 5 days a week.

Pay will be above minimum wage and will increase after a 6 week period.

Please email your CV and cover letter to email@laynesespresso.co.uk

Further to our having CARAVAN on board for our espresso offering this week we thought we’d do an open invite tasting session of a couple other coffees they offer. This Sunday at 4.30pm we’ll set up a tasting of Caravans Rwanda Kinunu, India Blamaadi and El Salvador Finca El Carmen as well as a look at the espresso we’re using served out as our ‘Split The Shot’. This is the first of our weekly Sunday afternoon classes and tasting sessions. More information on these Sundays can be found here - http://laynesespressonights.eventbrite.co.uk/
Pop-upView Separately

Further to our having CARAVAN on board for our espresso offering this week we thought we’d do an open invite tasting session of a couple other coffees they offer.

This Sunday at 4.30pm we’ll set up a tasting of Caravans Rwanda Kinunu, India Blamaadi and El Salvador Finca El Carmen as well as a look at the espresso we’re using served out as our ‘Split The Shot’.

This is the first of our weekly Sunday afternoon classes and tasting sessions. More information on these Sundays can be found here - http://laynesespressonights.eventbrite.co.uk/

Through March we’ve decided to do our best to showcase a few different roasters from around the country and what they have to offer by way of espresso. In week 1 of the month we’ll be using Caravans ‘Market Blend’. In this blend you’ll find two coffees, Costa Rica Herbazu and Rwanda Musasa. We’re super excited to be able to brew and taste these coffees as espresso being that we’re already familiar with them as brewed coffees. Expect a sugary sweetness with a ripe red fruitness and cocoa. After having milk added there’s a caramel sweetness with a touch of the fruit citrus coming through. We’re looking forward to this one.
Pop-upView Separately

Through March we’ve decided to do our best to showcase a few different roasters from around the country and what they have to offer by way of espresso.

In week 1 of the month we’ll be using Caravans ‘Market Blend’.

In this blend you’ll find two coffees, Costa Rica Herbazu and Rwanda Musasa. We’re super excited to be able to brew and taste these coffees as espresso being that we’re already familiar with them as brewed coffees.

Expect a sugary sweetness with a ripe red fruitness and cocoa. After having milk added there’s a caramel sweetness with a touch of the fruit citrus coming through.

We’re looking forward to this one.

Upcoming Classes at Laynes Espresso

We’ve scheduled in a few Sunday events at Laynes Espresso. We’ve been running a few ‘classes’ since we opened last year and the demand seems to grow each time we do.

This time we’ve listed a few different events for you to have a look through and decide which will be best for you. Book on them all if you fancy!

The link to all the events is - http://laynesespressonights.eventbrite.co.uk

Descriptions with out going to that link here -


LATTE ART COURSE

Many people that have enjoyed our drinks have commented (by comment I actually mean ‘take pictures with their phones’) on the little bit of ‘Latte Art’ we put across the top of the drink. We’ve had plenty of people ask if we’d be willing to teach them how we do it and yes, we are very willing!

This course starts at 3.30pm on Sunday March 18th and we’ll take you through a little about milk preparation before you have the opportunity to get onto our Synesso espresso machine and start making drinks yourself. We’ll be guiding you along the way as you practice rosettas, hearts, tulips and any other fancy design you can come up with.

A little bit of previous experience is useful when it comes to preparing milk on the espresso machine, but if you feel you’re a fast learner dive on in!

Limited to 4 people so that everyone gets plenty of time on the machine.

£60 including some sweet treats for you to indulge in!

http://latteartatlaynes.eventbrite.co.uk


ESPRESSO BREWING COURSE

We’re hoping this to be our most in depth course on one specific aspect of what we do at Laynes Espresso.

Our espresso is different to what you’ll find in any of the high street chain coffee shops, our customers will often tell us this, and we’re very proud of that fact (unless they think ours is rubbish).

We’ll take you through espresso brewing from a more widely used ‘industry standard’ to an in depth look what we do that’s slightly different and makes our espresso stand out a little more from the crowd of espresso based drinks. We’ll talk about the actual science going on behind the scenes, why we’ve chosen to use the machine and the coffee we do and what flavours we can hope to achieve this quick little coffee.

This is a course that’s open to 6 people and we think it’s a valuable use of time whether you already work with coffee or just someone after that much more information and knowledge.

£80 including sweet treats to keep the energy levels up and caffeine fuzz down as well as a bag of our house espresso to take home.

Limited to 6 people so that this is most definitely a hands-on experience and not a presentation and is on March 25th

http://espressoatlaynes.eventbrite.co.uk

HOME BREWING

We’ve run this course a couple times now and it always goes down well with those attending. ‘My coffee tastes so much better now’ is the comment we love to hear and the reason why we feel this is a great chance for anyone brewing coffee at home to ‘up their game’.

We cover the use of cafetiere, aeropress and V60 pour-overs and how each method can highlight different aspects of the coffee. We always make sure the coffee you’ll be tasting will be of the very best available that week.

We’ll then give you an introduction to the basics of creating tasty espresso drinks with the opportunity to use our Synesso espresso machine. The impromptu Latte Art challenge usually then follows!

£40 with places limited to 6 people and on April the 1st at 3.30pm.

http://homebaristaatlaynes.eventbrite.co.uk

Home Barista Class at Laynes

Home Barista Class at Laynes Espresso We’ve had many of our customers ask us over the last few months about whether or not we’d be willing to extend our evening classes towards a more ‘hands on’ experience and for us to present an event geared more towards the actually brewing techniques we employ in the shop. It’s an idea we’ve been wantIng to pursue since opening and, with the start of the new year, we’re ready to offer these classes.
So far we have scheduled in two evenings, Sunday January 22nd and Sunday February 19th with both starting at 6pm and running through to around 9pm. Both of these nights will include an introduction to the equipment we use for both espresso and brewed coffee before moving on to the basics of each brewing format. You’ll be able to get your hands on our espresso machine and make a move towards understanding what goes into pouring a tasty espresso before moving on to combining that with milk to produce a wonderful cappuccino. We’ll even be giving some hints and tips on pouring latte art. We’ll be working our way through kilos of coffee and looking at the desirable balance of flavours in each brew method. These evenings are very much aimed at the ‘home barista’ and those with a little interest and curiosity in our coffee world and who’d like to get a little more involved! If you think this is something you’d like to partake in then please take a look at http://laynesbaristaclass.eventbrite.co.uk for further booking information.

Our next evening at Laynes Espresso

Ethiopia is the birthplace of Arabica coffee and home to an incredible array of indigenous heirloom varietals that are still prized to this day. Ethiopia is still home to classic regional coffees such as Yirgacheffe that offer incredible flavour in the cup

This evening will be hosted by Damian Blackburn, roaster at Bolling Coffee and he’ll be presenting ideas on how can we map and trace the movement of these wild strains into commercial cultivation, how they impact our flavour expectations from coffee and how these heirloom Arabicas and the oldest varietals – such as Bourbon and Typica – are genuinely better in the cup than the more modern hybrids and strains.

We’ll also look at the direct link between Ethiopia and the Geisha (Gesha) varietal and what work is being done on the ground to identify and isolate heirloom varietals that could improve quality and taste profiles even further.

This is most definitely an evening for those that are really looking to further their knowledge and understanding of the coffee world. This can only help with your buying of coffee in the future as you’ll have a fuller understanding of the terms often seen on the bag of a quality bag of coffee.

It will be held of the evening of Wednesday, December 21st starting at 7.30pm and a ticket is priced at £16.50

As always, there’ll be coffee to take home

more information here - http://varietalsofcoffee.eventbrite.com/