It must be noted that I enjoy the occasional coffee…
…and now I have found the holy grail – the best coffee I have ever tasted both inside and outside Italy
(as you can see, I likes the occasional coffee, above, Milan 2007 – I have no idea what the newspaper says, I can only order coffee in Italian!)
I was in London today working on the 2008 Youth Pilgrimage which was really productive: we have theme, shape, ideas, creativity and an agenda, all produced in one session and a few decent M&S sandwiches in Fr. Warner’s kitchen in the shadow of St Pauls: mother church of the Diocese of London but which even Clergy are expected to pay 9 quid to enter (so I didn’t). I therefore went walking down Fleet Street and over to Charing Cross Road.
There in Charing Cross Road was Cafe Vergnano a small but very tastefully set out coffee shop with the biggest and most imposing espresso machine I have ever seen. My double espresso was served for the first time in this country without asking with a small shot glass of water by the side and a chocolate. It was £2 for a Doppio, but that is only about 40p more than a much lower quality shot from Nero, Costa or Starbucks. Here at last was a strong, rich espresso which was a bit more substantial (in texture as well as volume) than the ristretto you normally get when you ask for a Doppio in the Bar Italia on Frith Street, Soho.
http://www.caffevergnano.com/ is the base website and features a brilliant flash advert with Dustin Hoffman no less! However, the English site is at: http://www.caffevergnano.com/vergnano_en.php
A place to return to, I think.