Getting To Know Us A Little Better | First Up, Mat

When Starbucks approached us to tell us about the 20 hour process behind their new Cold Brew coffee, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to slow the pace down a little, and share some things about us you may not know. We've been sharing on Buckets & Spades for eight years this March! That's pretty crazy to think about – be that with creative ideas, interesting design notes, style features, city guides or more personal subjects. But how well do you guys actually know the people behind the blog? First up, me!

Each batch of Starbucks' Cold Brew is made freshly in-store, daily. The bold and subtly sweet flavours is the result of a unique cold-brewing method. Over the course of the 20 hour steeping process, the flavours are extracted and released, leaving a naturally sweet batch of coffee. They only brew one batch per day, so once it's gone, it's gone.

In light of this slower process, and with the aim to get to know us better, myself + Hollie graded a cup of freshly brewed coffee and discussed what makes me tick.

Hollie - What's your family background like? It's clear from knowing you for 10 years that you look back at memories with your grandparents very fondly.

Mat - I grew up in a single-parent family, so I never had that direct father figure. I didn't do me any harm, but I guess it wasn't ideal. We lived in our grandparents' house in Blackpool, and me + my Grandad were inseparable. We'd go on day trips, play football at the park, watch Saturday sport together, hang out at cafes, and generally just muck about. I have really fond memories of us organising his his stamp collection into leather-bound files. One of my earliest memories is of my Grandad pushing me along the promenade in my pram, for what seemed like hours.

I loved that guy; he was a true gent, with a fun-loving, kind nature. A proper family man. I truly believe that those early years spent with him – he was an East London lad, of Russian parents – shaped the person I have turned into today. His wife, my Grandma, was a Yorkshire-born professional hair model in her earlier years, before devoting her life to raising a family.

Starbucks Coffee | Introducing the Clover Brewing System

Like most of us, I drink a lot of coffee. Aside from ensuring that it’s strong and bitter, I don’t often give much thought as to how it’s made - the process surely hasn’t changed much in a hundred years, most likely with good reason. So when Starbucks said at the London Coffee Festival that they had a new (and very expensive) machine that made coffee differently and ‘better’, the skeptic in me decided that here was a marketing gimmick designed to extract more money from customers for the same product.

A month later, I visited the Vigo Street Starbucks in London to see this ‘revolutionary’ machine in action. Vigo Street is a flagship Starbucks - one of three in London - and the bespoke designer wallpaper and ornately carved wooden ceiling, fully restored from its days as a Turkish bath, attest to this. That said, if you’ve not been told you’re unlikely to study the wall or ceiling intently enough to realise. They should probably have a sign. 

As this was a demonstration, I was able to dodge the snaking 9.00am queue and walk to the front (this work has it’s perks!). Sat on the counter was the machine in question. Imagine if Apple designed a coffee machine: a large chrome box, sleek, spotless, and intriguing, although given it’s price tag of around £20,000 and rarity (only three in the UK), it was strange to see it tucked slightly out of sight near the milk and napkins.

It’s called the Clover Brewing System. Using vacuum-press technology, similar to a cafeteria, but machine driven and set-up in reverse - this system sucks water through ground coffee and a dense mesh filter to give a cup of coffee that’s as clean as possible. It’s a futuristic operation that involves smoothly moving chrome parts and that most advanced of technologies for cleaning, a rubber squeegee. The child inside me wanted to order another coffee just to see it in action, but for all the impressive theatrics, was the result worthwhile?

With a barista on hand to talk us through the four-step coffee tasting process, a large French press for comparison, and a selection of baked goods, we started to drink and the difference was noticeable immediately. The filter of the Clover system had stripped the oils from the coffee and left a cup that tasted ‘clean’ and ‘light’; no coffee clinging to the inside of your month and the ‘thickness’ of the coffee had vanished, leaving an experience not unlike drinking coffee flavoured water. And that’s a good thing; no need for the standard glass of water or piece of chewing gum to wash the coffee left-overs away.

After we finished the tasting I compared two cups side-by-side. The French press did have a distinct oily sheen glistening on the surface of the coffee, while the Clover had no visible oil at all. Proof that the system does what it claims to do, and although not everyone will have the luxury of comparing two different cups of coffee, the £2-3 increase in price doesn’t seem to be putting people off giving it a try, with tales from the barista of customers walking a good distance just to seek out a cup. Then again, this is a stones throw from Mayfair where price is definitely not an issue, so it’s unlikely that a Clover machine will be replacing all regular filter coffees across the country, or even the capital, any time soon. Even so, the Vigo Street store is worth a trip, if only for the decor, and you’ll have the chance to try a coffee that, if the price of the machine can be reduced, could become a more common sight in the future.

You can watch a video from Wired.com of the Clover in action, and learn more about the process on the Starbucks website. Has anyone else tried Clover yet or visited the Vigo Street store? I’d be interested to know what other tasters thought... - Nik

You can find Nik at - Conrad's Beer |  Twitter | Instagram

Went out for magazines....

So I got up early on my day off to go through to Preston, the nearest city from where I live and also where I go to uni. In my mind I had magazines, I also needed to get a few necessities too. After a nice hour long coffee and reading session in Starbucks (the paninis are hotter than the sun aren't they?) I headed off to TKmaxx. If I remember rightly the American version is called TJmaxx? Well I picked up these dusty blue desert boots by a Scandinavian brand called Shoo. I know nothing about this brand but I do know they make an amazing range of shoes.

Reminiscent to the Acne boots from the new S/S collection and Paul Smith ones that have just been released.

I just love the little details on them, the one white eyelet and the light bit stitch below. They were a steal too so I was well chuffed.

I did get what I went out for too, I picked up Noise, 10 Men and Dazed & Confused. There's some great editorials in Dazed, the whole issue is themed on Frankenstein. The image image of the front page features a leather strap mask by Gareth Pugh. I'll take some pics of them soon.