Coffee Chat At Cup North

I’m a pretty new convert to the wonderful powers of coffee. I find it a lot like wine in terms of how the palate adapts, with wine you start with white, move to rose and lighter reds before hitting the harder stuff. With coffee I have had a similar journey starting with a latte before moving onto cappuccino and, more recently, a stronger filter coffee with a dash of milk and sugar. My journey has halted here but I have no doubt that I’ll be hitting the espresso in the near future and the invite to pop along to Cup North has certainly opened my eyes to wonder of this caffeine fix.

Things didn’t start off too well as match day and events at the Victoria Warehouse do not mix. There were spaces in the car park which I was advised was full so I took a chance parking on the road, I can imagine people who had driven and paid for their tickets would have been a bit annoyed at having to pay the extortionate parking fees that appear when Manchester United are playing at home.

I think it is apt to say that we started our journey of the various stands by visiting Grumpy Mule, it was how I felt after my parking dilemma, and took part in their brewing competition.

We selected our own ratio of coffee to water, the type of vessel we wanted to brew in and how long to brew for. We had a play with an aeropress and made a fairly bitter coffee which was way off the mark of being the optimum coffee experience. We had fun though and it certainly changed my mood for the day which, is always a bonus.

It was great to see so many coffee suppliers in one room as well as coffee movies, some tea and chocolate to boot. I liked Bean Brothers  quirkily named coffee and am lucky enough to have tried the espresso stout they have made with Squawk before when in Port Street Beer House. It’s delightfully bitter and dark, not something I normally go for but the coffee lifts this making it fresher than a normal stout in my opinion. It is always nice to see local at events like this and Squawk brew in Manchester, an added bonus.

I had a chat with the guys from Mancoco who are also based in Manchester. I can’t believe I have never visited them before, they are based in the arches of Deansgate just a stone’s throw from my old flat. I hope to visit them soon and I’ll be sure to pick up some packs of coffee when there as it tasted so fresh with a slight nutty taste without being too fruity.

I need to invest in an Oomph Coffee Maker soon or, even better, add one to my Christmas wish list. Similar to an aeropress they are portable and super easy to clean making them great for the office when instant coffee just won’t cut it.

Last but, definitely not least, I had a chat with Jeremy who is one of the masterminds behind Union Coffee. His passion is intoxicating and his coffee, just beautiful. They were the only stand I visited who offered anything other than a black coffee and I was presented with the most tasty cappuccino I’ve had. Their coffee is hand roasted to order and all coffees score over 84 on the SCAA’s international scale which marks coffee quality. They offer a great subscription service which is totally customisable and delivered direct to your door. What’s more, it makes the perfect gift for that coffee lover in your life this Christmas.

Having drank my fair share of the dark stuff it was time to leave with the jitters after all the caffeine but we had a fun afternoon. You can buy tickets for the full weekend but I don’t think there is really enough to see and do for more than a couple of hours, unless you are a complete coffee geek that is. Keep your eyes out for 2016 tickets being announced.

I was provided with tickets to Cup North by the organisers in exchange for this review. Image of Union Coffee provided by their PR company.