Coffee

Fancying it up with Nespresso

Towards the end of last year, we and Stacy from A Ring to It were treated to a VIP Nespresso event hosted by Hirch's Homestore in Milnerton.

Scott, the man behind this video, takes ourselves and our job very seriously as you can see.

We got to meet several members of the Cape Town blogging community and media, to sample our selection from Nescafé's broad selection of Nespresso coffee pods, and best of all: be schooled about espresso. As it turns out, your pods are great for a lot more than a pick-me-up or cappuccino. Pay attention:

Cocktails. And. Coffees.

There are espresso cocktails for days! The bar-tists (see what I did there?) gave us a demonstrations of how to make a few of Nespresso's espresso-based cocktails & mocktails (including which pod is for what).

Try out some of the recipes on the Nespresso website and let us know what your favourites are. Stacy, Scott and I voted a tie between The Melktert, and the Peppermint Crisp.

And of course, this post could never be complete without me showing you some locally-made companions to enjoy with your drinks.

1) Obviously you can only store your Nespresso pods in this magnificent pod dispenser by Native Decor.
2 & 4) Come on man, don't be a savage. Use a coaster. Click here for the King Protea coasters by Hallo Jane, and the hashtag coasters are called the Bamboo Warp coasters by Bambou.
3) Matt white ceramic cup and timber saucer by Cabo Design.
5) Sandy Godwin's earthenware dinner plates.
6) A lace-print cheese platter by Ck-Ramics.
7) A small matt white milk jug with a dandelion, by Cabo Design.
8) A set of two yellow square pattern napkins from Handmade By Me.

The drinks pictured above, with a link to their recipes, are:
    Tiramisu Coffee
    Yellow Indriya Coffee
    Cafè Banana Split
    After Eight Coffee
    Gingerbread Coffee
    Freshpresso Orange
    Cafè Banana Split
    Nespresso Martini Coffee
    Vanilla Iced Coffee Storm
    L'Amandine Café
    Semi-Freddo Pistachio Coffee
    Mojito Café

It was a treat of a day. Thanks millions to Hirch's, Nespresso and Grey for including us in your fantastic event. It was so well organised, and such an enjoyable way to indulge in a sneaky bit of time out of the office.

Celebrating Coffee

Roasting beans, strong aromas and your favourite mug, what comes to mind?

Coffee is one of those things in life that we can’t live without! There’s nothing better than waking up in the morning to a good cup of coffee, or when you hit that afternoon dip, for a quick pick-me-up. To be honest, walking into a house or a coffee shop and smelling brewing coffee has to be one of the best experiences in life!

Today we celebrate coffee by looking at some vintage coffee ads; some of them are hilarious and I can’t believe how ridiculously cheap it was compared to today. It’s actually great to see how it has evolved; from instant coffee being the in-thing to the amazing Nespresso machine! I can’t wait to see what comes next.

One thing is clear though, through the ages we have all loved coffee and definitely will for years to come!

Ryo Coffee sells amazing raw coffee beans, plungers and coffee grinders right here on Hello Pretty, have a look!

*Image Sources:
Image One: Here
Image Two: Here
Image Three: Here
Image Four: Here
Image Five: Here

Win with RYO Coffee and Hello Pretty - CLOSED

In case you missed it, RYO Coffee paid us a visit last week and showed us how to roast coffee on our own stovetops, in a wok.

It's gutsy, and take it from us, you're going to end up making some bad-a$$ coffee this way.

As a follow-up, she's giving us a bag of 300g RYO Blend Raw Coffee Beans, and a Manual Burr Grinder, worth R510 together, to give to you.

To enter:

Leave a comment here and tell us what your favourite coffee drink is.
Like RYO Coffee on Facebook.
Get an extra entry by tweeting @HelloPrettySA and letting us know in the comments below.

Entries close at 10am on Friday 27th February. Hello Pretty's standard competition Ts and Cs apply.

Only one entry per channel will be counted.

RYO Coffee visits the Hello Pretty team

Last week Kirsten from RYO Coffee swung round to HQ to give us a crash course in home roasting - and guys, it's so easy.

She arrived carrying a box full of the green coffee beans that she sells via her Hello Pretty store, as well as some grinders - we showed her the kitchen and she lept straight in.

Tools needed: green coffee beans - we used the RYO Blend. Wok or saucepan. Spatula.

Not nearly as hectic as you'd think right? You start on a high heat, flipping the coffee beans over gently. Once they start getting a bit smoky you can turn the heat down, and consistently stir through the beans until you reach your preferred darkness.

Now note! These little suckers get crazy hot, so keep your fingers away from them until they've cooled.

Stir them through in a colander to remove the husks, and you're ready to grind. Don't have a grinder? No worries, RYO can sort you right out with one here.

My arms are more or less good for nothing, and even I could grind like a pro within seconds.

And we have coffee! RYO is making roasting your own coffee super accessible. It's really not a terrifying, technical process, as many coffee roasters would have you believe. (Not to knock their methods, because their coffee is delicious too!)

Impress your buddies with your own hand roasted, hand ground coffee at your next party - having gone through the ropes and tasted the results, we can highly recommend it!

*If you like this, stay tuned because on Monday we may have a little treat for you.*

Savior Brand Co

One of our longest standing, loyal and supportive sellers, Savior Brand Co, has been up to some pretty amazing things this year.

Not only have they continued to produce some seriously droolworthy leather goods, but they have also done Durban a solid by pumping out mean cappuccino's and killer cupcakes from their new coffee shop at 51 Station Drive.

And what's even better is that they're sharing the goodness with all SBC fans, worldwide! You can get hold of your very own Savior Brand Co coffee beans on Hello Pretty, right over here.

Coffee beans not your thing? Need a coffee fix some other way? SBC totes has you covered - you can put it all over your body! (Or if you're like us, fill up on delicious SBC coffee AND cover youself in it. Just to make sure you cover all of your bases.)

This coffee scrub is packed with ground premium Arabica coffee, sugar, salt, coconut oil, olive oil and cinnamon - so basically all that is nice in the world, barring peanut butter and Louboutins. Please just don't blame us when the stranger next to you in the bank queue wants to lick your face.

So do us a favour, and get on down there if you find yourself in Durban - have a cupacke, and give Max a squeeze from us while you're at it.

They're also pretty awesome at supporting other local talent, and have exhibitions and the like in the space. Good coffee and nice guys? Win win.

Kraft Eyewear has also made an appearance - these fantastic glasses come with polarised lenses, or, if you prefer, you can get your prescription glasses some super cool new frames. Each style is named after something in Durban: a street name, a hotel - each frame has a story.

Love them but not in Durban? You're in luck! Because you can grab them right over here. You can't say we never gave you anything.

Clickety click!

Coffee love

Well hello gorgeous... you're good looking, serve what looks like great coffee, and you're in New York. It's as though the Classifieds Looking for Love Fairy Godparents were answering all of my deepest wishes!

The talented cads behind this handsome coffee spot are from No Entry Design, and they definitely know what they're doing.

The dreamiest part of it all is that Swallow Cafe is a twin! You can get your fix in both Williamsburg and Bushwick.

I love that all the beautiful branding was hand painted - it looks and feels so special. And is a testiment to the talent of the designers!

So Pretties, if you find yourself in the neighbourhood, go check it out and send us pics, so we can live vicariously through you!

Image souce

Love affair with black gold: my #seedtocup tasting experience at Factory Cafe

It all started with a plan hatched by a fellow blogger, to smuggle me into an event…

With a history of being teachers pet, the plan wracked me with guilt until I came clean, and worked up the courage to just ask, hey, you guys are cool and I like you - can I come to your event?

Naturally my fears were unfounded. The lovely people at Colombo andThe Factory Cafe welcomed me with big smiles and open arms, and I found myself rummaging through my closet early last Saturday morning - what does one wear to a coffee tasting filled with super trendy bloggers?

I arrived at The Factory Cafe (best coffee in town, and I’m not just saying that because they invited me to their party) and immediately spotted the bloggers - gorgeous swanky cameras littered the table, and made me swear to myself that my next purchase would be a proper camera! After introductions were over, everyone settled into an easy chatter, as though we had all known each other for ages.

When Arno, Colombo’s resident coffee aficionado, tried to get us to all settle down and take a seat, I have a feeling that he may have been able to compare it to herding cats - so many fabulous people! And fabulous conversations and pretty things to Instagram! (The Factory Cafe is exceptionally instagramable. Also, if you didn’t Instagram that coffee, did you even really have it?) Eventually we tore ourselves away from the banter to focus on Arno, and that turned out to be an exceptionally good decision. This guy. He knows his stuff, and his passion for coffee is contagious. He introduced us to Dan, who took over while Arno got to work grinding coffee beans - Dan explained the origins of coffee (from #seedtocup) while the coffee aromas swirled around us, making us feel like those old cartoon characters that got lifted off their feet and floated towards the delicious oversized lamb chop.

Dan told us about where coffee was grown and the most suitable climates for it to thrive in, (known as the “Coffee Belt” - that’s an accessory I can completely get behind) the planting process and different types of harvesting. The point that stuck with me the most, and impressed me to no end, is Colombo’s commitment to sustainable harvesting. Not only that, but their support for farms that give back to their communities. The folks at Colombo have hearts you guys, and they’re pretty much golden.

After timing it just right, we used spoons to crack through the grounds that had raised to the top of the glass, and sniffed away while swirling it around three times. Again the smell of the coffee changed – it’s kind of amazing to notice the progression of the coffee in such a short time. Arno gave us a particularly useful nugget of information at this point – “Don’t burn your nose. That’s never cool.”

This is when things got really fun. Note that the coffee is particularly concentrated at this point, and we got to taste it. Queue central nervous system hyperdrive! After removing the froth from the top of the coffee, you have to slurp it as hard as you can from your spoon, so that it sprays over every part of your mouth. I learnt something about myself then – after only drinking coffee for a year, it turns out that I really enjoy super strong coffee.

And then they plied us with more coffee and food and gave us treats! We all left with tummies full of the best ciabatta sandwiches and I had my first ever flat white (You can all call me a proper hipster now, thanks), as well as a goodie bag with some coffee to take home, cute stationery and the best biscotti (that lasted for about five minutes).

I had such a great time, and am really glad that I was able to go – so many many thanks to Factory Cafe for having me, and for a great event. I have this philosophy that unless you teach me something or make me smile, I probably won’t follow you. The Factory Cafe and Colombo provided both smiles and knowledge in spades. So if you’re in town, you should DEFINITELY get in on the action – they endeavor to provide coffee that’s so good that it doesn’t need to be altered by milk and sugar, and they’re putting on repeat performances free and gratis every Friday afternoon at 3pm. To get involved, pop Arno an email at arno@colombo.co.za to book your spot.

You can also show them some online love by checking out The Factory Cafe’s website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as Colombo’s site,Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Coffee for everyone!