Right this is for Raf and Eward first of all. I hope you don’t mind but I had the opportunity to go with one guest to Mercanta today to see a couple of presentations and participate in a cupping session. The Guest thing needed to be sorted out last week for names and alike. Raf lives to far away for a day trip I thought (but after my travelling experience I live to far away) and Eward was in the US of A. I hope your both not offended but I took Phil (you both have first dibs on the next jolly that comes my way). I really don’t want to offend you and I hope I haven’t.
I'll give you a run down of the day
05:45 am
Alarm goes of at a strange time. I was under the impression there was only one 5 o clock in the day but again I'm wrong
06:15am
Hit the M6 on the way to Milton Keynes to catch a train (from Stafford £115 from Milton Keynes £31 it was an easy choice).
06:30 am
Radio 5 Live tells me they have closed the m6 m1 link and its log jammed round there so a quick change onto the m40 m42 means im going to miss that train.
08:29 am
Good time made and BR being delayed means I catch my 08:13 train after all hurrah!
10:06
Get on train at Vauxhall looking for a balding bloke with glasses and find out through mobile phones he is in the carriage next to me!
10:15 swap carriages and meet this balding guy in glasses and get into heavy chat.
10:30
realize we are on a train and need to get off it at some point. Try to get off too early and have to jump back on with some strange looks from the common people on the train (common people ask Phil:) )
10:55
Arrive 5 mins early at Mercanta and look for life. On the stairs bump into CM of H&V bit of a shock pleasant enough and doesn’t start a fight or anything )
11:00 through till 14:35
Talks are really interesting. The guy from the farm in Brazil particularly talks about sustainability and how looking after his workers and environment produces better coffee. We then move on the cupping session which is great fun (Phil will back me up). The Brazilian `we tried brazil fortalaza me thinks but id need to check was really really really nice. I think I may be taking some this month. The Columbian guy was ok but the beans he brought were typical Columbian he kept saying there was no single estate Columbians out there ( I wanted to shout I’ve got some and its darn fantastic, but didn’t).
14:45 through till 16:00
Phil accompanies me all the way to my train (what a sweetie on our first date he walked me home ) we natter natter natter the common people (ask Phil) on the train looked at us like nutters talking coffee coffee coffee.
16:00 till 19:15
The train broke down on the way to Milton Keynes, the M way was standstill and it ended up I miss my sons parents evening (now his teacher thinks hes from a one parent family as Sarah was too embarrassed to say where I really was) but made the Stoke vs Sunderland football game (im a Sunderland fan and we lost so im not happy) so all was not lost.
22:00 just got home to an order for Italy (never sent to the coffee capital of Europe before) and a parcel from the Specialty coffee Association of America with my cupping kit loads of big bright cupping posters and music from the coffee lands CD. So when the new roaster arrives we can do a cupping session at the roastery.
And that was the day. I'll let Phil do the rest as I may have missed out some stuff.
Steve