London coffee bean review - Drury Tea and Coffee

3 New Row, Covent Garden, London, WC2N 4LH
www.shopdrury.com

Property of Drury Tea and Coffee, thanks for letting me use it! 

In London, I visited Drury Tea and Coffee in Covent Garden.  It had a really friendly feel inside, with several classic dispensers of coffee, like what they have in Fortnum and Mason! This is a really nice touch, because it means you can get whatever amount of coffee as you like, with it being freshly packaged and weighed.  The company was established by three Italian brothers in 1936, and is still a family run coffee firm, roasting coffee freshly with a lot of knowledge of the stuff!  Another thing to note is that all of the beans that I saw was that the they were all roasted very evenly all around.

As well as the coffee, they also sell plenty of equipment to make it, from espresso making equipment such as tampers and grinders, to aeropress to drip filter makers.  They are also Rancilio suppliers, which is very useful for me as its the brand of my machine!  The worker in the shop who helped me pick was very friendly, and also extremely knowledgeable about coffee, explaining which tamper and scales would be the best to use.  He also has a great knowledge of the coffee, suggesting a few blends which he thinks I would like.  I absolutely loved the feel of the place.

As well as coffee supplies, they also sell plenty of tea and tea supplies - many many types of loose tea, and the tea pyramids.  I didn't buy any of the tea, simply because I don't drink a lot of it, but you could see the massive selection.  This place is an all round great place for hot beverages!

Packaging - Similar for all blends, different sticker

Moka D'or Espresso Blend
This is a dark roast blend from all Arabica beans from around Central and South America, which are often quite sweet beans from my experience.  A dark roast from a selection of Central and South American beans interested me, also being told that it has been made by the company for many years (good sign!).  It is also quite cheap, quite similar to supermarket coffee (around £14 per kg, and also get bulk discounts!), making it a great one to buy a load of if you are running low on money (like me all of the time being a student...).  At first, these beans have a quite strong, fresh aroma with a strong cocoa smell.

These Dark roast beans

This coffee as a Flat White has a lovely strength - quite strong, so can taste all the flavours, but not too overpowering.  Even though it is reasonably strong, it is also nice and smooth with a background of walnut and cocoa flavours.  It also has great flavours of green apple citrus, with a balance of brown sugar and caramel.  After drinking it, it has an amazing after-taste of the same flavours.  These flavours are reasonably weak, but strong enough to taste properly and enjoy - it is sometimes nice not to have heavily over-powering flavours!  I would rate this coffee 5/5, as I could not think of anything wrong with it.

Nice crema, reasonably dark

Caffe Cuidado Medium Roast Espresso
From first look, the beans seem a little lighter roast than Moka D'or.  The coffee is made from 100% Rainforest Alliance certified arabicas.  Its described as "Well balanced, bright tasting and well-rounded with spicy and aromatic undertones".  This sounds interesting, being bright and spicy too.  The aroma has hints of cocoa and I could pick out the spicy smell from the aroma of the beans.

great colour!

The first coffee I made with it was quite sweet at first with caramel flavours, followed by some green apple.  However, this didn't get all of the flavours out because it was a little under-extracted, making it a little sour and mild.  The second coffee made with it (both flat whites), was much better! It had a nice dark crema, and a strong, fresh cocoa flavour at first taste balanced with a tiny bit of cinnamon or pepper.  It was a little earthy at times, but it had a caramel and slight orange aftertaste.  Nearer to the end of the coffee, the dominant flavour I found was a sweet green apple.  I would give this coffee 4.6/5.

Caffe Siena Espresso
This coffee is described by mellow and rounded, with a bite and an aromatic edge.  Once working out what aromatic meant, I had to agree with it.  It has a strong but gorgeous fresh smell, like a bright nutty and cocoa smell, possibly including a little fruit.

The first sip of the first coffee was bright and sweet, with a caramel flavour mixed with orange and slight green apple. It was the perfect strength!  The second cup, which was a little less milky, had a black pepper bite at first. After a bit, it was a little nutty but also with some brown sugar hints.  It seems like a good bean, as there are different flavours from different amounts of milk.  I would rate this 4.8/5 because of the different flavours in it.

The second coffee

Just to end on, I did try Caravan Market Blend again, after resting for a little - a few more flavours have come out, after about 10 days resting.  These were a little cocoa, with some berry and fruit, possibly orange with a nice aftertaste.  I will rate this 4.5/5.