It does exactly what it says on the tin: a wander around local cafes, a little bit of informative chat, and then a lot of coffee. There were six routes available with one right in our own neighbourhood! Who cares if I've already been to four of the five places on the list - support local business, and never say no to coffee.
We met up with our group at Blacksmith, where we were treated to a Guatemalan pour-over, before walking over to Southside Espresso to experience a spiced butter honey macchiato. Then it was down to Fix (a long-time favourite) where the owner had made us cold brew with three different types of water to show us the differences.
Then over to the next cafe. But why did I feel so jittery? Why can't we run there? Come on! Run! Run!
Inversion (the first coffee place Pete and I went to in Houston) served us affogatos: a shot of espresso over gelato, in this case a scoop of matcha tea and mascapone. By this point, everything in the whole world was shaking, so it was good that Blond Biscotti served us biscotti (of course) and prosecco; you have to mix suppressants with your stimulants.
The whole thing was great! A walk, February sunshine, and lots and lots and lots of coffee. I came home, cleaned the house, balanced my cheque book, organised my clothes into colour order, repotted all our plants...and I'm looking forward to sleep. Sometime next week.
Preparing myself with a leaf through Barista magazine. Did you know the best barista in the world in 2017 was English? And not me?
Antoine, from Blacksmith, talks beans.
First of the day. Apart from the two coffees I had beforehand.
Southside Espresso. The second smallest coffee shop in Houston.
The manager of Fix (who's also British) explains how total dissolved solids in water affect coffee taste. Very interesting, but just give me more coffee now!
Inversions, where camera shake became an issue.
Affogato - absolutely delicious, and three minutes walk from our house, therefore very dangerous.
Lining up the biscotti.
Hannah's final tasting.
Sadly, Pete couldn't get time away from the office join us...
