The first coffee to undergo MSG scrutiny is Stewart’s of Trent Bridge’s ‘Escape’. Stewart’s is a small Artisan coffee roaster in Nottingham, created by Stewart Falconer in 1984 to run alongside his restaurant business. On Stewart’s retirement in 2013 it was taken over by a team of four coffee lovers aiming to show the public how easy it is to make great coffee and stop reaching for that jar of Kenco granules. They batch roast coffee beans to order, so that all their coffees are flavoursome and produce a great aroma.
We tried their ‘escape’ blend which Stewarts describe as fruity, nutty and chocolatey. We bought the ground blend specifically for use in a cafetiere which retails at £6.95.
On first opening of the bag we were hit by a delightfully strong, chocolatey aroma with hints of nuttiness. It smelt extremely flavoursome and Tom thought he could detect some very subtle earthy undertones. Katie took the coffee with milk and that, in her opinion, brought out fruity notes in the aroma.
The coffee’s flavour was refreshing and light, great as an all-day blend for those who need a little pick me up. It was not too heavy-bodied or overbearing.
Although Glenn prefers his coffee strong he said that he appreciated the depth of flavour of this blend. Mark believes that taking it black allowed the variety of delicate flavours to come through, along with a chocolate complexity. The ‘escape blend’ had a clean finish and aftertaste with no lasting bitterness.
MSG Verdict: Great for daily drinking, refreshing and light. Perfect for those who are not hardened caffeine addicts and prefer subtle flavours and little bitterness.
Next month the team will test out one of Northern Tea and Coffee Merchants blends, who are based in Chesterfield. Keep checking the website and our twitter pages to see when the next instalment will be posted.
For more information visit – https://stewartscoffees.co.uk/
Buy HERE