Friday 7 March 2014

Event: #TopSecretCoffee


It's only in the past year that I have become a coffee drinker. Hot chocolates and teas were always more my thing, but since I have gotten older (and bouts of insomnia have become a regular occurrence for me), I tend to reach for the Americanos in the mornings (although I am still partial to a good mocha). Still, coffee has always been coffee to me and I never blinked an eyelid with regards to the difference between my Costa Coffee and Nescafe Original.

Top Secret Coffee are a popular high street coffee brand who have gone undercover to offer the public a sample of their coffee to see if they can guess where it is from simply by tasting it. They organised a bloggers event to teach us more about the different varieties of coffee and to demonstrate the art of cupping. We were greeted at the rather rustic and picturesque Great John Street Hotel by the lovely Caroline from iProspect and introduced to Neil and Fiona from Top Secret Coffee and their resident coffee expert, Will. Will took us through the detailed process of cupping and soon we were loudly slurping different coffees from our soup spoons and talking about the different aromas and tastes that we were picking up from each one. It was quite astonishing to notice the difference in strength and taste between each type of coffee bean. After this, we were offered a cup of coffee of our preference and I had what was probably the smoothest latte I have ever tasted in my life.

The main point of the event was of course, the coffee, but I must admit that it was very nearly overshadowed by the Afternoon Tea that was brought out for us by the hotel to enjoy with our beverages. A selection of finger sandwiches, a scotch egg and a mini chicken and leek pie, along with a three-tier stand of cakes, macaroons and scones and we were in blogger heaven (it's a well known fact that us bloggers like our cake). Whilst we grazed away we were asked to complete a questionnaire and to guess where we thought our coffees were from. I honestly had no clue, except I was certain that it wasn't Costa or Starbucks as I am a seasoned drinker of their hot drinks. In the end I took a random guess at McDonalds as I have heard that they make a good coffee. Was I right? After I had demolished a few too many sandwiches and slices of cake (I have eyes bigger than my stomach, I swear), we were gifted a bag of the secret coffee along with a coffee filter set so that we could enjoy it at home, but we were told that we would have to wait a little longer in suspense to hear who the brand was.

This morning I woke up to an email with the big reveal...


Greggs! It would never have crossed my mind to think of Greggs, but let me tell you, they do make a good cup of coffee. A huge thank you to them, the Great John Street Hotel and iProspect for putting on this event!

Have you tried Greggs coffee?

Frances x

6 comments:

  1. Those cakes look amazing, the pictures are making me hungry!

    Couldn't believe the secret coffee was Greggs! They've improved so much of late so I shouldn't be so surprised! Their breakfast rolls are amazing and I'm slowly becoming addicted to their pasties! Uh-oh!

    Sarah :)
    Saloca in Wonderland

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  2. Amazing pics!))I like your blog!Would you like to follow each other? Just let me know in my blog. xoxo
    http://www.elationofcreation.com/

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  3. I love your photography, Frances! Can't believe the reveal was Greggs. You can't go wrong with them though! :) I still can't get into coffee except in frappucino format, I don't want to give in and admit I'm getting old!

    Paula ♥ | http://www.la-vida-fresa.com xo

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  4. Greggs does the most amazing food, I'm not surprised Greggs do good coffee! haha. Food looks amazing, I want to eat it all x

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  5. This looks like such a great event. I'm not sure why I'm so shocked by the fact that it is Greggs, I often get a Mocha from them at lunchtime and oh my, it is amazing, especially when paired with one of their Rocky Roads :) x

    Leanne - A Slice of My Life

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  6. The people who run the place and are there on your day are all very helpful and nice. This place is really more suited and perfect to intimately experiencing music and having a good time.

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