This week at Gavin and Lucy's Weekly Bank Update we have something very EXCITING to announce
Our first CELEBRITY GUEST BLOGGER!!! Can you guess who it is? Ross? Maybe Andrew Tolley? Maybe Miranda?
Find out later on today!
EXCITING
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Imagination Time!
Because I was too lazy to take pictures, this week is 'imagination' week. So for all our readers (which definitely doesn't solely consist of Lucy and Gavin) here's a chance to use your Imagination and think up your own ideas about the goings-on of Bank this week... I'll use this red square (which I made by myself in Paint, thank you very much) as an 'Imagination aid' to help things along...
This is a red square
It can be whatever you want it to be
You just use your Imagination
Imagination is a thing
Where you think of a thing
That is not really there
Using your brain
This one could be Ross
Making a drink
With an hilarious picture on it
Just use your Imagination
Maybe this one is Richard
Saying something quite funny
That's something that's perfectly possible
So shouldn't be hard to imagine using your Imagination
This one could be Ross
Battling a great tiger in China
Do they have tigers in China?
I don't know.
Maybe this is a picture of the time
James spilled some beans on the floor
That's another thing that might have happened
Or it also might not have happened.
Maybe in this one
I had a little cry in the corner on my own
That would be quite sad
I hope that's not in your Imagination
Maybe this is when I closed my eyes very lightly
And looked directly at the sun
And through the lids of my eyes could see its rays
That doesn't take much Imagination (maybe a good one to start with)
Here's one for you
To practice your Imagination
Just look at the square and think
Of something that's not just a red square
THE END
This is a red square
It can be whatever you want it to be
You just use your Imagination
Imagination is a thing
Where you think of a thing
That is not really there
Using your brain
This one could be Ross
Making a drink
With an hilarious picture on it
Just use your Imagination
Maybe this one is Richard
Saying something quite funny
That's something that's perfectly possible
So shouldn't be hard to imagine using your Imagination
This one could be Ross
Battling a great tiger in China
Do they have tigers in China?
I don't know.
Maybe this is a picture of the time
James spilled some beans on the floor
That's another thing that might have happened
Or it also might not have happened.
Maybe in this one
I had a little cry in the corner on my own
That would be quite sad
I hope that's not in your Imagination
Maybe this is when I closed my eyes very lightly
And looked directly at the sun
And through the lids of my eyes could see its rays
That doesn't take much Imagination (maybe a good one to start with)
Here's one for you
To practice your Imagination
Just look at the square and think
Of something that's not just a red square
THE END
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Trip to James Gourmet Roastery
While we at Taylor St. Baristas are generally quite good (it's always nice to be reasonably modest...) making delicious coffee from behind our espresso machines, it could be said that our knowledge of how the beautiful roasted coffee gets into those delightful purple bags for us to brew could do with some brushing up. A quick survey of staff came back with results that varied from "the coffee roasts on the trees" to "the roasting fairy waves her magic wand...".
Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but although we have some serious roasting geeks amongst our staff, it can never hurt to increase on our knowledge of the whole process. With that in mind we took up James' (of James' Gourmet coffee) up on his offer of a visit to his roastery in Ross-on-wye.
After a bus journey consisting of twenty-seven Taylor St. staff oohing and aahing at sheep and hills (quite a novelty coming from London...) we were greeted by James and his staff and soon after we were getting a demonstration of the roasting process:
Put very simply, roasting coffee involves a drum with a large gas burner which heats the green beans up to around 400 degrees fahrenheit. This produces magical chemical reactions, turning an inedible, useless bean into the product that will, if all goes right, eventually end up in a delicious espresso or sublime flat white. It's where the magic of coffee really begins...
Some sacks of green beans. James has lots of great coffees from Central America, in particular Honduras and El Salvador, at the moment:
One of the chief skills of a good roaster is the ability to create a 'roasting profile' for a particular coffee that is right for the type of bean and the brewing method it will be used for. A roasting profile includes the temperature the beans are roasted at, the length of time, and the cooling process, amongst other variables. In general, filter roasts are quite light, and espresso roasts a bit darker (but not too dark!)
We were given the opportunity to cup a coffee roasted at a series of different temperatures, to see how temperature affects the flavours of the brew. This turned out to be one of the most enlightening lessons of the day; we could immediately taste the dramatic difference just a few degrees of roasting makes:
Some green beans, and the finished product:
Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but although we have some serious roasting geeks amongst our staff, it can never hurt to increase on our knowledge of the whole process. With that in mind we took up James' (of James' Gourmet coffee) up on his offer of a visit to his roastery in Ross-on-wye.
After a bus journey consisting of twenty-seven Taylor St. staff oohing and aahing at sheep and hills (quite a novelty coming from London...) we were greeted by James and his staff and soon after we were getting a demonstration of the roasting process:
Put very simply, roasting coffee involves a drum with a large gas burner which heats the green beans up to around 400 degrees fahrenheit. This produces magical chemical reactions, turning an inedible, useless bean into the product that will, if all goes right, eventually end up in a delicious espresso or sublime flat white. It's where the magic of coffee really begins...
Some sacks of green beans. James has lots of great coffees from Central America, in particular Honduras and El Salvador, at the moment:
One of the chief skills of a good roaster is the ability to create a 'roasting profile' for a particular coffee that is right for the type of bean and the brewing method it will be used for. A roasting profile includes the temperature the beans are roasted at, the length of time, and the cooling process, amongst other variables. In general, filter roasts are quite light, and espresso roasts a bit darker (but not too dark!)
We were given the opportunity to cup a coffee roasted at a series of different temperatures, to see how temperature affects the flavours of the brew. This turned out to be one of the most enlightening lessons of the day; we could immediately taste the dramatic difference just a few degrees of roasting makes:
Some green beans, and the finished product:
Ross, your friendly head barista at Taylor St: Old Broad Street, picked and roasted some green beans WITH HIS OWN BARE HANDS. If you're keen to try the coffee, we're going to have it as our filter this very week in the shop. If you have any questions about the coffee give us a shout and we'd love to chat about it!
And finally, I give you Jochem: Serious About Spoons:
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Update 2: 13/10/2012
WARNING: THIS POST MAY OR MAY NOT CONTAIN INNUENDO THAT MAKES THE CARRY ON FILMS LOOK CLASSY AND CONTAIN CONTENT PROBABLY SUITABLE ONLY FOR THOSE WITH A MENTAL AGE OF ABOUT FOURTEEN SO IF YOU FIND IT FUNNY DONT BLAME ME
This Friday at Bank, we had a competition to draw latte art elephants in coffee. DEFINITELY elephants. DEFINITELY. Not anything else, even though at times there may have been striking similarities (except for Andrew's) Why elephants? Who doesn't love elephants, especially when they are DEFINITELY not really something else...?
Here's how the night went:
The machine of choice. The HANDLES are prepared, and the TIP and SHAFT of the STEAM WAND have been cleaned thoroughly and are FOR ACTION:
Jochem's practise "elephant". It's going to be a HARD act to follow...
Richard MEASURING UP the competition:
Miranda is not impressed by her SMALL SPECIMEN
This Friday at Bank, we had a competition to draw latte art elephants in coffee. DEFINITELY elephants. DEFINITELY. Not anything else, even though at times there may have been striking similarities (except for Andrew's) Why elephants? Who doesn't love elephants, especially when they are DEFINITELY not really something else...?
Here's how the night went:
The machine of choice. The HANDLES are prepared, and the TIP and SHAFT of the STEAM WAND have been cleaned thoroughly and are FOR ACTION:
Jochem's practise "elephant". It's going to be a HARD act to follow...
Richard MEASURING UP the competition:
The first round is drawn. Looks like some very INTERESTING COUPLINGS.
The night's judges. Looks like they're having to make some pretty HARD decisions.
Miranda is not impressed by her SMALL SPECIMEN
Impressive work. There's going to be some pretty STIFF competition tonight...
Oh no! Richard has SPILLED SOME OF HIS FLUID ON THE FLOOR! Who will have to clean that up?
Erm, Chee SHAKES HIS EQUIPMENT WHILST JOCHEM WATCHES:
Miranda DISPLAYS HER PAIR for Mark:
Andrew got a bit confused about the rules. Drew a... goat instead:
Ross TAKES MIRANDA FROM BEHIND:
WATCHING MY MILKY STREAM very carefully...
Reminds me of my time at the all-male boarding school...
Ok, I can't do it any more. They're not elephants, they're penises. Lots and lots of horrible horrible penises (and Andrew's..."goat"...). All the shapes and sizes you can imagine. I think I'm scarred for life...
Finally, I give you Adam's work of art...
Til next time!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Update 1: 05 October 2012
'Twas the night before Saturday,
and all through the Bank,
Ross was holding cups suggestively,
pretending to... something...
Even though he was tired,
and also flying solo
He still found the time
to make a giant Piccolo
Ross is a pro,
he's a master of coffee
I'm sorry about
the lack of continuity... (and the awful rhyming, for that matter)
The day wore on
It was time to clean
The reason Ross is blurry?
He did it in fifteen.
My espresso is fine
But my milk's still in doubt
Apparently my Lattés
Looked inside out
I asked Ross to act
Mean and scary
But he got photobombed by Babu
She's allergic to dairy...
Near the end of the day
Miranda's still a rock
She even had time
To draw a lovely... elephant
Ross and James got in a tangle
That would make Lucy faint
No time for a picture
Had to approximate it in Paint...
THE END
and all through the Bank,
Ross was holding cups suggestively,
pretending to... something...
Even though he was tired,
and also flying solo
He still found the time
to make a giant Piccolo
Ross is a pro,
he's a master of coffee
I'm sorry about
the lack of continuity... (and the awful rhyming, for that matter)
The day wore on
It was time to clean
The reason Ross is blurry?
He did it in fifteen.
My espresso is fine
But my milk's still in doubt
Apparently my Lattés
Looked inside out
I asked Ross to act
Mean and scary
But he got photobombed by Babu
She's allergic to dairy...
Near the end of the day
Miranda's still a rock
She even had time
To draw a lovely... elephant
Ross and James got in a tangle
That would make Lucy faint
No time for a picture
Had to approximate it in Paint...
THE END
EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH
Welcome to the EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH.
In this EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH Ross and I will endeavor to bring you all the EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH news that has happened during the week, with the use of photos and possibly even video and other media, where appropriate.
It is important to note that this EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH is in no way just for two certain customers, despite the what you might think from the URL. The EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH is, in fact, for everyone to enjoy.
So enjoy the EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH!!!
In this EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH Ross and I will endeavor to bring you all the EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH news that has happened during the week, with the use of photos and possibly even video and other media, where appropriate.
It is important to note that this EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH is in no way just for two certain customers, despite the what you might think from the URL. The EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH is, in fact, for everyone to enjoy.
So enjoy the EXCITING BANK UPDATE WEEKLY PLUS ONE EXTRA AT A RANDOM TIME DURING THE MONTH!!!
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