Coffee Tour of London
The second in a series of six downloadable walking guides sponsored by Visit London has been unveiled.
A coffee tour, Dr Matt Green takes listeners back to the 1690s, when the coffee bean arrived from Turkey and discussions over it were mainly to do with politics and business, or presented with a wink from one of the many working women in the salubrious Covent Garden of the time.
The tour also talks of the coffee trend that emerged from Soho in the 1950s, with poet Hylda Sims reminiscing about the bohemian coffee days in Bar Italia, the first of the area’s coffee bars to emerge as a meeting point for teenagers to talk music and fashion. Next stop is the Algerian Coffee Store, which has been selling coffee and related accessories since 1897. Also featuring in the tour are Musicians Wee Willie Harris and Clem Cattini who report on their sessions in the renowned 2is coffee outlet when rock and roll was emerging as a hit with teenagers.
The present day 3rd Wave coffee houses take the art of producing the perfect espresso to a whole new level – Cameron McClure at Flat White, crafts his cup with precision detail, with Blake Pudding of the London Review Of Breakfasts, also commentating during the walking guide and predicting where the tour will visit next.
The documentary can either be listened to online or downloaded onto a phone or mp3 player with a view to walking the tour live through Covent Garden and Soho themselves.