The London Coffee Festival 2013

It’s hard to resist temptation when the aroma of rich fresh coffee brew fills your nostrils. It almost gets to your mind!!! If you are one of the millions of coffee lovers in this world then The London Coffee Festival is your celebration. Scheduled from 25th - 28th April 2013 at The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane (Spitalfields, London E1 6QL), is the prime event of UK Coffee Week which commemorates the love for this aromatic beverage in London.

http://www.londoncoffeefestival.com/

The anticipated footfall for this year’s event is approximately 15,000 including coffee enthusiasts and gourmets, trained baristas, and cafe owners coming together to make the event promisingly interesting and useful. The onset of the public celebration will be marked by Espresso Martini Launch Party on 26 April (Friday) from 5pm onwards.

You can expect the event to be a wholesome combination of entertainment, knowledge and of course, coffee! There are demonstrations, tasting sessions, brewery tours, live music and a lot of variety of street food. The event emphasizes on good quality coffee being produced all around the world and offers coffee aficionados a chance to know more about this world famous drink.

The event venue, The Old Truman Brewery, is very famous with the residents of Canary Wharf, Shoreditch, etc. particularly on weekends. It is a collective house with 200 small businesses, related by a run of passages and courts across the area. The area is divided into various zones (Soho, Hyde Park, Shoreditch, etc.) for you to figure out which event or stalls do you want to go to.

It’s quite easy to reach there by overground & underground rail network or by bus or on foot. You can take the tube or rail to either of Liverpool Street, Aldgate, Aldgate East or Shoreditch High Street from where The Old Truman Brewery is at a walking distance. The tickets to the event can be purchased either online for £9.50 or you can also buy it from the venue for £12.50.

All other related information and FAQs are there on the event website which can give you a comprehensive insight into the line-up of all the four days. For more information about this festival please click here.

Best Tea & Hot Chocolate Shops - What’s New in London

Thinking of hot beverage and not thinking about the classic British tea and a ‘cuppa’ of melting creamy hot chocolate is not right!!

There is something about tea drinking that is quintessentially British. From the average brew at home to a more professional form served at a restaurant, tea is always a refreshing drink and a cup of this delicacy can brighten up any mood. There are so many different types of teas to choose from such as green, herbal blends, regular teas that can be drunk black or with several variants of milk, sweetened, flavoured, and the list goes on.

Those who consider their cup of tea as a special drink can enjoy stepping out to some of the best tea outlets in London. Some of the more popular tea shops include Postcard Teas, located on Dering Street is a must try. Tea expert Timothy d’Offay takes the pains to travel the world to get best and unique teas including black, green, white and Oolong teas, which are all tasted before they are bought. Their tea shop is located in this charming 18th-century building, just off New Bond Street. Another great shop, The Tea House, is located just down the road in Covent Garden and offers a stunningly wide range of over 70 types of tea - imported, roasted and blended in-house by proprietor Christina Smith. Now that is definitely variety!! Tea lovers must also try an afternoon tea at The Ritz, The Wolseley or Claridge’s for that special touch of the classic beverage. For those youngsters who would like a more local feel, the Bake-a-Boo in West Hampstead (Mill Lane, NW6) is perfect with their beautiful tea room set behind the bright pink shop front.

Hot chocolate has also changed and evolved the over years and people now want a true cup of melting hot chocolate full of the delicious aroma and flavours of the best of cocoa. The good news is that London is incredibly full of cafes with specialist ‘chocolatiers’ who serve the perfect hot chocolate drink.

Located in the City is the excellent chain Konditor & Cook which serves delicious thick hot chocolate, made from two types of Belgian chocolate, blended with cream, milk, vanilla and sugar for a super-extravagant treat. Choccywoccydoodah, just off Carnaby Street, is another favourite with chocolate connoisseurs who started from humble beginnings in Brighton, and they serve their drinks at their London café with blended cocoa, cocoa butter, vanilla and steaming hot milk.

Chocolate lovers can also try Rococo for its high quality, extra creamy drink made only from 75 per cent organic chocolate made in-house in their Belgravia outlet. Melange in Peckham is another great hangout famous for its white chocolate version.

There are lots of other places to make a hangouts, which attract non-Londoners to live in London. Searching a residential flat or apartment for rent is not a easy task so we will suggest to contact lettings agencies in London.