Good coffee sweeping the UK?

I was excited to read this article in the Guardian the other day about the possibility of a new wave of good coffee sweeping the country (after previous waves such as the freeze dried instant wave that improved on the previous stuff and the later wave of coffee chains).  They highlighted the crowning of Gwilym Davies as Britain’s best barista and mentioned that he has a coffee stall at the Whitecross Street Market near the Barbican, London

I have been something of a coffee quality obsessive from the time I drank my first true Italian cappuccino in Southern Italy at the age of 14.  Having to pass near the Barbican yesterday, I had to go and check out his coffee.

On finding the stall, I found two friendly servers but Davies was not working that morning.  The price list was interesting, cappuccino at £1.80 was not cheap, although it rarely is in Britain.  Espresso however could be had for only 60p.  Whether that is because offering it at such cheap price is the only way Mr Davies can get any British people to order it, I wasn’t able to ask.

I ordered a cappuccino and it came with a beautiful milk swirl pattern in a richly-coloured crema – no need for colour from cocoa sprinkling here.  The paper cup it came in was small compared to some of the coffee chain “buckets”.  There was quite a considerable amount of coffee however – probably at least twice what you would expect in Italy.  The temperature of the coffee was almost ideal – it was not too hot to drink.  The mouthfeel was also good – quite thick and creamy.  Unfortunately, the taste was not overwhelming.  The wonderful marriage of rich coffee flavours and milky creaminess that defines a good capuccino for me, seemed to be missing.  It tasted like the coffee might have been a variety that was too acidic for a milk-based drink.  I shall have to go back sometime when Mr Davies is there.

Hopefully my experience will not get in the way of the rest of the wave of good coffee sweeping the land.