Week beginning February 25th - The great sticker-off

We think they've become almost iconic in their own little way, the white cup, the black lid and the sticker, oval shaped with black background and the white Kaffeine logo.

It was a decision we made in the early days to go for a sticker instead of a stamp, other people did stamps, we wanted to be different. They are instantly recognisable, and we see them in little places here and there, in a gutter, in some rubbish, on a ledge, you probably see them in office rubbish bins all over Fitzrovia, or in peoples hands as you pass them down the street.

What we did not realise is how many per day we would have to sticker. Remember, there are 25 cups in a sleeve, and we need approximately 400 cups per day.

So stickering has become an important part of the job, especially if you work on service end. Over time, we have had the stickering legends. Staff who have just smashed out a sleeve of cups in quick fast time. New staff have to learn the technique, trained by currnet staff members, getting faster and faster as time goes on.

Former legends of the sticker include Missy, Matthew, Rhea, Catherine, Emma, Amy and one of the fastest there ever was, young Jess.

Current legends include Julia, who has been stickering for ages and can smash out a box of sleeves, Karolina and Claire and these girls have all learned the technique from the past legends, passed down from generation to generation you might say.

But now we have a new champ, with a new technique. Tara has blown us all away with a new method that halves the time. We did not quite believe it, so in order to prove this we had a sticker off, here are the results:

Tara 0:28 seconds
Julia 0:45 seconds
Karolina 0:47 seconds
Grace 0:50 seconds
Claire 1:17
Me 1:18 (my fastest time ever, I was shaking after it)
Niall (barista) 1:19
Blazej (barista) 1:33
Shaun (lead barista) 2:10

Not a bad result, some of us have some work to do and perhaps Tara will now pass down her style to other, younger generations. Well done Tara, Tara is the winner.

We hope you enjoy this weeks menu as much as we have stickering it together.

Peter, Claire, Julia, Karolina, Shaun, Blazej, Niall, Jodie, Jess, Tara, Grace, Jared, Khan, Rory, Silvio

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.50
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passionfruit, peach) 3.70
(add 30 p for granola or yoghurt)
Ciabatta roll with omelette, pancetta, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Ciabatta roll with courgette omelette, rocket and tomato salsa 4.90
Croissant with Italian roast ham, talleggio cheese, spinach & plum tomatoes 4.90
Croissant with gruyere cheese and plum tomatoes 4.00
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with homemade preserves 1.70
Coffee, cherry and walnut toast 2.30
Banana bread 2.40

Porridge - Served with rhubarb and raspberry compote, chopped nuts, muscovado sugar, golden syrup or honey 3.00

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissants 1.80
Pain au chocolat 2.40
Almond croissants 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet Muffins: Blueberry and Bran 2.20
Savoury Scone: Tomato, Spinach and Cheddar 2.20
Lemon friands 2.20
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 1.80
Afgan cookies 1.80

Lunch
Soup: Wild cabbage, chorizo and caraway seed 4.50

French retro baguettes 4.90
Pancetta, grilled nectarine, gruyere, dijon, rocket

Grilled red pepper, courgette, red onion, spinach, chimichurri

Foccacias with sea salt and rosemary crust 5.00
Salmon, aioli, red onion, dill, capers, rocket

Ham, fresh Kaffeine mozzarella, plum tomatoes, oregano pesto, spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.50
Chicken adobo with wild red rice and coriander

Ruby grapefruit, wild carrot leaf, pine nuts, ginger with a fennel dressing 

Roasted baby beetroot with a black mustard dressing
Tart: 4.00 or 7.50 with salad

French leek and onion with gruyere