Week beginning August 26th - The legend that is Grace

Grace had just returned from an extended holiday back home in NZ to the UK when she approached us for work. This was back in February 2013. With a great background in hospitality and experience at a busy cafe in Westfield as a key holder, barista and supervisor, we were very glad to have Grace join the team.

She started on the floor, but it was not long until a position as a barista became available and Grace moved up to work on the Synesso. She reminded me of Kimsy bro, who also had an effortless grace (ha ha) about her in service and efficiency. Polite, smiling, always punctual, very, very calm under pressure and a delight to work with.

It is a true reflection of how much you value an employee when you see that they are on the roster and it is going to be really busy and you know that you can really rely on that employee to deliver above and beyond the expectations of all parties, our customers, her workmates, her manager and to myself.

Grace has returned back to New Zealand to follow a dream and study jewellery making. We wish her all the very, very best and truly hope she achieves all that she desires, because she deserves it.

We will miss you Grace. All the best. True Kaffeine legend.

We hope you enjoy our post holiday menu for this week, as we will enjoy bringing it to you.


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
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
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Peach and Almond (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Samphire pesto and mozzarella (V) 2.40
Friand: Damson (V, GF)   2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Almond and custard slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, dijon, gruyere, red onion, gherkin, and rocket

Peri peri sauce, hummus, cucumber, tomato, red onion and watercress (V)

Foccacias 5.30

Halloumi, roasted courgette, red peppers, pesto, spinach (V)
Roasted chicken, brie, salsa verde, rocket

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Vermicelli noodles with HG Walters organic chicken, carrots, coriander, peanuts, chilli dressing

Quinoa, roasted olives, cherry tomatoes, cashew nuts, basil and rocket (VE)

Broccoli with oyster sauce

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Brown rice tuna bake with rouille

Week beginning August 11th - Fifth Birthday Celebrations

This week we celebrate five years of being a part of the community on Great Titchfield street. We hope that we have also had some sort of influence on the coffee industry, not just in London but across the U.K and if possible into Europe. We also very sincerely hope that we have brought a lot of joy and memories to our many thousands of customers.

Five is a big celebration. At least it feels like it. Our daughter is turning five next January and she is already so excited. There are many, many people to thank who have helped us over the past five years and even before that, those who helped in the two years prior of the planning stages.

Staff:
The staff that have worked here, who have brought their own passion, enthusiasm, knowledge, experience and commitment to a business that is only really a small shop on a side street in Central London. If you are a former staff member you know how much hard work you have put into Kaffeine, if you are still with us today you know how hard but also how gratifying it is. In particular I wish to thank our lead chef Jared who has been with us since day one and his kitchen team as well as our manager for the past two years Claire who has led the team and continued to develop and uphold the standards set by former managers Catherine and Amy. I am humbled by your commitment and passion.

Our mission statement is to 'always be regarded as one of the best cafes in the U.K' and so all the details we work on go into this one main goal. It is very important to me that this is not only for the sake of the business but is very much for the benefit of the staff too as I hope whatever happens here will help you in your future lives.

Suppliers:
The suppliers who have been with us for so long, from Square Mile to Villanova to London Dairies to Cafe Connections, as well as Coffee Hit, 4 degrees, Turners and HG Walters and all our guest roasters for our guest coffee weekends for providing us with so many wonderful products and also amazing service.

Customers:
Lastly we are all, from the staff to the suppliers and to every other customer who comes here, extremely grateful because you have made us a part of your life. Yes you - the customer who may be reading this. The customer who may have only come once, or maybe who comes two, three or four times a week, or just randomly on weekends, or who has made a special trip to come see us. If you are reading this then thank you to you as well.

By supporting us you support an independent family business, the coffee industry, the staff who work here, the speciality coffee industry and our suppliers. Without you there would be no business. By expecting high standards of your coffee, food and service, we then push ourselves to provide even better, faster, hospitable and professional service with great food and coffee in a buzzing, welcoming venue. We very much enjoy meeting and trying to exceed your expectations as well as being consistent every time you visit, as well as looking after all the people you recommend to come here. That is a big compliment in itself

A very, very, very big thank you. We hope we can continue to be here for years to come to keep doing the same.

We celebrate all week with free mini chocolate brownies and a bit of a staff dinner party on Friday night. I hope you can join us as we celebrate this milestone and we look forward to many more.


Peter Dore-Smith
Director
Kaffeine Ltd



Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
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
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Blueberry and bran (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Courgette and feta (V) 2.40
Friand: Friand: Damson (V, GF)   2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, apple butter, gherkin, red onion, gruyere and spinach

Plum tomato, basil, aioli, buffalo mozzarella and rocket (V).

Foccacias 5.30

Smoked salmon, dill, capers, red onion aioli and rocket (F).
Mushrooms with Welsh rarebit and spinach (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Chicken adobo with red camargue rice, coriander and rocket (GF)

Roasted kumara and parsnips with almonds and a orange and dill dressing (VE, GF).

Cracked wheat with ox-eye daisy leaf, tomato, and lemon (VE, GF).

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Fish cakes with buckhorn hollandaise and strawberry salsa

Week beginning August 4th - Credit Cards Fees and the minimum spend

In the planning and set up of Kaffeine 5 years ago, the bank said ' so you'll need a credit card machine, we will get that set up for you'.  Okay sure. It really wasn't high on my list to get organised. Of all the things you need to think of. Then the machine etc arrived and that was great and we were open and it went to the top of the cupboard....for a week.

Customers started coming in and asking to pay by card to which we had to say 'no sorry cash only'. So The Legend That Is Rhea, who was our first service person said, 'I'll get it set up'. I knew we were going to be charged credit card fees, but I had no idea how it all worked. I knew from the days that my parents had their own business that card fees were not a happy subject, I remember they would not accept Amex* (don't leave home without it) as the fees were too much. I really did not want to think about it, but knew we had to.

I asked Rhea, 'should we have a minimum spend on cards?' and she suggested £6. Why? Because that was the set limit that she had worked with a two separate bars in London prior to Kaffeine. So since 2009, we have had a £6.00 minimum credit card spend. I don't like it, our staff don't like it, it would be so much easier if we could accept cards for everything, but if we did, our fees that we pay each month could double or more. At the moment, we pay about £400 per month on credit card fees. I have argued with the bank, I have moved to a different card supplier, we moved to accepting contact-less, but still we have the fees.

Several of our service staff have worked in bars in previous lives and they all tell me how they had minimum spends on cards at these bars, sometimes up to £10.

We ask that if it is possible to pay by cash, we would appreciate it. It is actually quicker (apart from contact-less), for us to serve you that way, and we love being faster and faster at everything we do in order to serve people better and more efficiently. (not push people out the door, why on earth would we want to do that? unbelievable. but that is another story).

If you do have cards, that is no problem at all. We do apologise, but we have a minimum spend. We have four different options. You can of course add something to your bill, a water or a muffin or a drink for a friend, you can go to a cash point one minute walk away or you can pre-pay for next time, that is, you pay for another coffee or product and you keep the receipt, like a personal gift voucher. Next time you are in, you can redeem the receipt. The amount of people who say - 'what a great idea!' Or if you really want to you can make up the difference to £6.00 and we put the extra in the tip jar.

I really do apologise though to any customers who perhaps do not accept our policy. Just yesterday I paid for tickets on the TrainLine and had to pay a fee to use my credit card. It's the way of the world. I am sure there are thousands of other businesses big and small that either have a fee or have a minimum, but it's 10 pm Sunday night and I can't think of any in particular. It is not an idiotic or moronic business decision, unless of course I have missed something completely and there is a way to not pay fees. If there is, I would love to know. If there is not, then one day hopefully, there may be. It is in my mind a policy that is as fair as possible to all parties. Win Win. Which is how I have been taught to not only do business but to treat all people from staff to customers. Win Win.

Next week is our fifth birthday. Kaffeine is a bit of a girl, so we are going to say "I'm a big girl now, I'm five'. We will be celebrating with a 'legends of the kitchen menu' and free chocolate brownies all week.

We hope to see you and we hope you enjoy.

Thank you for listening.

*Amex have changed a lot since my parents days. Even in the early days of Kaffeine, the fees were just too high. They have dropped this immensely as well as the other hidden fees they used to have. We now accept Amex as we do all other cards, except Diners (remember them? high fees too.)


Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
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
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Blackberry and apple (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Asparagus, mustard and cheddar (V) 2.40
Friand: Melilot and lemon (V, GF)  2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Smoked salmon, lime soft cheese, cucumber, Thai basil and rocket.

White peach, blue vein cheese, cucumber, red onion and and spinach. (V)

Foccacias 5.30

Ham, smoked mozzarella, tomato, basil and spinach
Haloumi, sweet chilli sauce, butternut and rocket. (V)

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Black-eyed peas with shredded carrots, red onion, cavolo nero, parmesan, in a tomato dressing with croutons. (V)

Honey dew melon, fennel, toasted fennel seeds, coriander, chicory, pancetta and Sambuca and prune dressing. (VE, GF)

Olives, sea blite, pumpkin seeds, capers, pomegranate, shallots, watercress with a raspberry vinegar dressing (VE, GF)

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Scotched beef and green elderberry terrine with rowan berry chutney

Week beginning July 28 - Raw Food menu - too hot to cook

Traditional bircher muesli with rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)

Granola muesli with pomegranate molasses and rhubarb and raspberry compote 3.60 (V)
Fruit salad (pineapple, mango, strawberries, grapes, passion fruit) 3.70 (GF, V)
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
Seven seed bakery bloomer toast with home made preserves 1.90
Pumpkin seed and apricot fruit toast 2.40
Banana bread 2.40

Pastries by Seven Seed bakery
French butter croissant 1.90
Pain au chocolat 2.50
Almond croissant 2.80

Baked Treats
Sweet muffin: Nectarine and coconut (V) 2.40
Savoury Scone: Salsa verde and brie (V) 2.40
Friand: Melilot and lemon (V, GF)  2.40
Super moist chocolate brownies 2.40
White chocolate blondies 2.40
Portuguese tarts 2.00
ANZAC cookies 2.00
Raspberry and coconut slice 2.00
Canele 2.40

Lunch

French retro baguettes 5.00
Ham, golden kiwi, dijon, Camembert and Spinach

Tomato, mozzarella, basil, avocado, aioli and rocket 

Foccacias 5.30

Smoked salmon, red onion, dill, capers, aioli and rocket
Saute mushrooms with gruyere fondue, tarragon and spinach

Salads: 5.50/6.90

Raw beetroot with mature cheddar, watercress, walnuts, sea blite and bresaola (GF)..

Apricots and puff ball mushroom cold preserved in pineapple weed vinegar with pecorino and rocket (V)

Tart: 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Kohlrabi layered with coppa arrosto ham, olive goats curd, plum tomato and basil (GF).


Weekend Menu 19/07, 26/07, 02/08
Salads 5.50/6.90
Prawns with cucumber, asparaguys, tomatoes, avocado salsa and baby spinach
Watermelon with mangho and feat, pecans, mint, coriander and rocket
Green beans with peanuts, coriander and a chilli dressing

Tart 4.50 or 7.90 with salad
Quiche with Italian roast ham, spinach and mature cheddar