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THE FALKLANDS BRASSERIE
World’s most remote coffee service operation?
FALKLAND ISLANDS
The Falkland Islands are a Crown Colony of Great Britain situated in the South Atlantic, some 8,000 miles from London. With a population of less than 2,000, Stanley is the smallest and most remote capital city in the world. Yet, in the year 2000, its residents and visitors were introduced to the delights of speciality coffees.
It all started at Hotelympia 2000, when local restaurateur, Alex Olmedo, walked on to the Company’s stand. Alex, who is a director and co-owner of the Falklands Brasserie, was looking to buy an espresso machine. His demands were modest: it had to make great coffee and look good. Probably most important of all, it had to be reliable and easy to maintain - after all, a service call-out from London could produce a rather large bill!
RANCILIO EQUIPMENT
Alex chose a Midi automatic espresso machine, manufactured in Milan by Rancilio, for whom The Coffee Machine Company is the sole UK importer. They also supplied Alex with a comprehensive set of installation and service manuals. Fortunately, the machine has proved to be totally reliable and, three years later, is still making great coffee and remains the only espresso machine on the Falkland Islands.
DRURY TEA & COFFEE
Alex, a self-confessed coffee addict, places a regular order with The Drury Tea & Coffee Co. He has settled on Drury’s Espresso Reale and Decaffeinated beans for espresso use and After Dinner blend for cafetière coffee, which is also on the menu. Orders are shipped to him from Southampton docks approximately every six months. (Maybe this is one case where "just-in-time" delivery might let you down?). The Falklands Brasserie has developed an extensive speciality coffee menu with firm favourites such as Espresso, Cappuccino and Latte, but also Macchiato and a fine range of liqueur coffees starting at £3.50.
Reale is one of 14 espresso coffees offered by Drury and the longest established, having been blended for the first time in the 1950s. It is a blend of 77% Arabicas, primarily from South and Central America with some high quality African Robustas. In the words of Drury head coffee Roaster Mike Lindie, it is "Full bodied and creamy" suitable for preparing a wide spectrum of speciality coffees
Speaking of the association with The Coffee Machine Company and Drury Tea & coffee, Alex commented: "As you can imagine, setting up a speciality coffee menu at this distance presented quite a challenge, but the system we now have works like clockwork. The most important aspect of the Rancilio machine is that it is simple to use and totally reliable. You can imagine that it would need to be, since we have no trained espresso engineer on the Islands. To date it has proved faultless and the Drury coffees have been designed to complement it perfectly".
Now, Alex has established a year round trade with the locals and is busy throughout the day, serving on average 90 cups per day. However, it really get hectic in the summer when The Brasserie becomes a haven for visiting yachtsmen, denied their caffeine fix for weeks on end!
Last changed: Tuesday, 9th February, 2010 at 12:15 PM
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