Dog and Hat Blog

Click the link to see the Dialled In October Subscription coffee in more detail.

This month we have a Scotland vs Yorkshire theme including two new roasters joining the Dog and Hat family.

Your new roasters for this month are:

• Chris, Neil and the team at Unorthodox Roasters in Kinross
• Zach at Chipp Coffee Co in Leeds (and a little bit in Edinburgh too)

Your returning favourites this month are:

• The Daves and team at Rounton in North Yorkshire
• Matt and team at Fortitude Coffee in Edinburgh

Click the link to see the Dialled In September subscription coffee in more detail.

This month we are showcasing four roasters of a very specific type – the Coffee Shop / Roaster combo - and we have three new roasters and a returning favourite for you to enjoy.

• Jens and the team at Mok Speciality Coffee all the way from Leuven in Belgium
• Henry and the team at Gentlemen Baristas in East London
• Dean and the team at Curious Roo in West London

The returning favourite this month is also a first for us... not just a returning roaster but also a returning coffee (but from a new harvest): 

• Paul and the team at Vagabond in North London and the returning coffee is Ricardo Canal’s La Lomita from Colombia 

Once again we are bringing you two new roasters - Monsoon Estates Coffee in Straford-upon-Avon and Ineffable Coffee from Seville in southern Spain.

The returning favourites that are gracing the subs this month are Pharmacie Coffee down in Hove and Casa Espresso in Bradford.

There's also the rare opportunity to get hold of a bag of coffee all the way from Cat and Cloud in sunny Santa Cruz, California.

People often ask us how we go about profiling and dialling in a new coffee for the subscription.  Below is a quick recap on how we dialled in June's Amoret Coffee El Salvador on filter to get the Dialled In settings that we publish for each subscription coffee each month.

We have two new roasters joining the Dog & Hat family this month - Climpson and Sons and Sendero Coffee, both from London.

Climpson and Sons are a staple of the London speciality coffee scene having been around since 2002.  Sendero Coffee are experts in coffee sourcing and travel the world looking for more obscure origins and coffees.  They have partnered with our good friends Pharmacie Coffee down in Hove to bring their coffee vision to life.

Returning to join the newbies this month are Heart & Graft from Manchester and Dusty Ape from Wiltshire.

This month sees the return of two roasters that first graced the Dog & Hat subscriptions way back in October 2017 for Edition #1… we always reserve a very special welcome for Ste at Django Coffee Co. in Southport and Lisa and the crew at Dear Green in Glasgow (who have just organised yet another triumphant Glasgow Coffee Festival).

Returning to join these perennial favourites are Dave Stanton at Crankhouse Coffee in Exeter and Sadiq Merchant from Amoret Coffee in Notting Hill.

We've just got back from the 5th edition of the Glasgow Coffee Festival (GCF), that was organised by Glasgow's hometown roaster Dear Green.  It was a whirlwind day full of fantastic coffee competitions, cuppings, coffee, coffee, more coffee and even included a conversation about tiny little farmers milking a pea.

Obviously you now have your pick of coffee festivals to visit and geography is likely to be the primary  factor as to which one you choose.  However, there are a couple of things that we think really set GCF apart from the crowd and make it worth a visit. 

We've always been interested in the science side of coffee here at Dog & Hat.

As we've just completed the SCA Brewing Professional accreditation we thought we'd write a blog series on some of the more important parts that relate to coffee brewing to help you get the most out of the Dialled In Filter Coffee Subscription.

This first part focuses on the science of the coffee bean.

It's really important to us here at Dog & Hat that we can provide the very best service to all of our members and one way that we look to achieve this is to invest in the highest quality training for the team.

Last year, we started the SCA (Speciality Coffee Association) Coffee Skills Diploma pathway and have already achieved the Intermediate level in Brewing, Barista Skills, and Sensory Skills.

This year we are working on the Professional level accreditations that lead to the final Coffee Skills Diploma.  This level of training allows us to standardise our coffee evaluation and selection process to ensure that every coffee that makes it into the subscription is truly the best we can find for you to showcase a particular origin, variety or tasting note.

This month we are bringing in two new roasters alongside two returning favourites and also debuting our 'Dialled In Dark(er)' sub.  For our new Dialled In Dark(er) subscription we are opening up with a strong pairing of the Wolfox 'Mr Wolf' blend (notes of Hazelnut and Honey, low acidity and a clean finish with hint of Cinnamon) and the Hundred House Coco blend (a chocolate bomb espresso, made for milk!)

Take a close look at the link on the website, we have dedicated filter and espresso roasts coming in this month, more details below:

For the coffee this month we’re bringing in 1 new roaster, 3 returning favourites, and a selection of 6 coffees from 5 different origins (plus 2 new origins for our decaf options) phew, its complicated, read on!

First up is our new roaster for the month – a lot of people have been asking for this one and we’re pleased to finally oblige.  So, everyone please give a warm welcome to Colonna Coffee from Bath.  

Where to start?  I think we have to open with what an exceptional inaugural event the Coffee House Project (CHP) a.k.a. The Bristol Coffee Festival turned out to be - and I have to say well done to Louisa and Sofia for putting it together!

This was the first event that Dog and Hat have exhibited at and we chose Bristol as it's a hub for great coffee with such an amazing vibe.