Mayfair cafe is selling the UK’s most expensive filter brew made from this rare fair trade bean costing £2,000 per kilo and served in a crystal wine glass! Caffeine lovers with deep pockets are being invited to buy the UK’s most expensive coffee at £50 for a cup of filter brew. The newly opened establishment bought 450g of beans from the Ethiopian producer, Nigussie Gemeda Mude – and were canny enough to press release it.
Gemeda’s crop set a record this week at the prestigious “Cup of Excellence” auction, where its performance in blind taste tests led a consortium of international buyers to pay $1.3m, or £314 per kilo, for a share of the spoils. Ethiopian coffee producer Nigussie Gemeda Mude was announced as the winner of the inaugural Cup of Excellence Ethiopia coffee competition with his Sidama sun-dried natural coffee, which scored 91.04 out of 100 possible points in the nationwide competition and beat out more than 1,400 entries from across the country.
“It’s exciting to know my coffee has made it this far. Becoming number one was what I was aiming for. I am very happy to promote our great coffee and to benefit from the market opportunities that will follow the result” Gemeda says. “It’s an honor to receive the special recognition. This encourages me to do more.”
Queens of Mayfair in London, has just 15 servings available of the Ethiopian ‘Cup of Excellence’. The cafe’s roaster, Difference Coffee processes and supplies the beans.
Ground by hand, the beans are then brewed in a special v60 filter – which allows the coffee to flow through extremely slowly thanks to the fine paper used. The finished product is enjoyed in a crystal wine glass and the flavour is said to develop and intensify as the coffee cools.
Thanks to a Fairtrade deal, the Ethiopian farmers of the coffee will get the full auction price for their beans. Co owner of Queens of Mayfair, Victoria Sheppard said: ‘We pride ourselves on the finest produce throughout our menu at Queens of Mayfair, to have such a rare and highly sought after coffee to offer true connoisseur highlights the standards we are aiming for.’ Owner of Difference Coffee, Queens roasters, Amir Gehl added: ‘We are extremely excited to continue our collaboration with Queens of Mayfair in terms of pushing the boundaries of what is possible in terms of quality and by showcasing one of the worlds best certified coffees. ‘Not only is it an incredible and rare commodity it is also making a difference to the farmers in Ethiopia.’
