(iL) Soigneur Coffee

This (iL) Soigneur coffee is well-balanced and full-bodied – just right for a pre-ride espresso or two.

Last year we reviewed an (iL) Soigneur musette; the Bristol-based brand is already stocked by some of the UK's hippest cycle shops, including Tokyo Fixed, Condor and Freshtripe and has been quietly re-establishing the musette as a required accessory for the cycling gentleman- or lady-about-town. (iL) Soigneur recently signed up with Saddleback as a distributor and with things looking rosy, Dene Percy, the main man at (iL) Soigneur has taken the slightly unexpected step of moving into hot drinks.

Here at road.cc we can't help but agree that cycling and coffee go well together, and so when Dene sent some of his coffee and tea over, we got stuck right in. The coffee is available both as beans and pre-ground, both made up of a blend of beans from Sumatra and Brazil with 10% Monsooned Malabar from India, locally roasted and packed in smart, lined paper bags which have the advantage of a proper resealable top (akin to what you get with your strong cheddar cheese).

It's been a while since we did any coffee grinding and so a degree of creativity was needed to make up for our limited cafe equipment. Dave opted for the hand blender, which would be frowned upon by any coffee aficionado, whereas I at least own a real burr grinder, of the human-powered variety. I'd forgotten, however, how much cranking was needed for each brew, and quickly got fed up doing it by hand. The addition of a cordless drill made things much easier.

Dene's beans (we think there may be an advertising slogan right there) have a good, earthy aroma in the bag and are notably shiny, indicative of a French- or Italian-style full espresso roast. The oils that produce this shine are what gives coffee much of its flavour and are also responsible for the crema that you get on an espresso.

The ground coffee is supplied fairly coarse, which is well-suited to the cafetiere and domestic coffee machines. We called on one of our favourite local cafes, Java for the views of a real coffee obsessive, Kevin. The first attempt, using (iL) Soigneur ground coffee, was not a total success.

Kevin explained that the grind was not nearly fine enough for a pro machine, with the result that the water passed through too quickly and the coffee didn't give up enough of its oils. It didn't taste bad to us, but Kevin is something of a perfectionist. Emptying his grinder of his own blend, he ground our beans to his liking and made a very good espresso. In a back-to-back espresso comparison with Java's house blend (which is particularly potent), it was evident that (iL) Soigneur coffee couldn't match the concentration of flavour, but nonetheless made a damn fine cup, perhaps better suited to pre-ride drinking (when really full-flavoured coffee can leave your mouth parched).

Back home, we really liked using (iL) Soigneur ground coffee with our cafetiere. Here the coarser grind is spot on - if it is too fine then the plunger will clog. We also tried using a stove-top moka pot which worked well with both the pre-ground coffee and the coffee we ground ourselves - producing a good flavour without the bitterness which it is often hard to avoid with a moka.

The coffee is priced at £5.50 for 250g, either as beans or ground, and can be ordered by emailing (iL) Soigneur directly (ilsoigneur@ilsoigneur.com). The prices puts it in line with top-end supermarket coffee and other small-production gourmet coffees.

The choice of formats is an astute one - those lucky enough to own a pro coffee machine are likely to prefer to grind themselves and hence can adjust to suit their tastes, whereas the pre-ground is just about right for those making coffee with a cafetierre or stove-top pot.

Verdict

Well-balanced and full-bodied coffee that's just right for a pre-ride espresso or two for those that take their coffee drinking seriously