Well known to locals for their great tasting coffee, amazing buttery sausage sandwiches and their made-for-Instagram, one pot English breakfasts. We chat to sisters Hayley and Linzi about how it all began and how to make a perfect cup of Market Yard blend at home.
Where did your interest in coffee roasting begin?
Linzi: I first became interested in coffee when I started travelling around South America. I spent some time in a coffee plantation in Ecuador, where we got the chance to roast coffee beans, and I knew then, it was something I really wanted to get into.
I also lived in Melbourne for a few years and was inspired by the city’s vibrant coffee scene. When I returned home to London, I realised this was the route I wanted to go down.
With my sister, Hayley having come from a catering background, we decided to get together and set up Lomond Coffee. We started off in Camberwell, (that was a few years ago now), we bought a roaster, and from there we started developing our own profile. Eventually we came up with the Market Yard blend we sell now.
What beans are in the mix, or is it secret?
The beans that we use in our Market Yard blend are a mix of Columbian, Brazilian and Kenyan. The flavours that come from our blend are quite a chocolatey flavour, a little bit nutty and a hint of fruit.
Tell us about a typical day's roasting
Hayley: We start around 5:30am, prepare the green beans and weigh them out. We pour them into the valve in the top (of the roaster), where they’re released into the drum. Here we follow our own roasting profile, which is a secret! The whole roasting process of one batch of beans generally takes around 10-11 minutes, depending on first crack (when the coffee emits a cracking sound). As a rule, we roast about six batches at a time.
How hot does the roaster get?
The maximum heat is around 205 degrees during the roasting process.
For the uninitiated, what is a ‘profile’?
A profile is like a recipe for coffee beans that need adjustments of time and temperature. We alter the gas during the roasting, changing the heat and the air in the drum. Some people roast all the beans together but we roast each kind of bean separately and then make a 'post blend'.
Once we’ve hit first crack and we’ve allowed the beans some time for development, we release them into the cooler. Once cooled we box them and allow them to develop for another 48 hours. Then we 'cup' the coffee.
Cupping is the process of tasting the coffee to make sure the roasting has gone to plan. The coffee is ground, brewed and then we taste. If the roasting hasn’t gone accordingly, it could be bitter or sour to taste.
Why did you choose Deptford?
Hayley: Linzi worked in Deptford for 9 years on the high street. I’ve always lived in South East London so I have a big love for the area. When we saw the opportunity to be in one of the arches we were so excited. We love how it feels like a real neighbourhood and everybody knows each other. Everybody that works around here is so supportive, and it was just the ideal location really.
And tell us about how you designed your arch?
We wanted it to be quite industrial, in keeping with it being a roastery and to just play to the natural features of the arch. We choose quite simple, stripped back materials (a concrete counter divides the kitchen and the café and copper pipes hold wooden shelves on the back wall) because we thought it complimented the existing brickwork and our various bits of machinery.
You also serve delicious breakfasts and lunches. How did you approach your menu?
Hayley: We wanted to keep it really simple. I really hate messing with the classics. So a bacon sandwich should be a bacon sandwich, with brown sauce or ketchup! Sausage sandwich the same. Ketchup, brown sauce, onions.
In terms of ingredients, we make nearly everything ourselves. We make all our own cakes, salads and soups. We have a couple of great quality suppliers though. The Sourdough bread and jam donuts are from St John’s bakery and we use Estate Dairy milk, which is specifically made for making coffee.
If we buy a bag of your Market Yard beans to take home, can you give us some tips on how to make the perfect cup?
Linzi: There are loads of ways of preparing coffee. The first step would be grinding the beans into the correct size. So, if you’re preparing in a French Press or Cafétiere it will be a coarse grind, if you use an Espresso machine it would be a very fine grind or, somewhere in between like an Aeropress or a Moka Pot would be more on the medium to fine side. It’s important to know before we grind the coffee for you. Some people have their own grinders, which is good as we prefer to sell the coffee whole to keep the freshness.
For the water temperature, in the drip filter and for the espresso machine, we have the water at 96 degrees. Not too hot, but it will perfectly brew the coffee.
Onto the milk. In terms of temperature we judge it on feel but that’s through practise I guess. We make sure there are no bubbles in the milk, it’s perfectly textured and nice and creamy. If you’re starting with your own steamer you should start to aerate the milk until you produce bubbles, then move the steaming wand further down, getting a circular motion going with the milk.
Once you feel the milk is at the perfect temperature - which, if you have a temperature gauge at home, would probably be around 65-75 degrees, depending on how hot you like your coffee - you’ll be ready to pour. Take the wand out. We like to bang the jug against the counter and make sure there are no bubbles in the milk, before pouring onto the coffee.
You should then have the perfect cup of Market Yard blend coffee!
Apart from the arches at Deptford Market Yard, where else do you like to go in Deptford?
Hayley: My hobby of choice would be drinking (laughs). Villages tap room is amazing. We’ve been there a few times and the guys that own it are awesome. I always go for the 'Whistle' pilsner. Buster Mantis is wicked, everything; the food, the drinks the atmosphere, it’s number one.
Linzi: Like Hayley I love Buster Mantis, I think the food is lovely and I like the atmosphere in there. A bit more low-key is M&D Japanese takeaway, they do amazing dumplings and Panda Panda, which is a Vietnamese takeaway down on Deptford Broadway, their Summer Roles are to die for!
Lomond Coffee, Arch 7, Deptford Market Yard, SE8 4BX
Villages, 21-22 Resolution Way, Deptford, London SE8 4NT
Buster Mantis, 3-4 Resolution Way, London SE8 4NT
M&D Japanese Takeaway, 117 Deptford High St, Deptford, London SE8 4NS
Panda Panda, 8 Deptford Broadway, London SE8 4PA