The London Coffee Festival 2016

Or as I decided to call it, "The Glastonbury of coffee". Seriously, who knew so many people digged coffee enough to visit a festival dedicated to it? Not me, that's for sure. We actually had to queue around the block before we were allowed inside and it became evident pretty quickly that we'd need to have our elbows at the ready.

The festival itself was held inside The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane (which explains why we were surrounded by so many obnoxious hipsters the whole time). 

The choice of venue was great; I really liked that the organisers had clearly thought about the kind of vibe they wanted, using both floors, splitting the stands into themed sections, letting live music play out and really using the space and style the rooms offered. 

The one downside was that the place was absolutely heaving and with limited space, it was difficult at times to actually a) move anywhere and b) get close enough to a stand to try out products or chat with the event staff.

There was a whole variety of stands to be seen; coffee from various parts of the globe (some of it doing good for humanity at the same time), monstrous coffee machines at eye-watering prices, dairy substitutes, coffee syrups, espresso martinis, hot chocolate (Hotel Chocolat officially owns my heart), old school roasteries, frozen yogurt, flavoured waters, baked goods (just look at those cakes!), juices, even a section for tea! As well as a whole load more *phew*.

Although I had a great time at the Monin counter, having a lengthy chat with the guys at the stand about my love of syrups and getting recommendations on which to try out next (and where to get the one-litre bottles at a discount), it was actually the vast array of dairy substitutes on offer that really took my interest. 

I really enjoyed trying out different types of almond milk (the one I tried from The Pressery has to be my favourite), coconut milk (the latte from the Alpro counter was all kinds of amazing) and a bunch of others that I wouldn't have even considered ordinarily. 

At the risk of sounding like a pompous a-hole, using 'milk' from nuts really does add something extra to your coffee. Especially when it's a creamy coconut flavour.

Although the tickets give you a four hour slot, it took about an hour or so for us to see what we wanted and to take it all in. The festival itself was a fun experience, and something a little different, though I now have a humongously burnt tongue from sampling all the steaming hot coffee. Booo.
~ Eleanor xo

The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL

An Autumnal Weekend Morning Routine

I usually wake up on a Saturday morning the way I imagine a bear emerges in the Spring after a long winter of hibernation - absolutely no idea where I am, what day it is, what time it is, or what my name is. After I manage to get my bearings (ha!) and establish it's 2015 and I'm wearing pajamas, I fumble around to find my iPad to check the time. It always seems to be around 7:50am, which means one of two things: 1) It's the weekend 2) My alarm failed me and I'm extremely late for work.

Thankfully, today it is the former; so I grab my phone, unplug the charger and observe my SleepCycle statistics for that night. Normally it tells me I haven't slept well. Shock. Then it's onto Timehop where I mentally curse the person I was on Twitter six years ago (one of today's hop highlights was "damn you wizards of waverly place and hannah montana, i need to revise!". Admittedly, if we remove the revision part, that sounds like something I'd post even today... but I digress). Then I check my mailbox; I tend to read my Quartz Daily Brief on my iPhone because I'm way too impatient to load up my laptop to check the latest news.

Time for a good stretch to put all those bones back into place and head to the bathroom; I'm one of those people who can't function unless they have a clean face (anyone else the same?). Once that's done it's on with my warm cosy slippers and down the stairs to chug a glass of water and boil up some coffee (one spoon of Douwe Egberts Pure Gold + skimmed milk + three teaspoons of Starbucks Vanilla Syrup + hot water = perfection).

I then attempt to precariously carry my mug back upstairs without spilling anything, light a scented candle (lately my candle of choice is Rain Washed Linen from Urban Market Candles), snuggle under my duvet and catch up on the latest episode of How to Get Away With Murder. This show is tantalizingly good!

Once I'm all caught up on various TV shows, what's been going down on social media and I've established there's no other way for me to procrastinate getting up properly, I head back to the bathroom and jump in a steamy hot shower; hair care and skin care inclusive, obvs.

Picking an outfit for the day takes a stupidly long amount of time, especially considering I usually end up wearing the same thing. Recently it's been my favourite Gap girlfriend jeans, a basic tee and an oversized grandpa cardigan. Simple, comfy, cosy, fab.

With very few exceptions, I go make-up free at the weekend to give my skin and eyes a well deserved break, so the only thing going on my face is moisturiser... and an array of other products that help protect my entire body from the cold.

Until finally, it's time for some breakfast! (whew!) I can never resist my favourite bitesize Honey Nut Shredded Wheat with blueberries, and on this occasion, a chopped plum (aren't I fancy). I tend to eat at the dining room table so I can catch up with my parents and plan the day ahead. My Saturdays of late tend to include running errands in my trusty Fiat 500, buying copious amounts of fresh produce and baking with spelt. It is marvelous!

You'll probably have clocked onto the running theme of things being "my favourite", that's because I am a firm believer that weekends should include nothing but your favourite things.
~ Eleanor xo