67 Pall Mall: where the coffee has to match the best wines in the world
Caffeine Limited supplies Schaerer Coffee Art systems to connoisseurs’ club
67 Pall Mall is a club with a difference. By wine lovers, for wine lovers, its membership list quickly filled with connoisseurs and collectors who want to enjoy wine, buy wine, store wine and even sell wine.
“Ours is an eclectic membership,” says Niels Sherry, general manager at 67 Pall Mall. “They are a complete mix – different backgrounds, nationalities, walks of life and ages. We wanted a truly social vibe, not a blokey environment, so we welcome women members as well as men. We’re not like a traditional Pall Mall club, we do things our own way, jeans and jacket are fine. What unites our members is a love of wine, and they tend to like other finer things in life as well – like cars, watches, fine dining and good coffee.”
To meet members’ fine dining needs 67 Pall Mall has one of the best chefs in the country in Marcus Verberne. Not surprisingly, the club is full for lunch and dinner just about every day – and breakfast is fast catching up, though most members opt for tea or coffee in the morning. To meet the club’s fine coffee needs, 67 Pall Mall recently installed two of Schaerer’s top of the range bean-to-cup systems, supplied by Caffeine Limited.
“Our members are a discerning bunch and they drink coffee all the time. It has to be great,” says Niels. The Schaerers are both Coffee Art Supersteam models, making a top quality, full espresso coffee menu automatically, without the need for a barista. In fact, the Touch IT control panel can be configured to make up to forty different drinks, all at a touch on the screen, and the club could even programme it to make special drinks. “The staff find the Schaerers very easy to operate. The Caffeine team are great, taking time to do training with everyone on them. In fact, they pop in regularly to check we know what we’re up to and the machines are working as they should. Plus they maintain the units. They provide a complete coffee service.”
Offering a full coffee menu requires foamed milk; Caffeine says the Schaerer’s Supersteam milk wand actually foams milk better than a barista, thanks to its consistency and ability to be finely tuned to different drinks’ requirements.
Looking after the Schaerers is easy, too, thanks to the automatic cleaning programme, which is fully HACCP compliant. The operator simply follows the instructions and animated images on the touchscreen to set the machine into action.
As well as providing 67 Pall Mall with coffee machines, Caffeine also supplies the coffee itself, from its own London Calling brand. “It wasn’t a default decision,” says Niels. “We did lots of coffee tastings before deciding to go with Caffeine, working with one of the UK’s leading q graders, Johnny England, till we got the right blend.” (A q grader is the coffee equivalent of a sommelier – there are only sixteen in the UK).
“Nowadays people expect good coffee,” says Niels. “Our members are drinking it in the very best restaurants and hotels around the world, so their benchmark is very high – and they compliment us on the standard of our coffee.”
Caffeine Limited worked with design consultants Humble Arnold and equipment installers Hallmark Kitchens on the 67 Pall Mall project.
Caffeine Limited is one of the UK’s leading coffee machines specialists, distributing brands including Schaerer and Gaggia. The company also offers a comprehensive choice of coffee service accessories. For more information visit www.caffeineonline.co.uk