Author: Veruschka Menlove

The “G&Tea” Cocktail

In collaboration with Maison Mirabeau, we’re delighted to present this fun cocktail recipe that features two of England’s most-loved beverages … gin and tea! To celebrate Tea Day on the 21st of April, we hope you enjoy this hommage to the classic G&T!

Ingredients

Method

  1. Prepare the honey syrup: in a saucepan, boil 200g water with 200g honey for a couple of minutes. Leave to cool and keep in the fridge.
  2. Brew a small cup of Lorgues Coffee Roaster Lady Grey Tea and leave to cool.
  3. In a shaker filled with ice, shake all the ingredients vigorously. If you add egg white, shake for at least 30sec until very foamy.
  4. Strain into a coupe, and decorate with a sprig of lavender.

Happy National Tea Day!

“In Britain, a cup of tea is the answer to every problem.
Fallen off your bicycle? Nice cup of tea.
Your house has been destroyed by a meteorite? Nice cup of tea and a biscuit.
Your entire family has been eaten by a Tyrannosaurus Rex that has travelled through a space/time portal? Nice cup of tea and a piece of cake. Possibly a savoury option would be welcome here too, for example a Scotch egg or a sausage roll.”

David Walliams

The Origins of Coffee

Hugely passionate about coffee, Hamish talks about the origin of these fabulous little beans that have delighted so many people around the world.

The origin of coffee is, funnily enough, Ethiopia – where I think the first coffee bean came from. Bit by bit, coffee was passed around the world by traders. Coffee grows in a band around the world, within a certain latitude / longitude.

I guess you could use the parallel, coffee is very similar to the wine industry, which is very popular where we live here in Provence. There is a massive spectrum across the board of coffee flavours, and it’s very much the same in wine. If you bring in volcanic soils, if you bring in different weathers, different rainfall patterns, different coffee flavours are created.

My favourite coffee is definitely Ethiopian. It’s the origin of coffee, and I think it has the most intricate flavours available – it’s fruit, it’s flowers, it’s sweet, it’s caramel … many people say Ethiopian is their favourite coffee, and it’s definitely my favourite cup of coffee.

Hamish Menlove, Lorgues Coffee Roasters

Our Range of Coffee and Blends

We offer a different French coffee experience with our full range of coffee flavours, from fruit to caramel to sweet to citrus and acidic…

So when we arrived in France, we decided to try to create a different experience to what we were finding in the French coffee scene. What I mean by that, is having a bigger range in flavours, from fruit to caramel to sweet to citrus to acidic coffees, all across the strength range.

We start with Ethiopia, a fruity sweet coffee. We do Guatemala, which has hints of fruit and chocolate flavours. We do Tanzania, which is an acidic strong coffee. We have Honduras, which is a bio [organic], caramel, sweety flavoured coffee.

We also blend our coffees. For instance this week, we’re roasting Tanzania, which is probably 40% and 60% Honduras, it’s a nice strong cup of bio coffee, with a little bit of acid, and it’s selling and being received very well.

I’m forever tasting coffees and creating blends in our house. It’s how we select and create our own mélange – out of our own kitchen.

Hamish Menlove, Lorgues Coffee Roasters

Our Range of Teas

Lorgues Coffee Roasters offer fabulous loose leaf teas in France. Yes, the French drink tea too! Verushka explains the various teas they offer …

We have 14 teas, and the black teas are probably the most famous, popular. They are a darker leaf tea and steep at a higher temperature of around 95°C. Then we go into green teas, which are hugely popular because of their health benefits. Green teas are normally steeped at about 80°C.

Our white teas are more delicate, and are harvested earlier off the tea plant. They come from China, a famous region called Fujian. Also appreciated for health benefits, white teas have less theine in the cup and aren’t as strong in flavour. You steep them at about 60°C.

Our natural tisanes (herbal teas) have lovely flavours, no caffeine or theine and are very healthy and relaxing. When you have a tisane, for example, to assist you relax and fall asleep, our chamomile tea is great to have in the evening. It’s made with the chamomile flowers and originates from Egypt.

Our fruit teas are also great served cold in summer, you can steep them and then add ice and fruit. The organic rooibos tea from South Africa is not actually a tea, but comes from a bush. It’s growing in popularity around the world.

These teas are not only available on this website, but also at our weekly markets in Provence, and in our new concept store ‘La Grange’ on 13 Avenue de Toulon in Lorgues.

Building a Concept Store

Using Hamish’s extensive building contractor experience, they undertook a big project with partners Kiki and Dick to renovate and create a large concept store ‘La Grange’ in Lorgues

With Hamish’s extensive building contractor experience in Australia, he and Verusckha undertook a big project with partners Kiki and Dick, to renovate the old Bio Source veggie shop in Lorgues that had been empty for a couple of years.

Marcel and Victoria of NetNomads visited the building site over summer to see how they were getting on.

A month later, they visited La Grange again and were very surprised by the changes…

It goes without saying that their building site had the BEST coffee ever!

La Grange Concept Store Opens Its Doors

In between the challenges of various lockdowns, Hamish and Veruschka have welcomed many guests from around the world to their inspiring store in the heart of the Provençal village Lorgues.

Guests can enjoy a delicious cup of coffee or tea, with a freshly baked goodie to go with it, while browsing a great variety of locally produced ceramics and beverages (like wine, champagne, beers and spirits), to carefully sourced products like lights, paintings, bath & body products, hats, cushions, candle holders, furniture, throws, cards, aprons… learn more.

Varia Brewer Instructions

Explore the world of coffee in your home with the Varia Multi Brewer! Handy video instructions, user manual & unboxing video

Everyday is different, so we made a brewer that adapts to how you feel. Varia allows you to explore the world of coffee & tea in your home like never before. Our coffee brewers seamless transitions allow you to choose between six functions, including the three most popular brew methods ever.

Varia Coffee Brewer

Download the Varia Multi Brewer User Manual in .pdf format

We don’t often drink coffee, so when Hamish and Veruschka suggested this little brewer, we thought we’d give it a go. It is really nice to be able to offer guests a good cuppa coffee, instead of the instant coffee granules that local French people snort at. And I’m learning more about coffee – it’s really fun discovering the differences in flavours by using these different configurations. Not sure which method is my favourite yet …

Victoria Koning, NetNomads *****

Varia Multi Brewer & Brewing Configurations

Marcel & Victoria Koning @netnomads created this quick unboxing video that also demonstrates the various configurations.