Date and Nutella balls and cold brew coffee

I’m a recent convert to cold brew coffee - I never used to think I liked iced coffee much maybe because it was made with instant coffee back in the day but cold brew coffee made with freshly ground beans is another matter altogether.

Anyway I went along to try the new coffees my pal Amir Gehl has introduced to the very posh Parcafé on the Park Lane side of the Dorchester and after we’d finished tasting asked to try the cold brew which is made from beans from the Dattera farm in Brazil. It’s very smooth and chocolatey, particularly when made as a cold brew and went brilliantly well with the café’s ‘Healthy Bites’ (not *so* sure about 'healthy' though they were fashionably vegan).

They are apparently made with dates, Nutella, oats and oat milk - not my kind of thing normally but really insidiously more-ish. Turns out - although you probably knew this already that date and Nutella balls are A Thing - Google them and you’ll find dozens of recipes. I can also recommend the Hazelnut Dacquoise.

Amir, whose company Difference Coffee supplies a number of 3 Michelin star restaurants has also placed what must be one of the most expensive coffees in London at the Parcafé - from a batch of 2019 Esmeralda Geisha which he sourced before it went on public auction. It costs an eyewatering £15 a cup which is fair enough I guess if you’re talking about one of the world’s best coffees. You’d probably pay that for a fine wine or a rare whisky so why not coffee if you can afford it? And if you stay at the Dorchester you probably can.

I went to Parcafé as a guest of Difference coffee