Six Eight Kafe's Coffee Blog

Joe wins UK Barista Championship - Northern Ireland Heat

We are proud to announce that our newest barista Joe (new to us, but a long time coffee fan) headed over to Belfast last week and came first in the heat of UK Barista Championships.

With a solid performance for a first time entrant, and support in the preceding days from staff and customers alike, Joe used a delicious Has Bean Rawandan Kigoma Fully Washed Bourbon for his coffee, including a lemonade based signature drink to create a zesty mix of flavours.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Joe on our team and his hard work and practice has really paid off. Now  he focuses himself on the next step, as the semi-finals will be fast approaching on the 28th April in London.

Check out some of the photos below curtosy of Rob Smythe’s and Union Roasted’s Twitter Accounts.

Also, follow Joe on his Twitter.

Pointe Blank + FAKE Magazine = Live Art at 6/8 Kafe

Check out some shots of our live art event held Saturday 10/3/12. Run in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Pointe Blank project (which is now exhibiting in our shop) and the launch of the 4th issue of our favourite independent publication, FAKE Magazine. Along with live illustration on large boards (in the street!); everyone had the chance to have a go by drawing on some beer (mug) mats with crayons and pens scattered around the shop; linking in to the superb illustration site Inkygoodness.

Check out some shots of the day below; then head hear and have a look here to have a look at the beermats people sketched and to find out more about the project.

Thanks to Rob, Claire, Michelle and the staff at 6/8 for a fun day all round!

Photos by Craig Bush

A Year in the life of Six Eight Kafé

Last month we celebrated our 1^st Birthday (click here for video). The party was attended by friends, family and customers and was a great success.  Even though we were all working that night, we managed to take time out to enjoy the festivities.
 
The party capped off a year that shall we say … had its ups and downs.

The Tough Beginning

We opened up at a time when the country was in economic turmoil. There was an increase in VAT, utility prices and unemployment. Out of the five original team members, only one had worked in a coffee shop. Within a week of opening, we were told that the Coffee Republic branch opposite us was the best performing in the whole of its chain (yet to be confirmed by a reliable source). None of us had operated a business before. We didn’t have any marketing strategy or product development ideas.
 
The things we did we have in abundance were passion, energy and drive. We knew where we wanted to be. We had a passion to create great coffee. We had the energy and drive to open the coffee shop every morning, on time, despite the coldest winter in years. We ignored any detractors who said that our coffee shop was more suited to London than Birmingham.

 

The Scary Summer

Just as we were settling into our rhythm, the riots sparked off around us. Thankfully we remained unscathed, but our fledgling business was clearly affected.

Then in September, we opened the coffee shop to a huge leak. The basement was completely flooded and we all know that water and solid oak do not make good bed fellows. What was our response? The team rallied round and the shop was open for business with only 45 minutes downtime.

The Ups

For those of you who have been following us on Facebook or Twitter, you will know there have been far more ups than downs. Far too many to mention in this Newsletter, so we will leave you with our latest videos (click here  for promo video and click here for birthday party).

…. and Finally

A big “Thank You” to all the customers who walk in everyday to make Six Eight what it is today.
 
Upcoming events

Joe (our Barista) entering the UK Barista Championships , 20th March 2012

Home Brewing Masterclass By “Brewed By Hand”, 22nd March 2012 (click here )

First of our monthly Film Nights in the Basement, 30th March 2012

Proud to serve Lucky 13 Bakehouse bread

At 6/8 we like to be proud of what we serve and support local traders whenever we can, so we are now proud to announce that we will be using Lucky 13 Bakehouse ciabattas.

Come and have a try of these fantastic artisan breads and be proud to eat local!