Beverage Standards Awards 2011 - Award Winners

 Winners of the Beverage Standards Awards Announced
at glittering London Awards ceremony

The winners owned cafés, restaurants, mobiles, hotels, bars and clubs. They entered in the hope of winning a Beverage Standards Award, the Michelin stars of the coffee industry. The winners were announced on Thursday, September 29th at a glittering Awards ceremony at the five-star Grange City Hotel, London. As with the famous Michelin Guides, judging for these Awards was undertaken by anonymous trained experts providing accurate and impartial assessments.
Please see below for a full list of five to 3 cup winners by cup accreditation and then County.

BSA Awards 2011
5 Cup Accreditation - Outstanding
				Devon The Ridge Exeter, EX6 7XR
Cheshire Coffee Fix Cheadle, SK8 4NQ	Best Espresso Yorkshire The Attic at Harlequins York, YO1 8BL	Best Filter Lancashire Music Room Cafe Lancaster, LA1 1EW	Best Cappuccino Derbyshire The Bottle Kiln West Hallam, DE7 6HP	Staffordshire Sadliers Coffee Lounge Tettenhall, WV6 8QH
4 Cup Accreditation - Exceptional
	Avon Cafe2U, Bristol North, BS34 6EW	Berkshire Silva Robinson, Newbury, RG14 5AA Pret Kitchen, Windsor, SL4 1TG	Best Tea Buckinghamshire Tea Monkey, Milton Keynes, MM12 7SJ
Aberdeenshire, Scotland Cafe2U, Westhill, Inverurie, AB51 5HQ	Cambridgeshire Old Bridge Hotel, Huntingdon, PE29 3ZQ	Cumbria Avanti, Kirkby Lonsdale, LA6 2AH	Lancashire Benedicts of Whalley, BB7 9TH Poppies, Heysham, LA3 2BJ	Lincolnshire High Bridge Café, Lincoln, LN5 7AU
London, SE1 Roast, Stoney Street, SE1 1TL Norfolk Café2U, Norwich, NR7 0DT	Staffordshire The Apple Tree, Burton upon Trent, DE13 8DZ	Staffordshire Continental Cafe, Stoke on Trent, ST3 2JR	Staffordshire Artisan, Eccleshall, ST21 6BZ	Sussex Cowdray Farm Shop, Midhurst, GU29 0AJ Ground Coffee House, Brighton, BN2 1ED
Tyne & Wear Flat Caps Coffee, Newcastle, NE1 8JQ	Wiltshire Café Licious, Swindon, SN1 1LE Bytes Café, Marlborough, SN8 1BE	Wiltshire Café Italian, Royal Wootten Bassett, SN4 7AX	Worcestershire Cafe2U, Worcester, WR7 4ED	Yorkshire Crown Spa Hotel, Scarborough, YO11 2AG Avanti, Ilkley, LS29 8AF
Yorkshire CafeCafe, Ottley, LS21 3AE Roots Café, Northallerton, DL6 2LE	Yorkshire Greens Veg Café, Hebden Bridge, HX7 8AH	Yorkshire Utopia Café, Broughton Hall, BD23 3AE	Best Hot Chocolate  Yorkshire Forge Tea Rooms, Brompton, YO13 9BF
3 Cup Accreditation - Excellent
	Berkshire Lord Lyon, Stockcross RG20 8LL	Cheshire Courtyard Cafe, Eccleston, PR3 0YB	Cumbria The Glasshouse Cafe, Wigton, CA7 9DY Kings Head, Keswick, CA12 4TN Sweeny's, Keswick, CA12 5BX	Cumbria Café Treff, Ambleside, LA22 9BS Poppies Cafe/Bistro, Ulverston, LA12 7HR Cumbria Cafe, Grassmere, NA22 9SJ
Cornwall TheBasement, Padstow, PL28 8BS Cumbria Travellers Rest Inn, Grassmere, LA22 9RR	Derbyshire Bennet's Café, Derby, DE1 3AL	Glamorgan, Wales Cafe2U, Cardiff/Bridgend CF31 2LH	Hampshire The Cork & Cheese, Southampton, SO31 7GP Bonne Bouche, Hamble, SO31 4HA	Lancashire The Wyville Arms, Leyburn, DL8 5LH London Pret, London, SW1
Nottinghamshire Cafe2U, Nottingham, NG5 1DW	Northumberland Copper Kettle Tearooms, Bamburgh, NE69 7BW	Sussex LimeCafe@StPauls, Worthing, BN11 1EE	Yorkshire Duo Café Bar/Bistro, Sedbrgh, LA10 5BL Lodge In the Valley, Ledburthwaite, CA12 4TQ	Yorkshire Cafe2U, Leeds, LS15 8GB Purple Cow Cafe, Cottingham, HU16 4BQ
Yorkshire Sunshine Bakery, Leeds, LS7 4NZ Herriots Hotel, Skipton, BD23 1RT	Yorkshire Montideli, Mexborough, S64 9AJ Cream, Sheffield, S10 5BA	Yorkshire The Angel Inn, Hetton, BD23 6LT	Tyne & Wear Cafe2U, Newcastle East NE6 5YN

The full 5 to 3 cup winners list can be down loadeded by clicking here.

BEST DRINKS AWARDS
The winners received an engraved plate and a certificate.
• Best Hot Chocolate - Forge Tea Rooms, Brompton near Scarborough. Learn more...  Forge Tea Rooms Review
• Best Tea - Tea Monkey, Milton Keynes. Learn more...   Tea Monkey Review
• Best Filter or Cafetiere Coffee - The Music Room Cafe, Lancaster. Learn more...  The Music Room Review
• Best Cappuccino, Latte, Flat White - The Bottle Kiln, West Hallam. Learn more...  Bottle Kiln Review
• Best Espresso Coffee - The Attic at Harlequin, York. Learn more...  The Attic Review

From L-R: Sarah Shipley, The Attic at Harlequin; Rebecca Stone, The Bottle Kiln;
Tracey Bovingdon, Tea Monkey; Katie Evans, Forge Tea Rooms and Ian Steele, The Music Room Cafe

FIVE CUP WINNERS
The winners received a certificate.
• Sadliers Coffee Lounge, Tettenhall. Learn more...  Sadliers Coffee Lounge Review
• The Bottle Kiln, West Hallam. Learn more...  Bottle Kiln Review
• The Music Room Cafe, Lancaster.  Learn more...  The Music Room Review
• The Attic at Harlequin, York. Learn more...  The Attic Review
• Coffee Fix, Gatley, Cheadle. Learn more...   Coffee Fix Review
• The Ridge Cafe, Haldon Forest Park, near Exeter. Learn more...  The Ridge Cafe Review

From L-R: The Attic at Harlequin; The Music Room Cafe, Lancaster, The Bottle Kiln;
Sadliers, Tettenhall; The Ridge Cafe, Haldon Forest Park and Coffee Fix, Gatley

The Leading FOUR CUP WINNERS
• Avanti, Kirkby Lonsdale
• Forge Tea Rooms, Brompton near Scarborough
• Coffee Pret Kitchen (CPK), Windsor
• Cafe2U, Inverurie, Aberdeen  Cafe2U Review
• Benedicts of Whalley
• The Apple Tree, Burton-upon Trent
• Tea Monkey, Milton Keynes

Ranald Paterson, chairman of the judges, Beverage Standards Awards, said “This is the first time that the general public will be able to access coffee shops in the same way as restaurants by seeing how many coffee cups an outlet has been awarded or by seeing if they’ve won a Best Drink Award. All these establishments are to be congratulated for serving high quality beverages. The certificates that establishments receive are intended to attract new business not only the Best Drinks winners and those with 5 cups. The Awards standards are 1 Cup, Good; 2 Cup, Very Good; 3 Cup, Excellent; 4 Cup, Exceptional and 5 Cup, Outstanding. We look forward to seeing these certificates on windows and doors telling members of the public that they serve high quality beverages.

“Through these Awards, the Beverage Standards Awards (BSA) has introduced the first UK-wide national grading scheme in beverages from 1 to 5 cups, which covers every contestant. In addition every entry will receive the judges’ feedback report on how to improve their standards,” he added.

Best Drinks
The biggest find among the Best Drinks Awards was The Music Room in Lancaster, again a relatively new operation. Ian Steel bought the J. Atkinson & Co roastery and from there one of his sons and wife has developed The Music Room across the road into a paradise for coffee and beverages. They have a large staff and every single one seems to be a coffee expert. On the last day of judging Jon Skinner and Ranald Paterson sat at the bar in the café for an hour drinking different styles of espresso, filter and flat whites as if sampling different malt whiskies. It had that kind of atmosphere.
To some extent it’s the same philosophy as used at The Attic. Gordon Howell, unlike Ian, has been in coffee for many years competing in earlier BSA competitions, but never a winner. His beverage range has got progressively better over the years. Gordon has become a tough competitor in UK barista championships. Earlier this year he opened The Attic, above his existing restaurant, Harlequin in York. The result is a temple to fine coffees in particular Espresso the Best Drink Award he won this year. Gordon excels in demonstrating the subtle taste differences in coffees round the world and is well worth a visit.
‘The Bottle Kiln West Hallam, winner of the Best Cappuccino/Latte/Flat White Award was the only previous BSA winner to be successful in the 2011 Best Drink Awards. The Bottle Kiln is a destination attraction in so many ways but the quality of drinks and service just gets better and better. Rebecca Stone the owner has maintained a great team of people round her, led by head barista, Maxine, who has become a major player in UK and International barista events’.
Tea Monkey at Milton Keynes, the winner of the Best Tea Award, was described as superb by all four visiting judges. Outstanding was the range and quality of teas available, the presentation and the expert knowledge of staff. Their challenge for 2012 is to raise their other drink standards to that of tea. Do this and they will justify a 5 Cup Rating Standard.
The Forge Tea Rooms at Brompton, yet another first time competitor, deservedly won the Hot Chocolate Award, fighting off strong competition from Cafe2U, Westhill, Inverurie.’’

Five Cup Awards 
Gareth Dean and Claira Keey, brother and sister owners of the Coffee Fix had a couple of mobile operations until a year ago. They rented a shop in the precinct at Gatley, near Stockport and turned it into a haven for beverages; they know coffee very well. An assistant asked me how I’d enjoyed my coffee. I said it was bitter for me and he went on to describe where it came from and explained that just because coffee was bitter, it wasn’t that bad. They were a great find. It’s a more traditional style of café compared to The Ridge in Halden Forest Park, near Exeter. Nicola Jameson rents the premises from the Forestry Commission and the café was built by them. The food there is magnificent, great beverages; everything is served in front of you. The barista pours the coffee and adds milk and performs latte art so the customer can enjoy all the theatre. They manage to do this in a very busy site. They have excellent hygiene and the staff smiled.
Emphasising their outstanding qualities across all drinks  and service standards, Best Drink Award Winners, The Bottle Kiln, The Attic and the Music Room were other leading  5 Cup Winners.
‘Right up there with the best was Sadliers Coffee Lounge at Tettenhall on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. In 2008 from their old coffee shop across The Green they won the BEV-E National Award. Success here brought more business and pressure to move to larger premises. Maxine and Paul Sadlier opened their new Coffee Lounge in August 2010. Earlier this year they won a battle with Wolverhampton City Council which enabled them to retain outside pavement tables and seating. Maxine is a professional caterer. Paul is a marvellously creative barista. And the chances are you will be served by a very attentive daughter. 

Updated: Saturday, 25th February, 2012