The Edinburgh Reporter October 2022

16 FOOD AND DRINK

Café review: Format By Charlie Ellis CROSSWORD Compiled by David Albury

ACROSS

5 Three-hundredth

anniversary (12)

8 Expedition in Africa (6)

9 Become less severe (6)

10 Ring a bell slowly (4)

12 Special offer on goods (7)

14 Cots for small babies (7)

15 Adult male deer (4)

17 Repeatedly annoy (6)

18 Eradicate (6)

20 One who works on rented

land (6, 6)

DOWN

1 Raw minced beef mixed with

onion and raw egg (5, 7)

2 Measurement using square

units (4)

3 Ever-lasting (7)

4 Meal, for example, provided

during trip on aeroplane (2, 6)

6 Title of Muslim ruler (4)

7 Strip of wood along the side

of a car for standing on (7, 5)

11 Astral body used as a guide

by sailors (8)

13 Lower down (7)

16 Fish with varieties called

bluefin, yellowfin etc (4)

19 Male sheep (4)

FORMAT AT 124 Buccleuch Street, has

steadily built a reputation as a leading

place for specialty coffee in the city.

In this busy studenty area, Format

faces a lot of competition, especially

from Cult Espresso two doors along,

one of Edinburgh’s most revered coffee

spots. More recently the Greek

influenced The Lady and the Bear

has opened nearby. For Format’s

proprietor Andrew, this is a challenge

but also an opportunity as more

people are now being drawn to the

area in search of coffee, pastries and

savoury bites.

In contrast to Cult Espresso and

The Lady and the Bear, with their

spacious interiors (teeming with

lap-topping students at busy times),

Format is a snug little place with tables

for about ten inside - as well as some

seating outside. An improved interior

features a roughened concrete surface

offset by plants that soften the look.

The highly stylish custom made

machine produces consistently

flavoursome and memorable coffees.

The machine allows the barista

to make very subtle adjustments

to pressure, enabling them to get the

very best out of the beans. Format uses

beans from a range of roasters, giving

customers a variety of flavours over the

months. Roasters used include local

roasters Williams & Johnson, based in

Leith, and Elsewhere Coffee from

south London. Recently they have

used beans from another local roaster,

Obadiah Coffee. Obadiah’s Brazilian

beans provide an ‘elegant soft stone

fruit acidity’. Its stark richness means

they are best used with drinks (such as

a cortado or flat white) which allow

the milk to take the edge off the acidity.

As well as coffee, Format serves tea

(by the Brew Tea Company), hot

chocolate and a range of pastries (just

don’t try and eat the ones in the

window as they have been varnished!).

For a more substantial snack, Format

do some excellent filled bagels with the

smoked salmon version being

particularly tasty.

Andrew is enjoying a ‘calm and

steady’ start to autumn after a ‘crazy’

Festival period. Because of their

proximity to George Square,

Summerhall, and other venues, they

had a great deal of custom. He also had

to deal with delays with a makeover of

the interior which was completed just

three days before the Festival began.

Then their coffee machine broke down

due simply to the high volume of

coffees being pulled. Luckily a back-up

machine and his colleagues helped

them get through (“it was stressful but

we got through”).

Andrew is evangelical about

speciality coffee and always keen to

chat about it. One thing that he stresses

is that specialty coffee is a labour

intensive product at all stages. Skill and

meticulous attention is required at

every one. This, combined with rising

transport costs, inevitably leads to

fairly high prices. Andrew emphasised

that many cafes in Edinburgh use

cheaper ‘industrial coffee’, often

charging the same prices as those

which use premium specialty coffee.

Cafés such as Format focus on

demonstrating the superior flavours

you get with carefully sourced,

well-made specialty coffee.

Format

124 Buccleuch Street EH8 9NQ

Snug and cosy wee café - and the coffee is pretty special too

S’wheat up for award

THE FOUNDER of Edinburgh

firm S’Wheat has been named as

one of the finalists for the

Scottish Women’s Awards in the

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

section. Amee Ritchie, who

founded the business along with

Jake Elliot-Hook four years ago

when they were both university

students, will only find out if she

has won on 27 October at a gala

event in Glasgow.

She said: “I’m so excited to be

shortlisted as a finalist for Young

Entrepreneur of the Year. I was

inspired by so many women in

business when I was younger

and this is what really

encouraged me to start S’wheat,

so to be a finalist for the Scottish

Women’s Awards feels really

rewarding.”

The business makes the

world’s first reusable water

bottle made from plants.

Their range of products was

recently expanded and the

firm plants a tree for every

bottle sold. As well as this

the company has a policy of

investing a percentage of its

profits in eco charities.

ANSWERS

5 Tercentenary, 8 Safari, 9 Relent, 10 Toll, 12 Bargain, 14 Cradles, 15 Stag, Across:

17 Hassle, 18 Uproot, 20 Tenant farmer.

1 Steak tartare, 2 Area, 3 Eternal, 4 In flight, 6 Emir, 7 Running board, Down:

11 Lodestar, 13 Beneath, 16 Tuna, 19 Rams.

The right Format