# Harris + Hoole - Stansted Airport



## aaronb

I travelled through Stansted Airport last week and was pleasantly surprised to see a branch of the divisive chain has opened up in the airport (which is still a complete mess due to the ongoing refurbishments).

At the horrible hour of 4:15am the staff were actually all really chirpy and friendly and chatting with each other and the customers.

Brazilian espresso was pulled really well and had a nice stripy crema to it, taste wise it didn't do that much for me but then often Brazilian coffee doesn't. I also had a Panama filter (batch brew) that was quite light and refreshing. The Baristas clearly had received proper training and talked briefly about tasting notes.

Whilst not the best speciality coffee shop in the world, It's good to actually see a decent option rather than Pret. Hopefully it is helpful to anybody else going on holiday from Stansted this year.

You can find the shop straight after security at the beginning of the duty free arcade, just before the main departures hall.


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## The Systemic Kid

Divisive? Can you expand?


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## Yes Row

My commiserations for anyone unfortunate enough to have to travel to and from Stansted. What a vile experience it is.

This week it only cost me £12 car parking for 1hour 7 minutes

Shithole of the first order

Viva East Midlands Airport

YMMV!


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## aaronb

The Systemic Kid said:


> Divisive? Can you expand?


Tesco part ownership!



Yes Row said:


> My commiserations for anyone unfortunate enough to have to travel to and from Stansted. What a vile experience it is.
> 
> This week it only cost me £12 car parking for 1hour 7 minutes
> 
> Shithole of the first order
> 
> Viva East Midlands Airport
> 
> YMMV!


Agree - although it is slightly better than when I last flew from there last September. The return yesterday was awful due to insufficient staff at passport control creating a massive backlog.

It was Stansted or Gatwick though and Stansted is much closer to me. I much prefer either Heathrow or going from Norwich via Schiphol.


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## The Systemic Kid

aaronb said:


> Tesco part ownership!


Why does that matter?


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## Rhys

Have they finished Schipol? Was being fitted out when I was there last, although that was in September lol


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## aaronb

The Systemic Kid said:


> Why does that matter?


Some people dont like it. Doesn't bother me particularly.



Rhys said:


> Have they finished Schipol? Was being fitted out when I was there last, although that was in September lol


No, its a real mess too. I'm a bit surprised they bothered, I know it had been a while since last refurbishment but it worked well, with the long departure hall running end to end with the Shengen zone at one end. It still looked modern and spacious, with lots of space to sit.

They've now gone back to centralised security just after passport control, kind of how it used to be 15 years ago but with more lanes / desks.


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## jeebsy

The Systemic Kid said:


> Why does that matter?


The man, innit. Big nasty company


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## The Systemic Kid

jeebsy said:


> The man, innit. Big nasty company


There are some upsides.


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## coffeechap

jeebsy said:


> The man, innit. Big nasty company


that will be you soon!


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## jeebsy

coffeechap said:


> that will be you soon!


I come cheap if anyone is interested


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## Drewster

coffeechap said:


> that will be you soon!


Do you think Jeebs will still talk to us plebs when he "the man"?


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## The Systemic Kid

Drewster said:


> Do you think Jeebs will still talk to us plebs when he "the man"?


No


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## Drewster

jeebsy said:


> I come cheap if anyone is interested


Cheap? (or quick ;-) )


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## Milanski

Was there last week also and tried the Union Brazilian, really liked it. Ground on a clima pro, the staff had a decent level of coffee chat on them and they ended up giving me about 150g of the aforementioned Brazilian to try at home.

Food was okay too. Good alternative for Stanstead. Can't knock 'em (apart from them sleeping with the man) - I actually didn't know they were part owned but makes sense now.

There was one in King's Cross Tesco which used to be my nearest coffee shop (apart from Caravan) and always enjoyed the Union Liberacion there.


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## simontc

Drewster said:


> Cheap? (or quick ;-) )


He could be both, no?


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## Milanski

Gutted. H&H now owned by Cafe Nero and use their roasted coffee. Pile of shite!

H&H used to be the best thing about having to fly out of Stanstead (despite it's Tesco links) but now the whole experience is pants.

At least I have Lisbon to look forward to


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## aaronb

When did they change?

I was there in January and they were still using decent beans. The barista even remembered me.

Got a couple of flights including one at 6:30am coming up the next few months so will be a real shame if they've changed to commodity.


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## Hibbsy

Looking at their website they use union beans.


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## YerbaMate170

I always assumed, being a large chain, that they'd use awful dark-roasted beans like Costa and Starbucks - hearing that they serve Union and bloody Panama batch brews makes me want to try them out (although the latter sounds like a perfect example of something with potential, that a big chain will absolutely murder in the actual execution).


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## Daren

Hibbsy said:


> Looking at their website they use union beans.


Yep - they do. I sometimes buy the odd 250g from them at my local Tescos/H&H when I balls up my supplies (last time I used them was only about a month ago).

Their Union blend is very acceptable in emergencies


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## Hibbsy

I visited last sat. Had a good filter Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Friend had a latte which he said was good too.


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## Scotford

I actually had a really good espresso from this branch when I went to Oslo recently. Well prepared and not roasty. All the gear and at least a moderate idea.


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## aaronb

YerbaMate170 said:


> I always assumed, being a large chain, that they'd use awful dark-roasted beans like Costa and Starbucks - hearing that they serve Union and bloody Panama batch brews makes me want to try them out (although the latter sounds like a perfect example of something with potential, that a big chain will absolutely murder in the actual execution).


Panama batch brew was fine, nothing to set the world on fire but the flavours were there. The Barista's I've chatted too have all been competent but in an organisation that size there probably are some who don't really have that attention to detail and care for their craft we expect.

Passing through again in 5 weeks or so, will report back.


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## aaronb

Sadly it has changed drastically.

The little island of machines has been broken up with one half on each side of the counter. Crockery is done away with in favour of disposable cups (I can kind of sympathise because of the sheer volume of people who pass through Stansted). No information about the coffee was readily available (used to be on the menu above the counter), and the former choice of 2 different espresso is now down to one which tasted awful in the paper cup. Staff on the counter knew nothing about coffee. The guy on the machine did know about coffee and did tell me what the batch brew was and gave me the tasting notes and that was actually quite nice.

It's a shame as they had a very good set up and some very good staff working there even if the coffee wasn't quite there it was way better than Pret or Costa. With that said it still is, and as I said above I do kind of sympathise with them but then again Spoons will serve you a pint in a glass and the chain restaurants use plates and cutlery and keep up.... As far as im aware they are still sourcing beans n the same way and haven't switched to nero or other commodity junk as stated earlier.


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## aaronb

Crockery is back! Not sure if permanent or only during quieter spells, will check when I pass through again in Summer.

Sadly standards are still lower than they were when it first started but the filter was passable and way better than the alternatives of Pret / Costa etc and quite reasonable at £2.45.


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