# The Sensory Lab



## jimbow (Oct 13, 2011)

Whilst working over in the west end of London at the moment I have been sampling some of the local establishments and last week I made it over to The Sensory Lab.

The guys behind it are the same as behind St Ali although there is a very different feel to it. It feels like ... well, a lab surprisingly. The place feels almost slightly clinical with the two Baristas wearing clothes that bore a passing resemblance to chemist's overalls.

The Sensory Lab is located close by to Selfridges near Oxford Street and when I went in at 1pm I was expecting it to be really busy but to my surprise I found just two people sat at separate tables reading papers.

I walked up to the counter and as my gaze drifted across the brewing equipment along the wall - taking in a couple of V60 cones, a pouring kettle and a siphon - my eyes were drawn to something shiny on the counter in front of me. It looked like a rather fancy tap with built in scales and LCD display - an Uber Boiler!

They had 3 coffees chalked up on the board from HasBean and Square Mile. The Baristas asked me what sort of coffee I would like and I selected one to be brewed using an Aeropress. The guy immediately started punching buttons and configuring the appropriate parameters on the Uber Boiler. I asked for a double espresso too, both to be taken away and was given a glass of water whilst the two Baristas coordinated their brewing so that both drinks were ready at exactly the same time.

Both espresso and brewed coffee tasted good but for me it was the feel of the place that impressed me. It was just so different from the other coffee shops I have visited lately and felt really refreshing.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Another one on my list for my occasional London jaunts.

Went to St Ali last week. Disappointing tbh. AeroPresss was very poor.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

MikeHag said:


> Another one on my list for my occasional London jaunts.
> 
> Went to St Ali last week. Disappointing tbh. AeroPresss was very poor.


Im suprised at that , Mike -t he aeropress we had in the summer there was one of the best examples of a brewed coffee Ive tried (outside of my own control) The technique suprised me , they use an almost turkish grind mush finer than the espresso....


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Yeah, I was surprised too. It was really cloudy (probably from the fine grind), too hot, weak and underextracted. I don't rate them any less... just a bad day and a bad barista on the day.


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## Danm (Jan 26, 2012)

I was at St Ali last Sunday. I Drove past on way to drop wife at Selfridges so popped in on way back. The place was so busy, with 'brunchers' queuing outside the door. I wanted to get something to go, so stood at the bar.

The poor guy had tickets queuing up in front of the machine, that was in addition to pouring at least 20 glasses of fruit juice on ice, making tea's etc.

Not exactly as oasis of calm. Coffee was ok, nothing spectacular. Cant help thinking that with a little more time to focus, the barista could have made it better. Can't blame the guy (unless he is in charge of staffing!)

Oh . Word of warning. When you spend £350 on a vario, the wife will always manage to find a pair of shoes that cost more !


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## mouli (Jul 7, 2012)

This is my local. They changed the name (and only the name) to Workshop Coffee a few months back. Synesso machine, great attention to detail and baristas that take their time. Have other brewing methods on demand as well (aeropress, syphon etc)


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