Family Entertainment Blog

For six months the opposing sides have strained and battled in the mud. Now the Diana inquest is finally over.Above all, people were striving to protect their own reputations.

But there is one reputation that nobody tried very hard to protect - that of Princess Diana herself.

Like the pitch at Twickenham after an almighty struggle, Diana’s reputation, her very dignity, has been left a quagmire
As the protagonists walk away, they leave a princess soiled by her most intimate secrets being tastelessly exposed for every prurient observer to enjoy.

The world now knows that she was taking the contraceptive Pill, know about her menstrual cycle, we have a formal list of her lovers and we have heard that her mother called her a “whore”.

No account of her private life, no red-top kiss-and-tell exposure, no published observations of her troubled life had dared plumb such sordid depths before.

The jury was even shown graphic photographs, taken by paparazzi, of Diana dying in the wreckage of the Mercedes. They heard a witness inform the court that the Princess’s final words were: “Oh my God.”

Just how this collection of “facts” helped the jurors make up their minds about the crash in that Paris underpass, heaven alone knows.

Hardly a day has gone by since the inquest opened last October, when some detail of her private life, her dreams and aspirations, has not been gratuitously laid bare.

Nothing was sacred, from her own state of mind on the day of her death to the manner in which she disentangled herself from her love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Dr Hasnat Khan.

Was it really necessary for Mohamed al Fayed’s counsel, Michael Mansfield QC, to formally name the five men who had been her lovers?

The five named were her former police bodyguard Barry Mannakee, ex-Cavalry officer James Hewitt, “Squidgygate” friend James Gilbey, art dealer Oliver Hoare and former England rugby captain Will Carling.
Paul Burrell: The ‘porous rock’
Intriguingly, he managed to omit the most significant of them all, Dodi’s fellow Muslim Dr Hasnat Khan.

To millions, the episode has been an affront to the dignity to which Diana is surely entitled in death.

Of course, dignity means little to the Paul Burrells of this world, as his evidence - and his later casual remarks that he hadn’t told the whole truth - made plain.

Having made his millions from his cheap gossip about Diana, he will, naturally enough, continue to peddle his phoney theme of affection and protection for the vulnerable princess, while milking their past relationship all the more.

After all, thanks to Al Fayed’s obsessive belief that Diana and his son Dodi were murdered by MI6, encouraged by Prince Philip, Diana’s name is today more on everyone’s lips than it was ten years ago.

Those customers who buy Burrell’s expanding range of “royal” products - from furniture to wine, bed linen and cutlery - might reflect that it was the former butler who chose to shock the inquest by telling the court that Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, angrily called her daughter a “whore”, shouted at her for “messing around with f****** Muslim men” and told her she was “disgraceful”.

Burrell, we should remember, was described by the coroner Lord Justice Scott Baker as a liar and could risk arrest for perjury if he returns to Britain.

For most other people, the jury’s verdict has not changed their opinion that the inquest was a complete waste of time and public money, driven by one man’s obsession.

And yet, for some, the verdict of unlawful killing involving Ritz driver Henri Paul and the pursuing paparazzi, is a moment of liberation.

Just imagine how Prince Charles feels at this moment.

For a decade he has lived with allegations of complicity in the death of his ex-wife, based on a hand-written letter in which the Princess expressed her fears that he wanted her killed. It even mentioned the brakes of her car.

Ludicrous, of course, but the letter’s very existence has cast a dark shadow over the brooding Prince of Wales and, in particular, over his marriage to the former Mrs Camilla Parker Bowles. Camilla, after all, is the starting point of the whole wretched tragedy.

Were it not for her, the stress and unhappiness that drove Charles and the young Diana apart would never have happened, and Diana would not have set off on the path of independence and defiance that led her into the embrace of the Al Fayed riches - and into the arms of Dodi Fayed, with such catastrophic consequences.
Mohamed al Fayed’s counsel named all of Diana’s lovers over the course of th inquest
The coroner’s scornful criticism of Al Fayed’s complete lack of evidence for his outlandish claims has served to brush away from Charles and Camilla any remaining suspicion that has hung over their marriage.

Tomorrow they reach their third anniversary. Theirs’ is a marriage not without its problems, including reported shouting matches and lengthy periods when each wants to be alone. (Now where in Charles’s life have we heard that before?)

In an intriguing, and quite poetic, role reversal, the Diana factor has played a significant role in Charles and Camilla’s daily domesticity.

“Frankly, Camilla is sick and tired of hearing ‘Diana, Diana, Diana’ every day for the last ten years - and especially the last six months,” sighs one of her friends.

“It really gets on her nerves - ask any second wife if she wouldn’t feel just like that if she had to ‘live with’ her predecessor morning, noon and night. Let’s hope now the inquest is over it’ll soon be the end of it.”

It possibly could be, were it not for the guilt that still gnaws away at Charles and which has been exacerbated by the inquest.

“Charles knows that many people will always blame him for what ultimately happened to Diana,” says one of his friends.

“Thanks to the jury, all that nonsense of Diana fearing that he wanted to do away with her has gone away at last.

“Charles still has a sense of guilt that he is in some way responsible for what happened to her. But I know he’s hoping he can at last put it behind him.”

As for the rest of the Royal Family, Prince Philip never dignified Al Fayed’s bizarre accusations that he was the man “running the country” and sending out assassins to murder his son and future daughter-in-law, by responding to them.

But even he must have wondered just what wild rabbits the Harrods’ owner’s teams of lawyers and private investigators might have pulled out of the hat to impress the jury.
Far from Philip being cruel and unkind to Diana, as was widely suggested, and plotting her murder, the inquest heard a series of letters that he wrote in affectionate tones to his former daughter-in-law in 1992, the year Charles and Diana separated.

Signing them, “Fondest love, Pa”, he was clearly sympathetic to her plight and wrote that: “We (he and the Queen) never dreamed he might feel like leaving you for her (Camilla). I cannot imagine … anyone in their right mind leaving you for her.”

For William and Harry, the past six months have not been easy, especially on those days when intimate details of their mother’s love life were being trawled through.

They would never say so publicly, but privately they blame Mohamed al Fayed for the ghastly and endless exposure to which their late mother has been subjected.
The people’s princess: Diana has been harshly laid bare through the course of the inquest
They have been protected somewhat by being in the Armed Forces, spending some of the time away, and Harry has, of course, seen ten weeks on active service in Afghanistan.

“To them it seemed ironic, and unfair, that the memorial service to their mother late last summer was, in a sense, setting the scene for the awfulness of the inquest that followed just a few weeks later,” says one of William’s close circle. “They’ve hated every second of it, but would never show it.”

As for Diana’s sisters Sarah and Jane, yesterday’s verdict was pretty much what, privately, they always felt.

For Lady Jane, the middle of the three sisters, the past two years have been especially difficult because of Al Fayed’s constantly repeated allegation that her husband Robert - the Queen’s former private secretary Lord Fellowes - was in Paris on the night in question, directing operations from the British embassy.

With astonishing restraint, Fellowes, a quiet chap not given to outbursts of any kind, refrained from responding to Al Fayed’s amazing claims or reaching for his lawyers to institute a multi-million-pound lawsuit.

Only when he climbed into the witness box to give evidence to the inquest did the world learn exactly what he was doing that night.

In a quiet voice he explained that, with dozens of others, he was attending “an entertainment” given by novelist John Mortimer at a church in Burnham Market, Norfolk.

Lady Sarah, the eldest sister, who talked to Diana on the day before her death, was in court most days and is said to be “relieved” that it’s over.

Her impression after talking to Diana was that the relationship with Dodi “did not have much further to run”, though the closed-circuit video evidence from the Ritz Hotel does suggest their friendship was closer than most people realised.

For Sarah, it has been an especially painful time having to listen to the evidence of a string of “weirdos” with whom the Princess associated. These included an astrologer, a spiritualist and a holistic therapist.

Somehow, these reflected the loneliness of the life Diana was leading, and the absence of friends in her life whom she could trust.

Diana’s friends believe it was from among this eccentric circle that the Princess came to believe that her life was in danger and that she could be the target of a murder plot.

One of the Princess’s circle said last night: “Diana was reckless in her choice of friends.”

But this individual was not referring to the “weirdos” so much as Mohamed al Fayed, some of whose employees were exposed as wilful liars under cross-examination.

How ironic that it was the Queen herself who added fuel to Al Fayed’s claims by talking of “forces of which we have no knowledge” to Paul Burrell. How she must have come to regret saying that - if she did. After all, we have only Burrell’s word for it.
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Two million Muslims are now living in the UK, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith revealed yesterday.

The milestone total includes 10,000 millionaires, she said during a visit to Pakistan to discuss counter-terrorism.
It means the Islamic population in the UK has increased by 400,000 since the 2001 census - adding more than 50,000 to the total each year.
Miss Smith told the Pakistan National Council of the Arts: “After Christianity, Islam is the largest faith community in the UK.
“1.6million declared themselves Muslims in the 2001 census, and that figure may now be as high as 2million. Islam is one of many faiths which are practised in UK communities.
“We are proud to live in such a diverse country.
“Muslims play a full and active part in British society: in politics, from Parliament to local government, in the armed forces, policing, the professions, the arts and sports, and of course in business.”
The Home Secretary said she wants Britain’s universities to “provide high quality learning about faith and Islam and to establish the UK as centre of excellence outside the Islamic world for Islamic studies”.
She repeated the Government’s new position there is no such thing as “Islamic terrorism”, telling the audience: “Terrorism has no place in Islamic thought, teaching or tradition. It is the opposite of everything that Islam stands for: Peace, Tolerance and Obedience to God.

“The ideology promoted by terrorists is a perverse rewriting of history and politics, and a misreading of a great religion.”

But Miss Smith said that terrorist plots in the UK had been traced back to Pakistan, and also that the terrorist threat to Pakistan had links to the UK.

She called on the people of both countries to play their part by rejecting the terrorists’ ideology, and isolating those who support them.

The Home Secretary added: “The majority has to speak out against the terrorist world view; challenge their image; call to account advocates of violence extremism; protect our institutions; and support those who are most at risk. But to do all this the majority has to make itself stronger, more articulate and outspoken, more challenging.”

Last month, the Vatican’s newspaper reported that Islam had overtaken Roman Catholicism to become the world’s largest single religious denomination.

In an interview with the paper Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, compilier of the Annuario Pontificio, the Vatican yearbook, said: “For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us.”

He said that figures for 2006 showed that Catholics accounted for 17.4 per cent of the world population while Muslims accounted for 19.2 per cent
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They say style is something you are born with. But you can’t blame a girl for trying.And Coleen McLoughlin is trying very hard indeed to look like Audrey Hepburn.

The 22-year-old bride-to-be has undergone an extraordinary transformation to become a very fitting lookalike for the Hollywood style siren.
With sleek chignon, cigarette holder and long black gloves, Wayne Rooney’s fiancé does her best impression of the actress in the classic movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Miss McLoughlin also poses as Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe for Closer magazine.

She is not alone in citing Audrey Hepburn as her fashion inspiration. Victoria Beckham is also a fan.

Miss McLoughlin’s recreation of the famed Breakfast at Tiffany’s pose is another indication that she wants to follow in the footsteps of original WAG Mrs Beckahm.

Miss McLoughlin, who spent her early days in the spotlight in comfy tracksuits and Ugg boots, now prefers outfits that show off her svelte size 10 figure.

Whether her wedding dress will be inspired by the Hepburn style she so admires will be revealed in June when she marries Rooney in Italy.

“Audrey was so sophisticated,” she said.

“She really defined the classic look. That’s what made her an icon.”

Both Coleen and Posh cite slender Miss Hepburn as their style heroine and last month Mrs Beckham appeared on the cover of Vogue in a gown that drew comparisons with Hepburn’s other famous role, Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady.

Miss Hepburn died in 1993 aged 63. The original Givenchy little black dress worn in the opening sequence of the film was sold at auction in London for just under £500,000 in December 2006.

Miss McLoughlin, who is a size 10, told Closer magazine that despite her upcoming June wedding she is not following a strict regime to lose further weight.

She said: “I’d love to lose a few more pounds, but I’m not dieting for the wedding. I’m not even doing Weight Watchers at the moment.”

Coleen has long felt Miss Hepburn is the best point of reference for her often eclectic style.

In 2005, she turned up the National Television Awards in London in a 1950s vintage dress and almost £1million worth of diamonds borrowed from high class jeweller Chopard.

She spoke of how she had styled herself on her Hepburn, but sadly when she opened her mouth she betrayed rather more down-market roots.

“I love wearing all these diamonds, I feel dead classy, they are really stunning,” she said.

“They are heart-shaped. I picked them because I am in love.

“I feel really precious because they are worth a million pounds, so I have had to have a bodyguard with me all night.

“They really go with my dress because it is vintage. I am modelling myself on Audrey Hepburn. I think she had so much class and I really love her.

“I think that 1950s style is so much more elegant, and even though it is very trendy right now – for me it will never be unfashionable because that is the style I really admire.”

Bride-to-be Coleen, who marries Rooney, 22, in June,set the record straight about what she has planned saying: “It’s going to be a mainly family affair.

“That’s what me and Wayne have always wanted. My friends and family know the plans, but they’re very good at keeping secrets and we know we can trust them.”

Coleen has been engaged to the Manchester United footballer since she was 17, added: “I can’t wait to be Mrs Rooney.

“It’s like getting ready for a big holiday in lots of ways. I’m eating really healthily, drinking plenty of water and going to the gym a lot more, maybe three or four times a week - I can really feel myself toning up.

“My skin’s benefiting from my healthy regime too. If you eat healthily, drink lots of water and work out then your skin has a great glow. I’m having facials every four weeks as well.”

The wedding, as the Mail recently revealed, has provided Miss McLoughlin with quite a dilemma.

Having banned many of Wayne’s troublesome family members from the main celebrations on the Italian Riviera, she has pledged to have a subsequent party on home turf.

Coleen is understood to believe the wedding, which is sponsored by a celebrity glossy magazine to the tune of £2.5 million, is the ideal way to catapult her and Wayne into the American national consciousness.

But she is all too aware of the need to keep her future in-laws in check.

“This is a very big deal for Coleen. She is even hoping to get the wedding in the American version of the glossy magazine in the hope that it will launch her and Wayne as a major new celebrity couple out there.

“She wants to launch Brand Rooney in the US in the same way that Brand Beckham did.

“And she does not want anything spoiling that - like drunken in-laws for example.”
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As they stepped off the catwalk after modelling underwear in front of a crowd of 2,000 people, the group of five models, all working on the Channel 4 show How to Look Good Naked, understandably expected at least a few token words of gratitude from the show’s presenter, Gok Wan.

After all, the programme’s success has made the bizarre-looking Wan a household name, and this particular catwalk show marked the culmination of weeks of preparation for the ordinary women participating who, thanks to the flamboyant male stylist, had apparently learned to love their bodies.
Smile for the camera: Stylist Gok Wan is joined by a congregation of women for a promotional shot for the series
But while the show’s participants basked in admiration and praise from Gok Wan, the models who had flanked them on the catwalk faced an altogether different reception backstage.

In a show of venom and acerbity unseen on screen, Gok called the models “sl*gs” and “dirty little sl*ts”.

In further insults too vile to print, he later singled out 25-year-old model Daisy Idwal Jones, making obscene and derogatory comments about her body in front of at least 20 people, including one of the show’s producers.

His explanation? A self-satisfied: “I’m rich. I can do what I f*****g like.”

And to make matters worse, this was not the first, or the last time the girls would face such abuse over the three days of filming, which took place at Manchester’s Trafford Centre last spring.

It certainly paints a different picture of the self-promoting stylist who launches a new series of How To Look Good Naked on Channel 4 tonight.

He has been described as a “saint” by the ordinary women whose lives he has apparently transformed by attempting to instill in them a confidence in their own bodies, while helping them to choose clothes, which will flatter their figures.
Offended: Plus-size model Daisy Idwal Jones says she never agreed to be filmed naked but at one stage a camera was so close it was touching her bare skin
But today, Daisy Idwal Jones feels compelled to speak out about the foul-mouthed prima donna she witnessed in private.

“Gok reduced me to tears on many occasions during filming,” says Daisy, who was the face of New Look’s Inspire range.

“I’ve never been at the receiving end of such vile, misogynistic language and I was horrified. And it wasn’t just me. He verbally abused all the models, and even made disgusting comments about our genitals.”

For a man with over ten years’ experience as a fashion stylist - Gok started his career in 1998 after dropping out of drama school, and his celebrity clients include Bryan Ferry and the girl band All Saints - a little professionalism was the least Daisy had hoped for.

Particularly as Gok’s own battle with his weight and self-esteem - he once confessed to weighing 21 stone as a teenager - has been well-documented. But Daisy says she was subjected to nothing but vitriol.

“Gok didn’t seem to care in the slightest what he called us. It was disgusting and he left me with my confidence badly shaken. I don’t think people who behave as he does should be on the payroll of a national broadcaster.

“Is this kind of misogyny really appropriate in a programme that claims to be helping women to feel good about themselves? What kind of explanation or justification could there be?”

On the surface, How To Look Good Naked - the last series of which garnered an average of 3.5 million viewers - appears to be one of the more benign of Channel 4’s stable of reality television shows.

Wan clearly revels in his role of outrageous fairy godmother to miserable women, all desperately unhappy with their bodies.

Thanks to his unique brand of cod psychology, he has been hailed the imperfect woman’s champion and seen his public profile rocket.

But there is a damning dossier of correspondence in existence between Daisy Idwal Jones, Channel 4 and Maverick, the production company, as well as a letter from another distressed model, that suggests otherwise.

It was certainly not the experience Daisy, who lives in South London and has been working as a plus size model since 2003, expected to have when she was employed last October, originally to model in a book to accompany the show.

“I’d never heard of Gok Wan at that point, but I thought what he was doing sounded great,” she says.

“As a plus-size model and a size 14, I do feel as though I represent the average girl in the UK and it’s important to me to help girls feel confident about themselves rather than disguising their bodies in tightly-fitting control underwear, or living on a constant diet.”

“Gok was overseeing the shoot. I remember thinking that he was very vulgar - he swore a lot - but at the same time, my first impressions of him were that he was a nice person genuinely trying to help ordinary women.

“The shoot went well and an image of me ended up appearing on the front and back covers of the book. I felt proud to have taken part.”

A few months later, Daisy was asked to attend a casting for the television programme.

While there, she was told that Gok had personally asked for her to take part.

“They said they were looking for catwalk models for the series, to flank the ordinary women as they reached the end of their journey with Gok and had to model underwear,” says Daisy.

“There were eight women taking part in all, and I was booked over one weekend to film the catwalk shows of the first four. The other four would film their catwalk shows at a later date.”

“The fee was dreadful - £300 for three full days’ work, which is very poor by modelling standards - but I said I’d do it for free if need be because I thought it was a positive project.

“The book had been a good experience and I naturally thought the show would be the same.”

But from the moment rehearsals started on the first day, it became clear that this experience was going to be very different.

Daisy says: “I turned up there thinking Gok actually cares about these women and he is here to make women feel better about themselves, but within a few hours, he’d called the other models and me variously a ’sl*g’, a ’sl*t’ and ‘dirty little sl**s’.

“There was no apparent reason for this language. It was just the names he called us to get our attention, or when he was directing us during rehearsals.

“He also used language that was sexually threatening. He said things like ‘I’m going to f*** you,’ which was presumably supposed to be amusing.

“This was in front of various producers and executive producers from the production company, Maverick.

“They just all stood around laughing and no one told him to tone down his language or his attitude.

“It was as though just because he’s a celebrity it was OK for him to call us whores. They were condoning his behaviour by laughing with him and at us.”

Another humiliation came when Daisy and the models were filmed backstage while getting changed. “I hadn’t expected to be filmed at any time other than when I was on the catwalk,” says Daisy.

“But while the models and I were all naked, or topless and wearing tiny g-strings, the camera crew just burst into the changing room and started filming us.

“I told them I was furious with them, but they didn’t stop. I had not given any consent to be filmed naked - at one point the camera was so close it actually touched my body.

“When I told the producer how unhappy I was at being filmed in such a manner, I was told it would ‘make great TV’. But I’m not a reality TV star - I was employed as a professional, and appearing naked on television is something I would never do.”

But the final straw for Daisy came on the last day of filming, when Gok made bizarre and gratuitous references to her genitals.

“I’d just come backstage from being on the catwalk in front of 2,000 people to face this incomprehensible abuse and people from the production company were just standing there laughing,” she says.

“I felt very upset and extremely self-conscious. My opinion of Gok reached its lowest point.

“I’d felt like walking out from the first day of filming, and the only reason I’d stayed was because of the contributors. This was their moment and they were dependent on the models for confidence. I didn’t want to let them down.”

According to Daisy, during filming, other models likened the experience of working with Gok to being “exploited” and “violated”. With filming complete, they all complained to their agents.

Daisy and one other model, who does not wish to be named, then made formal complaints to Channel 4 and Maverick, the production company. Daisy also waived her fee, and asked to remove all footage of her from the programme.

“Afterwards, I was very upset and shaken by my experience,” she says. “I couldn’t sleep at all because I was in such a state and I was crying a lot, which is completely out of character for me. I just felt really humiliated by the whole thing and my confidence had taken a very bad knock.

“After the comments Gok made, I knew it would be a long time before I felt comfortable being seen in underwear again. I have always felt confident and sexy about my body. Suddenly I felt insecure and depressed.

“Within 24 hours of finishing, I’d decided I didn’t want to be involved in a programme like that at all. I refused to sign the consent form that I was presented with once filming was complete. I’d entered into a professional engagement in good faith.

“But it seemed difficult to get anyone to reassure me that I would not appear, against my will, in the final version of the show. Maverick wrote back to me, apologising ‘unreservedly’ for Gok’s ‘unacceptable behaviour’ while Channel 4 said that he had indeed been ‘impolite’.”

Despite her written complaints, Daisy was then, unbelievably, invited to do the next round of shows.

“Maverick claimed that I had received a personal apology from Gok and asked me to return, but at that point I hadn’t heard a word from him,” she says. “I’d have thought from the letter I wrote they would have realised I didn’t want anything more to do with Gok or the series.”

Daisy eventually received an e-mail from Gok. In it, he apologised and added: “I have always expressed myself through my brash and crude sense of humour, something until now I considered unique and funny.

“I am deeply sorry you did not find this amusing and I only wish I had been more perceptive and I had not been as crude in your presence.”

This, Daisy says, she found infuriating as the onus seemed to be being shifted on to her for being sensitive. It was another two weeks before she received confirmation that all footage of her, including the naked shots, had been removed from the programme.

The only footage that remained were shots in which she flanked the contributors on the catwalk but was unidentifiable.

Now, Daisy is keen to put the whole experience behind her - and is even launching her own ethical model agency, which will aim to prevent other models experiencing any kind of mistreatment.

However, it is clear she is still perplexed and angered by Gok Wan’s treatment of women.

“It’s a bitter irony that Gok’s entire career is supposedly based around loving women and wanting them to feel great about themselves. I felt I had to complain and take a stand against this kind of behaviour, which he clearly feels is acceptable in private.”

Last night, both Gok Wan and the Maverick production company were unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, Daisy remains furious at her experience.

She says: “I was shocked to find that someone so unprofessional, abusive and cruel could be branded as a guru for women in their struggle to accept and love their bodies.

“He’s touted as ‘TV’s loveable fashion expert’, but in my experience, Gok Wan doesn’t really love women at all. Quite the opposite.”
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Guatemalans tend to be sweet. Colombians? Nutty. Africans are known for their potent acidity and aroma. Indonesians are generally earthy and heavy. Not the people or football teams - the coffee beans. This is the sort of thing you learn from Paul Mannassis, a boutique roaster who has bravely accepted the challenge of finding Sydney’s best coffee.There are, no doubt, as many great coffee spots in this city as opinionated coffee drinkers. In an effort to inject some science into the hunt, Good Living invited Mannassis, the Royal Agricultural Society’s espresso judge, to rate a selection of Sydney’s short blacks. His customer Dorothy Mavrikos - a keen amateur connoisseur with a four-cup-a-day habit and a sophisticated coffee machine at home - will judge cappuccinos.

Coffee judges look for a combination of desirable characteristics in their coffee. “It’s got to have a nice aroma … integrity and body, a good mouth feel and, more importantly, have a nice lengthy texture towards the end,” Mannassis says. “A lot of people just want a big hit - that’s great but you need the quality, too … it’s more in the roast but in the end it’s human handling that really makes it or breaks it.”

A coffee judge will usually spit rather than swallow - with more than 200 coffee exhibitors at the Easter Show this year, it’s probably an OH&S requirement. Mannassis has been in the business for 21 years as a manufacturer and roasts beans in a Marrickville warehouse under his own brand, Mocha Coffee. He also trains baristas in the proper use of Elektra coffee machines and readily admits espresso judges and the average drinker may be looking for different things in their perfect coffee.

“Generally, [industry people] like the texture and the sharpness,” he says, “but as you’re starting to drink it, you tend to like a heavy, smooth, neutral coffee.” Meaning not as bitter? “You can burn coffee, carbonise it: that’s bitter. But also a very light roast is quite acidic - which people can find bitter, too. It’s how the customer interprets it.”

Espresso Galleria

84 Ramsay Street, Haberfield

In a charming shopping strip filled with authentic Italian food, you’d expect to find a specialty coffee spot such as this. The small, no-frills cafe has three tables out front and a handful more inside, where it sells custom roasts as well as cups of coffee.

The house blend arrives in chunky white ceramic cups. “Lovely,” Mavrikos says of her cappuccino. “You can really taste the coffee, it’s got beautiful body and it’s very smooth.” Mannassis likes his espresso, too. “Very full-bodied, it’s not been spoilt by over-roasting … It is not as nutty or sweet as I would prefer but it’s smooth and thick.”

Gloria Jeans

Kiosk 4, Ashfield Mall, 260a Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Coffee snobs might roll their eyes but someone is buying Gloria Jeans. Since its first Australian store opened in late 1996, the company has opened 187 stores in NSW alone. We order at the counter and a staff member brings the coffees to the table in paper cups, scooping a heap of sugar packets and stirrers off the tray with one hand.

“I could be dying for a coffee and still wouldn’t drink this,” Mannassis says, adding that the beans are over-roasted so the coffee is carbonised. It has a distinct burnt smell. Mavrikos is also underwhelmed by her cappuccino. “The milk’s burnt,” she says. “It’s far too hot … you can’t taste the coffee.”

Trovatino Cafe

268 Great North Road, Wareemba

Trovatino is gorgeous: a spectacular gelato bar and big fresh fruit and veg section. It uses venerable Italian brand Caffe Molinari, yet Mavrikos’s cappuccino is “weak, quite bland … it fades away quite quickly”.

Australia’s love affair with coffee began with Italian roasts shipped across the world but has since diversified with the rise of the local boutique roaster, who can provide fresher coffee. That’s the problem here, Mannassis says of his short black. “It’s not very fresh - it was roasted too long ago … but you really can’t compare imported coffee with fresh.”

Campos Coffee

193 Missenden Road, Newtown

This buzzy Newtown institution is the be-all and end-all for many coffee fans. Handsome baristas churn out the goods in chocolate-brown ceramic cups for a queue of caffeine junkies. It smells wonderful and looks great but when we visit our judges aren’t thrilled. “It has a good hit, good finish but there’s not much in the middle,” Mannassis says. Compared with her most recent Campos coffee, Mavrikos doesn’t like her cappuccino. “It’s very bitter, acidic,” she says.

The difference could be down to the barista who made it but Mannassis says acidity is a characteristic of many quality African beans. “It gives you that hit but it’s very acidic, as opposed to [the Galleria coffee] which was the hit with an earthiness. The ideal is somewhere in between.”

Single Origin Roaster

60 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills

With square wooden tables and minimum fuss decor, this is a place where the focus is firmly on the coffee (the roaster is in one corner) and friendly service. It’s the last stop of the day - five coffees down already - yet Mavrikos loves her cappuccino.

“It’s quite mellow,” she says approvingly. “Not sharp, not acidic, the perfect temperature. There’s a lovely sweetness in the coffee.” Mannassis likens the house blend to Galleria’s: “It still has that heaviness, a big hit, but with a little more acid - not as much as Campos. Nice.”

Clodeli Fine Foods

1/210 Clovelly Road, Randwick

The next morning our first stop is the sun-filled Clodeli, popular with young mums. The coffee is from Rosebery roaster Allpress. It’s good news all round.

Mavrikos’s cappuccino has “a lovely potency, lovely flavour to it. It’s not too milky, you can really taste the coffee.”

Mannassis’s “good” short black has “got the body, a good texture”. He has one slight reservation. “Everyone uses this heavier style because it works best with milk,” he says. “But if you get the roasting right, you can have an espresso with flavour and integrity but also a soft sweetness. I think cafes will eventually start using two blends - one for white and one for black.”

Bar Coluzzi

322 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

The veteran Bar Coluzzi, which opened in the 1950s, has probably introduced more Sydneysiders to espressos than anywhere else. Still in the same tiny atmosphere-packed spot, with stools clustered on the footpath, Coluzzi is always busy with locals who swear by their Robert Timms espressos.

The short black has “a good smell and body. It’s nice but not great,” Mannassis says. “They could back off a tiny bit in the roast, it’s slightly caramelised but not bad for a commercial grade roaster.” Mavrikos’s cappuccino has a thick crust of chocolate - “far too much”, she says. Of the coffee: “It’s a bit too hot but it’s fine, drinkable.” Is the cafe resting on its laurels? Mannassis says no. “It’s historic, it’s buzzy. People come.”

Fratelli Paradiso

12-16 Challis Avenue, Potts Point

With wood panelling so dark it’s night-like inside, this Italian restaurant has a nice Melbourne feel. Staff are chalking up the menu on the blackboard wall as we arrive. Their coffee is Vittoria and it’s pretty good. “It’s got good body, texture - it does its job,” Mannassis says. Mavrikos’s coffee is “soothing, enjoyable, a lovely temperature”.

Mannassis, himself a small-scale roaster, says big commercial roasters such as Robert Timms or Vittoria tend to take the roast a bit further. It levels off the acid but makes the coffee more caramelised. “Smaller roasts have more vibrant flavours,” he says.

Barefoot Cafe

47a Sydney Road, Manly

A tiled shopfront with a big open window, the hip, breezy Barefoot Cafe sits oddly with the surrounding tourist tack. Belgian waffles with chocolate are the only food on the menu and the coffee is organic fair trade from Toby’s Estate. A beautiful wooden counter and squat stools are the only furniture.

Unusually, Mannassis’s short black is “full bodied but too short, if anything”. A more common sin is over-lengthening, as short blacks should be 30 millilitres. He feels the roast is a bit overdone, too. The cappuccino has “a thick full body, it’s fine, drinkable. But I wouldn’t crave it,” Mavrikos says.

Atomic Espresso

148 Wycombe Road, Neutral Bay

Only wide enough for a slender barista to squeeze past the single line of tables, Atomic is a commuters’ favourite that’s built for speed, not lingering. In fact, Mannassis’s espresso pours in only a few seconds, to his consternation.

“It’s fresh ground but the grind is too coarse,” he says. “That’s why it comes through so quickly and the coffee doesn’t get enough time to brew. It’s too watery.”

The cappuccino doesn’t fare much better. “It’s bitter … and has a burnt taste,” Mavrikos says. “I couldn’t drink it.” The coffee is Toby’s Estate but while Mannassis says the barista “had the right amount of liquor in the cup” the grind was “shocking”.

Starbucks

201 Elizabeth Street, city

This glass temple to global franchising sits in a prime position opposite Hyde Park. The service is bright and friendly, Sinatra is on the speakers and fair trade messages decorate the walls. The coffee comes in vast paper cups. Our judges are not happy.

“It’s a fully automatic machine,” Mannassis says, “which grinds, doses and brews the coffee. It’s supposed to eliminate human error and keep the coffee fresh but you need a skilled operator to extract a good espresso.” The coffee tastes carbonised. Mavrikos hates her cappuccino. “All I’m tasting is milk,” she says, poking the foam in her 350ml (tall) cup (non-Starbucks standard cups are typically 220ml). “Starbucks buy really good beans,” Mannassis says, “but they don’t roast them properly.”

Velluto Nero Coffee Couture

3/259 Clarence Street, city

Velluto Nero is a long, skinny, cold-looking cafe with a roaster in the doorway and an array of porcelain bean dispensers at the back. What it lacks in atmosphere it makes up for in coffee.

“This is the one. Top of the list,” Mannassis says. He approves of the colour, aroma and crema of his short black. “It’s got some acid but not too much, a nice spicy sweet aroma, very nice lengthy texture.”

Mavrikos, too, is happy. “This is so smooth, full bodied, full flavoured … there’s a sweetness to the coffee, no bitterness. Superb. I could drink another one right now.”

Kiosk 4, Ashfield Mall, 260a Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Coffee snobs might roll their eyes but someone is buying Gloria Jeans. Since its first Australian store opened in late 1996, the company has opened 187 stores in NSW alone. We order at the counter and a staff member brings the coffees to the table in paper cups, scooping a heap of sugar packets and stirrers off the tray with one hand.

“I could be dying for a coffee and still wouldn’t drink this,” Mannassis says, adding that the beans are over-roasted so the coffee is carbonised. It has a distinct burnt smell. Mavrikos is also underwhelmed by her cappuccino. “The milk’s burnt,” she says. “It’s far too hot … you can’t taste the coffee.”

Trovatino Cafe

268 Great North Road, Wareemba

Trovatino is gorgeous: a spectacular gelato bar and big fresh fruit and veg section. It uses venerable Italian brand Caffe Molinari, yet Mavrikos’s cappuccino is “weak, quite bland … it fades away quite quickly”.

Australia’s love affair with coffee began with Italian roasts shipped across the world but has since diversified with the rise of the local boutique roaster, who can provide fresher coffee. That’s the problem here, Mannassis says of his short black. “It’s not very fresh - it was roasted too long ago … but you really can’t compare imported coffee with fresh.”

Campos Coffee

193 Missenden Road, Newtown

This buzzy Newtown institution is the be-all and end-all for many coffee fans. Handsome baristas churn out the goods in chocolate-brown ceramic cups for a queue of caffeine junkies. It smells wonderful and looks great but when we visit our judges aren’t thrilled. “It has a good hit, good finish but there’s not much in the middle,” Mannassis says. Compared with her most recent Campos coffee, Mavrikos doesn’t like her cappuccino. “It’s very bitter, acidic,” she says.

The difference could be down to the barista who made it but Mannassis says acidity is a characteristic of many quality African beans. “It gives you that hit but it’s very acidic, as opposed to [the Galleria coffee] which was the hit with an earthiness. The ideal is somewhere in between.”

Single Origin Roaster

60 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills

With square wooden tables and minimum fuss decor, this is a place where the focus is firmly on the coffee (the roaster is in one corner) and friendly service. It’s the last stop of the day - five coffees down already - yet Mavrikos loves her cappuccino.

“It’s quite mellow,” she says approvingly. “Not sharp, not acidic, the perfect temperature. There’s a lovely sweetness in the coffee.” Mannassis likens the house blend to Galleria’s: “It still has that heaviness, a big hit, but with a little more acid - not as much as Campos. Nice.”

Clodeli Fine Foods

1/210 Clovelly Road, Randwick

The next morning our first stop is the sun-filled Clodeli, popular with young mums. The coffee is from Rosebery roaster Allpress. It’s good news all round.

Mavrikos’s cappuccino has “a lovely potency, lovely flavour to it. It’s not too milky, you can really taste the coffee.”

Mannassis’s “good” short black has “got the body, a good texture”. He has one slight reservation. “Everyone uses this heavier style because it works best with milk,” he says. “But if you get the roasting right, you can have an espresso with flavour and integrity but also a soft sweetness. I think cafes will eventually start using two blends - one for white and one for black.”

Bar Coluzzi

322 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

The veteran Bar Coluzzi, which opened in the 1950s, has probably introduced more Sydneysiders to espressos than anywhere else. Still in the same tiny atmosphere-packed spot, with stools clustered on the footpath, Coluzzi is always busy with locals who swear by their Robert Timms espressos.

The short black has “a good smell and body. It’s nice but not great,” Mannassis says. “They could back off a tiny bit in the roast, it’s slightly caramelised but not bad for a commercial grade roaster.” Mavrikos’s cappuccino has a thick crust of chocolate - “far too much”, she says. Of the coffee: “It’s a bit too hot but it’s fine, drinkable.” Is the cafe resting on its laurels? Mannassis says no. “It’s historic, it’s buzzy. People come.”

Fratelli Paradiso

12-16 Challis Avenue, Potts Point

With wood panelling so dark it’s night-like inside, this Italian restaurant has a nice Melbourne feel. Staff are chalking up the menu on the blackboard wall as we arrive. Their coffee is Vittoria and it’s pretty good. “It’s got good body, texture - it does its job,” Mannassis says. Mavrikos’s coffee is “soothing, enjoyable, a lovely temperature”.

Mannassis, himself a small-scale roaster, says big commercial roasters such as Robert Timms or Vittoria tend to take the roast a bit further. It levels off the acid but makes the coffee more caramelised. “Smaller roasts have more vibrant flavours,” he says.

Barefoot Cafe

47a Sydney Road, Manly

A tiled shopfront with a big open window, the hip, breezy Barefoot Cafe sits oddly with the surrounding tourist tack. Belgian waffles with chocolate are the only food on the menu and the coffee is organic fair trade from Toby’s Estate. A beautiful wooden counter and squat stools are the only furniture.

Unusually, Mannassis’s short black is “full bodied but too short, if anything”. A more common sin is over-lengthening, as short blacks should be 30 millilitres. He feels the roast is a bit overdone, too. The cappuccino has “a thick full body, it’s fine, drinkable. But I wouldn’t crave it,” Mavrikos says.

Atomic Espresso

148 Wycombe Road, Neutral Bay

Only wide enough for a slender barista to squeeze past the single line of tables, Atomic is a commuters’ favourite that’s built for speed, not lingering. In fact, Mannassis’s espresso pours in only a few seconds, to his consternation.

“It’s fresh ground but the grind is too coarse,” he says. “That’s why it comes through so quickly and the coffee doesn’t get enough time to brew. It’s too watery.”

The cappuccino doesn’t fare much better. “It’s bitter … and has a burnt taste,” Mavrikos says. “I couldn’t drink it.” The coffee is Toby’s Estate but while Mannassis says the barista “had the right amount of liquor in the cup” the grind was “shocking”.

Starbucks

201 Elizabeth Street, city

This glass temple to global franchising sits in a prime position opposite Hyde Park. The service is bright and friendly, Sinatra is on the speakers and fair trade messages decorate the walls. The coffee comes in vast paper cups. Our judges are not happy.

“It’s a fully automatic machine,” Mannassis says, “which grinds, doses and brews the coffee. It’s supposed to eliminate human error and keep the coffee fresh but you need a skilled operator to extract a good espresso.” The coffee tastes carbonised. Mavrikos hates her cappuccino. “All I’m tasting is milk,” she says, poking the foam in her 350ml (tall) cup (non-Starbucks standard cups are typically 220ml). “Starbucks buy really good beans,” Mannassis says, “but they don’t roast them properly.”

Velluto Nero Coffee Couture

3/259 Clarence Street, city

Velluto Nero is a long, skinny, cold-looking cafe with a roaster in the doorway and an array of porcelain bean dispensers at the back. What it lacks in atmosphere it makes up for in coffee.

“This is the one. Top of the list,” Mannassis says. He approves of the colour, aroma and crema of his short black. “It’s got some acid but not too much, a nice spicy sweet aroma, very nice lengthy texture.”

Mavrikos, too, is happy. “This is so smooth, full bodied, full flavoured … there’s a sweetness to the coffee, no bitterness. Superb. I could drink another one right now.”

It’s quite mellow,” she says approvingly. “Not sharp, not acidic, the perfect temperature. There’s a lovely sweetness in the coffee.” Mannassis likens the house blend to Galleria’s: “It still has that heaviness, a big hit, but with a little more acid - not as much as Campos. Nice.”

Clodeli Fine Foods

1/210 Clovelly Road, Randwick

The next morning our first stop is the sun-filled Clodeli, popular with young mums. The coffee is from Rosebery roaster Allpress. It’s good news all round.

Mavrikos’s cappuccino has “a lovely potency, lovely flavour to it. It’s not too milky, you can really taste the coffee.”

Mannassis’s “good” short black has “got the body, a good texture”. He has one slight reservation. “Everyone uses this heavier style because it works best with milk,” he says. “But if you get the roasting right, you can have an espresso with flavour and integrity but also a soft sweetness. I think cafes will eventually start using two blends - one for white and one for black.”

Bar Coluzzi

322 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst

The veteran Bar Coluzzi, which opened in the 1950s, has probably introduced more Sydneysiders to espressos than anywhere else. Still in the same tiny atmosphere-packed spot, with stools clustered on the footpath, Coluzzi is always busy with locals who swear by their Robert Timms espressos.

The short black has “a good smell and body. It’s nice but not great,” Mannassis says. “They could back off a tiny bit in the roast, it’s slightly caramelised but not bad for a commercial grade roaster.” Mavrikos’s cappuccino has a thick crust of chocolate - “far too much”, she says. Of the coffee: “It’s a bit too hot but it’s fine, drinkable.” Is the cafe resting on its laurels? Mannassis says no. “It’s historic, it’s buzzy. People come.”

Fratelli Paradiso

12-16 Challis Avenue, Potts Point

With wood panelling so dark it’s night-like inside, this Italian restaurant has a nice Melbourne feel. Staff are chalking up the menu on the blackboard wall as we arrive. Their coffee is Vittoria and it’s pretty good. “It’s got good body, texture - it does its job,” Mannassis says. Mavrikos’s coffee is “soothing, enjoyable, a lovely temperature”.

Mannassis, himself a small-scale roaster, says big commercial roasters such as Robert Timms or Vittoria tend to take the roast a bit further. It levels off the acid but makes the coffee more caramelised. “Smaller roasts have more vibrant flavours,” he says.

Barefoot Cafe

47a Sydney Road, Manly

A tiled shopfront with a big open window, the hip, breezy Barefoot Cafe sits oddly with the surrounding tourist tack. Belgian waffles with chocolate are the only food on the menu and the coffee is organic fair trade from Toby’s Estate. A beautiful wooden counter and squat stools are the only furniture.

Unusually, Mannassis’s short black is “full bodied but too short, if anything”. A more common sin is over-lengthening, as short blacks should be 30 millilitres. He feels the roast is a bit overdone, too. The cappuccino has “a thick full body, it’s fine, drinkable. But I wouldn’t crave it,” Mavrikos says.

Atomic Espresso

148 Wycombe Road, Neutral Bay

Only wide enough for a slender barista to squeeze past the single line of tables, Atomic is a commuters’ favourite that’s built for speed, not lingering. In fact, Mannassis’s espresso pours in only a few seconds, to his consternation.

“It’s fresh ground but the grind is too coarse,” he says. “That’s why it comes through so quickly and the coffee doesn’t get enough time to brew. It’s too watery.”

The cappuccino doesn’t fare much better. “It’s bitter … and has a burnt taste,” Mavrikos says. “I couldn’t drink it.” The coffee is Toby’s Estate but while Mannassis says the barista “had the right amount of liquor in the cup” the grind was “shocking”.

Starbucks

201 Elizabeth Street, city

This glass temple to global franchising sits in a prime position opposite Hyde Park. The service is bright and friendly, Sinatra is on the speakers and fair trade messages decorate the walls. The coffee comes in vast paper cups. Our judges are not happy.

“It’s a fully automatic machine,” Mannassis says, “which grinds, doses and brews the coffee. It’s supposed to eliminate human error and keep the coffee fresh but you need a skilled operator to extract a good espresso.” The coffee tastes carbonised. Mavrikos hates her cappuccino. “All I’m tasting is milk,” she says, poking the foam in her 350ml (tall) cup (non-Starbucks standard cups are typically 220ml). “Starbucks buy really good beans,” Mannassis says, “but they don’t roast them properly.”

Velluto Nero Coffee Couture

3/259 Clarence Street, city

Velluto Nero is a long, skinny, cold-looking cafe with a roaster in the doorway and an array of porcelain bean dispensers at the back. What it lacks in atmosphere it makes up for in coffee.

“This is the one. Top of the list,” Mannassis says. He approves of the colour, aroma and crema of his short black. “It’s got some acid but not too much, a nice spicy sweet aroma, very nice lengthy texture.”

Mavrikos, too, is happy. “This is so smooth, full bodied, full flavoured … there’s a sweetness to the coffee, no bitterness. Superb. I could drink another one right now.”

Barefoot Cafe

47a Sydney Road, Manly

A tiled shopfront with a big open window, the hip, breezy Barefoot Cafe sits oddly with the surrounding tourist tack. Belgian waffles with chocolate are the only food on the menu and the coffee is organic fair trade from Toby’s Estate. A beautiful wooden counter and squat stools are the only furniture.

Unusually, Mannassis’s short black is “full bodied but too short, if anything”. A more common sin is over-lengthening, as short blacks should be 30 millilitres. He feels the roast is a bit overdone, too. The cappuccino has “a thick full body, it’s fine, drinkable. But I wouldn’t crave it,” Mavrikos says.

Atomic Espresso

148 Wycombe Road, Neutral Bay

Only wide enough for a slender barista to squeeze past the single line of tables, Atomic is a commuters’ favourite that’s built for speed, not lingering. In fact, Mannassis’s espresso pours in only a few seconds, to his consternation.

“It’s fresh ground but the grind is too coarse,” he says. “That’s why it comes through so quickly and the coffee doesn’t get enough time to brew. It’s too watery.”

The cappuccino doesn’t fare much better. “It’s bitter … and has a burnt taste,” Mavrikos says. “I couldn’t drink it.” The coffee is Toby’s Estate but while Mannassis says the barista “had the right amount of liquor in the cup” the grind was “shocking”.

Starbucks

201 Elizabeth Street, city

This glass temple to global franchising sits in a prime position opposite Hyde Park. The service is bright and friendly, Sinatra is on the speakers and fair trade messages decorate the walls. The coffee comes in vast paper cups. Our judges are not happy.

“It’s a fully automatic machine,” Mannassis says, “which grinds, doses and brews the coffee. It’s supposed to eliminate human error and keep the coffee fresh but you need a skilled operator to extract a good espresso.” The coffee tastes carbonised. Mavrikos hates her cappuccino. “All I’m tasting is milk,” she says, poking the foam in her 350ml (tall) cup (non-Starbucks standard cups are typically 220ml). “Starbucks buy really good beans,” Mannassis says, “but they don’t roast them properly.”

Velluto Nero Coffee Couture

3/259 Clarence Street, city

Velluto Nero is a long, skinny, cold-looking cafe with a roaster in the doorway and an array of porcelain bean dispensers at the back. What it lacks in atmosphere it makes up for in coffee.

“This is the one. Top of the list,” Mannassis says. He approves of the colour, aroma and crema of his short black. “It’s got some acid but not too much, a nice spicy sweet aroma, very nice lengthy texture.”

Mavrikos, too, is happy. “This is so smooth, full bodied, full flavoured … there’s a sweetness to the coffee, no bitterness. Superb. I could drink another one right now.”
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