Category: Blog

Low fat coffee muffins

Posted on by Sara Walker

IMGP4142Spring is here, the time when we all traditionally start thinking about getting into shape for the summer! Being healthier doesn’t mean denying yourself, though. These low fat muffins are packed with flavour and contain a good helping of our favourite ingredient – coffee! These are perfect for breakfast, morning coffee or a teatime treat to get you through until dinner. Here’s what to do.

To make about a dozen, you’ll need:

430g self raising flour

2 tablespoons good quality instant coffee, dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water

150g granulated sugar

2 large freerange eggs

350ml fat free plain yoghurt

75ml vegetable oil

50g good quality 70 per cent dark chocolate

You’ll also need a 12-hole muffin tin, and muffin cases.

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Put the eggs, oil, yoghurt, sugar and coffee in a large bowl, and beat with a hand mixer or wooden spoon until smooth and fully combined.

Fold in the flour, and beat until fully combined.

Break the chocolate into squares, then cut each square into pieces with a sharp knife. If you like, you can substitute chocolate chips for this stage, but chips tend to be sweeter and of lower quality. Using block chocolate means a more intense, chocolaty hit. Stir the chocolate into the batter.

Divide the batter between the muffin cases, smoothing out the tops with the back of a spoon.

Put the tray in the middle of the oven, and bake for around 25 minutes until the muffins are well-risen and golden. Turn out onto a cooling rack, and eat!

The muffins will keep in an air-tight container for up to a week.

To find the perfect ground coffee or coffee beans to accompany your muffins, visit our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk, where you’ll find everything you need for your coffee business at great wholesale prices.

Fancy an Eggspresso?

Posted on by Sara Walker

background-70394_640Even if you don’t normally have much of a sweet tooth, Easter’s one of the times in the year when most of us indulge in a bit of chocolate. If you’re also a coffee lover, then the latest craze from Australia is sure to be up your street.

A coffee shop based in Perth has posted a series of videos on social media that show espresso coffee being dispensed into hollow chocolate Easter eggs instead of cups. Instantly named the ‘Eggspresso’, it’s being hailed as the perfect drink for the Easter period, and the craze has now gone viral online. The chocolate melts slightly into the hot coffee for a rich, indulgent treat.

If you’d like to have a go at a DIY eggspresso, here’s how:

You’ll need one hollow chocolate Easter egg, about the size of a mug (don’t use too big an egg, remember you’ll be eating the whole thing at once!). Stand it firmly in a mug or jug to hold it steady. Then, simply brew an espresso as usual and either let it dispense directly into the egg, or pour it into a jug first then into the egg. Eat immediately before it all has a chance to melt too much – you’ll need a spoon, and probably a handy box of tissues! Milk chocolate works best for this, but you could also experiment with flavoured chocolate such as caramel.

If you’ve got Easter eggs left over, this is a fun and unusual way of using them up – but it’s a good job we’ll only be doing it once a year! For all your coffee supplies, from green and roasted coffee beans to accessories, from flavoured syrups to milk, take a look at our main Wholesale Coffee Company website for a great choice at competitive wholesale prices.

 

 

 

Healthy coffee vegan milkshake recipe

Posted on by Sara Walker
The addition of chia seeds to your morning coffee makes a healthy drink.
The addition of chia seeds to your morning coffee makes a healthy drink.

If you’re still on a post-Christmas health kick, may we recommend this superfood coffee smoothie? It’s designed to be drunk cold, so you can make it a few hours before drinking. It makes a perfect breakfast drink, the ideal accompaniment to a stressful commute.

Almond milk is rich in vitamin E, an important vitamin essential to the correct function of many organs in the body. It’s also an antioxidant, meaning it helps to reduce cell damage. It can also boost energy and improve physical endurance – both useful benefits if you’re travelling to work!
Another ingredient in this super-smoothie is chia seeds. If you haven’t yet come across these tiny black seeds hailed as one of the most nutritious foods on the planet, you may be surprised at the idea of adding them to coffee! Chia seeds come Salvia Hispanica, which comes from the same family as mint. They’ve been known as a food source for thousands of years, and were much prized by the Aztecs and Mayans for their energising properties. The name ‘chia’ comes from the ancient Mayan word for ‘strength’.

Chia seeds are packed with omega 3, which has multiple health benefits including the reduction of stiffness and joint pain, and they’re also a powerful antioxidant. If you don’t like the idea of seeds in your coffee, don’t worry – the seeds will swell up when soaked, and once blended, you’ll end up with a textured smoothie with a slightly nutty taste.#

To serve one, you’ll need:

  • 175 ml almond milk (you could also use soy if you prefer)
  • 30ml cold, fresh espresso coffee (use decaffeinated if you’re really on a health kick!)
  • 1 banana
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Put the chic seeds in the blender with 6 tablespoons of cold water. Leave to stand for five minutes, until the soaked seeds become gelatinous. Then, add the remaining ingredients and pulse in the blender until smooth. Add a little ice, and either drink immediately or transfer to an insulated mug for transporting.

For the best in coffee beans and coffee accessories, all available to buy online for your coffee business at great wholesale prices, visit our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Italian coffee tycoon loved coffee until the end

Posted on by Sara Walker
The stove-top Moka pot was the first true home coffee machine, making restaurant-standard espresso
The stove-top Moka pot was the first true home coffee machine, making restaurant-standard espresso

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we thought we’d heard of just about every coffee-related idea out there, but Italian coffee tycoon Renato Bialetti came up with something new for his funeral – being interred in a coffee pot!

You might not have heard of the man himself, who died in Switzerland aged 93, but you’ve probably heard of the foundation of the family fortunes – the Moka coffee pot, the stove-top metal coffee pot invented in the 1930s by Renato’s father Alfonso.

The coffee pot became a success as it was relatively cheap and durable, and was the first true home espresso machine. Previously, the only home method available had been the drip method, which didn’t replicate the strong flavours of espresso produced under steam pressure. Inventor Alfonso had been working in the aluminium industry when he got the idea for the pot from a washing machine! Italian women used a boiler system that drew hot, soapy water out from a pipe and distributed it over the clothes. After some experimentation, his famous design reached the market in 1933. It was based on a classic silver coffee pot used as part of a dinner service in wealthy homes, a design that was cleverly designed to appeal. The

The distinctive design hasn't changed for over 80 years.
The distinctive design hasn’t changed for over 80 years.

pots are still manufactured today to the same design, and to date over 300 million have been sold worldwide, although the Bialetti family are no longer involved.

Renato’s three children designed to honour their father’s work by commissioning a special giant Moka pot to hold his ashes. His remains were then interred, still in the pot, in the family tomb in Omegna, Italy.

If you love coffee as much as we do, visit our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk to find a great selection of coffee beans and coffee accessories at competitive wholesale prices.

 

 

 

Top five coffee cocktail recipes

Posted on by Sara Walker

coffee-cocktailsFeeling a little low after Christmas? At this time of year, it can seem there’s nothing much to look forward to until the spring – which is why it’s the perfect time of year to throw a party! Whether you opt for a formal function or just have a few friends over for supper, these top coffee cocktails will lend the evening a real buzz. While all these drinks can be mixed by hand, a cocktail shaker will produce a better result as well as helping you unleash your inner Tom Cruise for the evening.

Cherry coffee Martini

Definitely shaken not stirred! The cherry flavours work will with coffee, bringing out fruity flavours. Cherry vodka is perfect with coffee, bringing out the red fruit notes in many coffees. Make a pot of fresh espresso coffee, let it cool and use one shot (30ml) per person. Add 30ml of cherry liquer and 20ml of coffee-flavoured liqueur such as Kahlua or Tia Maria. Shake everything together with crushed ice, and strain into a Martini glass.

Orange coffee booster
This punchy drink is flavoured with orange liqueur. Mix together 45ml vodka with 15ml orange liqueur such as Cointreau. Add 30ml cold espresso and 30ml cold milk. Shake everything together over ice and strain into a tall glass. Garnish with a coffee bean.

Tropical coffee cocktail

For coffee with a totally tropical taste, combine 45ml of coconut-flavoured spirit such as Malibu with 15ml of Irish cream liqueur and 30ml of cold espresso. Shake everything together over ice and pour into a tall glass – coconut garnish optional!

Raspberry ripple

For a fruit hit, mix one shot (30ml) of cold espresso with 30ml vodka and 30ml raspberry liqueur. Shake with ice and pour into a glass. Top with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.

Black Russian

Finally, keep things simple with this classic drink. Mix equal parts (30ml of each) of coffee liqueur and vodka, half-fill a whisky glass with ice cubes and pour the mixture over.

For all your coffee supplies from fresh coffee beans to accessories, visit our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

How to make your own cold-brew coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

beans and groundsLast week, we took a look at cold-brew coffee, hailed as the hot new summer drink in bars and cafes across the country. If you’d like to have a go at making your own cold-brew coffee at home, here’s what you need to do.

Cold-brew coffee differs from iced coffee in that iced coffee is made hot, allowed to cool then diluted with ice. It has a tendency to a bitter aftertaste, whereas cold-brew coffee, which is actually made cold, has a sweeter and more complex flavour. The only downside is that it takes a long time to brew properly! In Japan, where they’ve been making cold-brew for hundreds of years, they have glass brewing flasks to produce their kyoto coffee, but an ordinary large jug or jar will do the job just as well.

Ideally, it’s best to grind your own beans for this as you’ll need coarse grounds – forget powder and think breadcrumbs. Using finer grounds will make the filtering process tricky and affect the result. Put in around 150g of coffee for every litre of cold water. Cover the jug with a lid or clingfilm and put it in a cool dark place (the fridge is fine but not obligatory) for at least 16 and no more than 24 hours. The length of time you allow the mixture to steep will have an effect on the strength of the finished coffee. Once or twice during the steeping process, give the jug a little shake to move the grounds around.

At the end of the steeping time, pour the mixture carefully through a tea strainer or fine mesh sieve into another jug or bowl. Once the liquid looks comparatively clear, strain it again through paper coffee filters. If you don’t have any filters available, you can use the sieve lined with kitchen roll. The finished brew is quite concentrated, and will need to be diluted 50 per cent with water before drinking. Serve chilled, with or without ice as you prefer. Unfinished coffee will keep in the jug in the fridge for up to a month.

If you’re looking for the perfect ingredients for cold-brew coffee, take a look at our coffee beans page. You’ll find a range of top-quality coffee beans, all available wholesale at competitive prices.

Is cold-brew coffee the big new thing in caffeine?

Posted on by Sara Walker

wcc article 3Does your coffee come in a beer bottle with an artisan label? If you fancy yourself as a coffee afficionado, you might have come across cold-brew coffee in fashionable coffee bars. Iced coffee has been a staple drink for the warmer months for years – made of conventionally-brewed coffee that’s been allowed to cool, iced coffee is served over icecubes or crushed ice and often flavoured with syrups. Cold-brew coffee is a different cup of tea – it’s made by steeping coffee grounds with water at room temperature. Unlike conventially-brewed coffee, which is ready to go in a few minutes, making cold-brew takes a little time investment – you’ll need to leave it for 24 hours. The resulting concentrated coffee essence is then diluted before drinking.

So what’s the attraction? Fans say the drink delivers a fresh coffee flavour and caffeine hit without any hints of bitterness or acidity. It’s also apparently a more complex taste experience as nuances of flavours aren’t destroyed by heat, and more delicate notes of chocolate and spice are easier to detect. In addition, it can be a more refreshing drink for the warmer weather. Interest has increased recently, with one Manchester coffee bar selling hundreds of bottles a week.

The method might be news in the UK, but it’s not a brand new invention. In fact, the Japanese have been cold-brewing coffee (known as Kyoto) for around 400 years. Whatever its origins, prettily-packaged cold-press coffee has taken off at festivals and campsites across Britain, and fans are experimenting with adding various types of milk and other flavourings to enhance the taste even more. It may not be too long before you can walk into your local coffee bar and ask for a cold-pressed almond-milk cappuncino – but be prepared for eyebrows to raise in the meantime!

However you like your coffee, we’ve got all you need here at the Wholesale Coffee Company. From top quality coffee beans to accessories, we’re your one stop shop for great products at wholesale prices. To find out more, visit the main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

 

 

Happy New Year from the Wholesale Coffee Company

Posted on by Sara Walker

happy-new-year-1063797_640Many thanks to all our customers for your support in 2015, and we wish you a happy and prosperous 2016. There’s still a holiday feel in the air, so we’ve put together this light-hearted  coffee quiz for you to enjoy with the last of the mince pies. Happy New Year!

  1. All of the world’s coffee comes from the area between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. What’s the nickname of this area? A. Java line – B. Bean belt – C. Caffeine county – D. Bean equator
  2. How many calories in a cup of black coffee? A. 50 – B. 100 – C. 15 – D. 0
  3. How many cups of coffee does the average person drink a day? A. 1 – B. 0 – C. 3 – D. 7
  4. Which has a higher caffeine content, fresh ground coffee or instant coffee? A. ground – B. instant
  5. Name the only state in the US that grows coffee. A. Hawaii – B. California – C. Nevada – D. Florida
  6. Where does the name ‘cappuccino’ come from? A. From the brown habit of Capuchin monks – B. It means ‘breakfast cup’ in Italian – C. It’s named after a coffee bean farmer – D. It’s named after a bar where it was first brewed
  7. What’s the only drink more popular than coffee? A. Tea – B. Water – C. Beer – D. Juice
  8. What is an Americano made of? A. Equal parts filter coffee and milk – B. An espresso shot with cream – C. Sweetened filter coffee – D. Espresso with hot water
  9. Where’s the best place to store ground coffee? A. The fridge – B. The freezer – C. A cool, dark place
  10. Decaffeinated coffee is completely caffeine-free. A. True – B. False

Visit our website in 2016 for all your wholesale coffee needs – www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Scroll down for the answers.

1 – A

2 – D

3 – C

4 – A

5 – A

6 – A

7 – B

8 – D

9 – C – coffee is sensitive to moisture, so storing it for long in a fridge or freezer could cause it to deteriorate. It’s OK if you’re using it quickly, but a cool, dry, dark place like a cupboard is better.

10. – B. All decaffeinated coffee contains a small amount of caffeine. Permitted limits are 0.3% for soluble coffee and 0.1% for ground coffee.

 

 

Coffee for Christmas

Posted on by Sara Walker

christmas-791118_640We love to build time for coffee into every part of our day, and that’s especially true at Christmas. Here are our top ‘coffees for Christmas’ to help you enjoy your day.

First thing on Christmas Day morning

Getting up late, opening presents…the perfect accompaniment to Christmas Day morning is a long, indulgent coffee. Make a big pot of your favourite coffee, and pour it into heated mugs. Top with whipped cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and chocolate powder and maybe a mince pie on the side.

Mid morning on Christmas Day

Food to prepare, late minute preparations to make…it’s time for something a little stronger. Team a shot of rich, dark espresso with a drizzle of our lovely festive gingerbread flavoured coffee syrup for a caffeine kick that’ll get you though the next part of the day.

After lunch on Christmas Day

You’ve just eaten your own body weight in turkey and stuffing, and all you want to do is lie around on the sofa waiting for the Queen’s Speech. Try a milky latte made with skimmed milk – this is gentle on your digestion, but will give you the caffeine boost needed to encourage you out for a post-lunch walk.

Christmas Day evening

The day’s done, the food’s eaten, all the presents are distributed and it’s time to relax. Indulge yourself with a traditional Irish coffee. Pour hot black coffee into a heatproof glass until it’s 2/3 full. Stir in 1 teaspoon of sugar, and add a single measure (around 25ml) of whisky (or whiskey, if you’re being purist!). Hold a tablespoon over the top of the glass, and pour double cream over it until the cream floats on top of the drink in a thick layer. Drink, with the last of the mince pies.

We’d like to wish all our customers a very merry Christmas, and to say thank you for all your support during 2015.

Speciality coffee market is stronger than ever

Posted on by Sara Walker
UK speciality coffee market looks stronger than ever
UK speciality coffee market looks stronger than ever

There’s good news for UK providers of speciality coffees such as lattes and cappuccinos – according to The Future of Coffee, a recently-published report by Allegra World Coffee Portal, (WCP), the market speciality coffee drinks looks set to rise by 13 per cent year on year. That’s more than the expected growth of 10 per cent across the whole UK coffee market.

Based on over 1500 customer surveys and dozens of UK industry leaders across all sectors of the coffee market, the report makes a correlation between the increase in small, independent coffee outlets focussing on quality and service and the rise in demand for speciality drinks. Small companies are embracing new technology and cutting edge techniques to source and process their coffee from bush to cup for a better experience for the consumer.  “In the future, greater attention to agronomy and processing at origin will help yield higher quality beans”, it concluded.

The report made the following findings:

There are now 180 speciality coffee roasters in the UK. Of those interviewed, two thirds are relatively new businesses, roasting for less than two years.  The speciality green coffee bean market is currently estimated at an annual value of 40 million euros, with that set to double by 2020. The speciality roasted coffee bean market is currently valued at double the amount of the green coffee bean market, at 80.1 million, which is set to more than double in the same time-frame. Estimates put the number of independent speciality coffee shops (i.e. shops whose main business is the supply of coffee to consumers) at around 1,400 in the UK – that figure is also set to double by 2020. Just under two thirds of the retailers interviewed plan to open new shops in the next three years.

If you’re in the business of supplying speciality coffee drinks, we’ve got everything you need to make your business go with a swing, all at great wholesale prices. From coffee accessories to top quality coffee beans and supplies, you can browse our range at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.