Category: Blog

How to make kokkaffe (Swedish boiled coffee)

Posted on by Sara Walker

beans and groundsIf you were asked to name the top coffee-loving countries in the world, you might think of the USA. Or Britain, or maybe Italy or France. One country that might not immediately spring to mind is Sweden, but in fact Swedes love their coffee and drink a surprisingly large amount.

While the common types of coffee drink such as capuccinos and lattes are available, the traditional way of preparing coffee in Sweden is kokkaffe, which literally means ‘boiled coffee’. It’s very simple to make, and because it’s easy to prepare it outdoors with a fire or camping stove, it’s also very popular with hunters and fishermen. Although it’s made in a similar way to Turkish coffee, it’s much less strong and equates more to a standard UK black coffee. The secret is to use a very coarse grind of coffee, and a good quality medium roast bean.

Although special kokkaffe pots exist, it’s just as easy to use a saucepan. Simply put a heaped teaspoon of coffee per person in the pan, add 250ml of cold water per person and bring the mixture to the boil. Once it’s boiled, remove from the heat and strain through a filter into a cup or flask.

In Sweden, you can buy specific types of coffee labelled ‘kokkaffe’ for use in preparing the drink in this traditional way, but any type of coarsely roasted medium blend coffee will work.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re proud to stock a wide range of coffee beans suitable for all uses. We also have coffee accessories such as cups and stirrers, and coffee ingredients like milk and sugar sachets, so however you like to drink your coffee you can be sure you’ve come to the right place. For more information, please visit our website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Even more iced coffee recipes

Posted on by Sara Walker

iced-coffeeIn the final part of our series on super-cool summer iced coffee drinks, here are a few more of our favourites. Enjoy!

Coffee coke float

To serve four, make half a litre of strong, good quality coffee from freshly roasted espresso beans. Allow to cool, then chill in the fridge, preferably overnight. Add single cream to the chilled coffee to taste, mix thoroughly, then pour into four tall glasses until each is just over half full. Add a scoop of vanilla icecream to each glass, then top with coca cola. Serve with a long spoon for getting the ice cream from the bottom of the glass.

Honey iced coffee

This refreshing drink has a real taste of summer. To serve four, make a half a litre of fresh coffee from good quality espresso beans. While the coffee’s still hold, stir in a teaspoon of runny honey per person, and mix until dissolved. Allow to cool then chill in the fridge, preferably overnight. Stir vigorously to mix in the honey again, then add milk or cream to taste. Half fill four tall glasses with crushed ice, and pour the coffee over. Serve with a straw and a piece of chocolate-covered honeycomb on the side.

Espresso Chill

This icy-cold drink is a great pick-me-up for hotter days. It’s made with instant coffee, so it’s a good store cupboard standby if you’ve run out of fresh coffee beans. To serve four, you’ll need four teaspoonfuls of good quality instant coffee, or to taste, half a litre of cold water, some crushed ice and four teaspoonfuls of icing sugar. Put all the ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until the ice has completely broken down and the mixture is smooth and icy. Serve immediately.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we supply a wide range of quality coffee beans, coffee accessories and coffee ingredients, all at great wholesale prices. To find out more, please visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Espresso crème brulée recipe

Posted on by Sara Walker

creme-bruleeCrème brulée is always a popular dinner party dessert, and this espresso version adds a sophisticated twist.

To serve six, you’ll need:

  • 350 ml double cream
  • 125 ml full fat milk
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • 75 grams caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar
  • To serve (optional) tuile biscuits, chocolate coated coffee beans or fresh mint sprigs

You’ll also need 50ml of freshly made strong espresso coffee, made from freshly roasted coffee beans. You could also add a tablespoon of Tia Maria or Kahlua coffee liqueur, if you like. In addition, you’ll need six ramekins or ovenproof crème brulée dishes.

What to do:

  1. Start by preheating the oven to 140 degrees Celcius or 290 degrees Farenheit. Stand the dishes on a baking tray or fit them into a larger ovenproof dish.
  2. Pour the cream and milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan,and gently heat until almost boiling. Stir in the coffee and add the liqueur if using. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  3. Separately, whisk the egg yolks until pale yellow and creamy. Pour on the cream mixture a little at a time, beating well after each addition (don’t be tempted to pour it all on at once or the eggs may curdle, and you’ll end up with espresso scrambled eggs).
  4.  Add the caster sugar, and beat until fully combined, then pass through a sieve into a jug.
  5. Divide the mixture equally between the six dishes, filling them no more than 1.5 cm from the top. Put the baking tray or dish into the oven and bake for about 45 mins until the custard is set but still slightly wobbly; it should move if you touch it with a finger. Allow to cool, then put in the fridge until required (you can prepare up to this stage the night before, if necessary).
  6. Just before serving, sprinkle the Demerara sugar over the surface of the custards, then caramelise with a cook’s blow torch. Alternatively you can do the caramelising process under a hot grill, but in this case let the dishes come up to room temperature first or they might crack.
  7. Serve garnished with chocolate covered coffee beans, mint springs or with a couple of tuile biscuits on the side.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re proud to supply a wide range of coffee beans suitable for all uses, all at great wholesale prices. For more information, please visit our coffee beans page.

Removing coffee stains from Corian

Posted on by Sara Walker

coffee-stainHere at the Wholesale Coffee Company we love all things coffee, with the one possible exception of coffee’s ability to stain. When it comes to white tee shits, tablecloths, mugs and coffee pots, coffee can leave a faint brown stain that’s sometimes difficult to remove.

If your sink and worktops are made from Corian, it’s fortunately unlikely that coffee staining will be too much of a problem as, unlike granite, Corian is extremely durable and non-porous, making it a popular choice. Corian is the brand name for a manmade, solid, mouldable material created by DuPont that’s made up of acrylic polymer and alumina trihydrate. It comes in a range of colours and finishes, and if you have very pale or white Corian it may possibly be marked by coffee that’s been allowed to sit for a while.

To clean a sink, try filling it with lukewarm water and adding a couple of denture cleaning tablets. Let it sit overnight to loosen the stains, then rinse thoroughly with warm water. If this isn’t enough, a tougher method is that used to clean granite. Mix a tablespoon of baking powder to a paste with warm water, and add a few drops of peroxide. Spread the mixture evenly over the stain and cover it with clingfilm. Leave overnight, and in the morning the stain should wipe away along with the baking powder. This method also works on worksurfaces.

To keep sinks sparkling, fill with cold water and add a little bleach. Allow to sit for a few hours, then drain and rinse. To remove spots from a worksurface, make up a dilute solution of bleach and water and ‘paint’ onto the spots using a cotton bud. Leave for a couple of hours, then wipe clean.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we stock a wide range of coffee beans, coffee accessories and coffee ingredients for the perfect drink, all at great wholesale prices. To find out more, please visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

 

The many uses of coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

beans and groundsHere at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we know all about roasting and brewing coffee beans to make the perfect drink. These versatile little beans have so many more uses,

Coffee in cooking

Coffee-flavoured chocolate and ice cream are common, but using coffee for flavouring can be far more sophisticated. Chefs often steep coffee beans in hot water to produce a strong coffee liquor used for flavouring desserts and puddings. It’s also great for adding an extra layer of rich complexity to savoury dishes such as casseroles and soups, sauces, gravies and spice blends for rubbing onto meat. You might be surprised to learn that coffee makes a particularly good partner for chili, and a little added to chili meat dishes will enhance the flavour. Of course, coffee’s best known partner is chocolate, and it’s great for adding an extra dimension to mousses, souffles and a host of other recipes.

Coffee in drinks

As well as the obvious ways of drinking coffee, it’s also a popular ingredient in more unusual drinks such as cocktails, summer iced coffee, milkshakes, smoothies, sodas and Irish coffees.

Coffee in cosmetics

The caffeine in coffee is highly prized by the world of cosmetics for anti-aging and rejuvenating properties. As organic products become more and more popular, so have homemade coffee body scrubs made from coffee grounds and olive oil, and a range of other inexpensive but effective recipes.

Coffee as a dye

Coffee is widely used as a natural dye, and gives a soft sepia tone to paint and natural fabrics such as cotton. Many artists use it as a painting media, and it’s also useful to artificially ‘age’ paper for art projects.

Coffee in the garden

Finally, used coffee grounds are a fantastic addition to the compost heap, or can be piled around the base of plants to act as a slug barrier. A handful of used coffee grounds added to the watering can will also make a cheap fertilizer that’s high in nitrates.

For more information about our range of coffee beans, all available at great wholesale prices, please visit our coffee beans page.

 

More iced coffee recipes

Posted on by Sara Walker

iced-coffeeThis summer, we’re feeling optimistic about the weather! To help get your picnics, barbecues and outdoor dinner parties off to a flying start, here are more of our favourite iced coffee recipes.

Coffee ice cubes

If you drink iced coffee, made from pouring cold fresh coffee over crushed ice, regularly, you’ll know that the first few sips are delicious but the drink quickly becomes diluted and weak. An easy way to avoid this is to make the ice cubes themselves from coffee! Simply make up a quantity of fresh coffee at your normal strength, pour into an ice cube tray and freeze overnight. In the morning, crush the ice cubes by putting them in a plastic bag, wrapping the bag in a tea towel, putting the whole thing on a chopping board and using a rolling pin to crush them. You can then either use the crushed ice immediately, or put the plastic bag back in the freezer for the future.

Coffee soda:

This is an adult take on an ice cream soda. To serve four, you’ll need a half a litre of very strong black coffee, made from freshly-roasted coffee beans. Make the coffee a good few hours before you need it, and chill in the fridge. Pour the cold coffee into tall glasses to half fill them, and add sugar to taste. Fill the rest of the glass with club soda until about 3cm from the brim, then add a scoop of vanilla, coffee or chocolate ice cream. Top with a little whipped cream if you like, and add a long spoon for spooning up the remains of the ice cream.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we supply a range of coffee beans and coffee ingredients suitable for all uses, all at great wholesale prices. For more information, please visit our coffee beans page.

Iced coffee recipes

Posted on by Sara Walker

iceNow the weather is finally getting a little warmer and British Summertime has kicked in, we’re starting to think about picnics and eating alfresco. Here’s a selection of our favourite iced coffee recipes, perfect for summer evenings with friends.

Coffee shake

Start by making a quantity of freshly brewed coffee, made from freshly roasted beans. To serve four, make a litre of coffee, then allow it to cool and chill in the fridge, preferably overnight. Add four scoops of vanilla ice cream and four tablespoonfuls of chocolate syrup, then whizz in a food processor until smooth. Pour into tall glasses, then top with a spoonful of whipped cream and a handful of fresh berries.

Ultimate iced coffee

To serve four, start by making half a litre of strong black coffee as before. Allow it to cool then put in the fridge until completely chilled. Add a standard tin (400g) of sweetened condensed milk, four tablespoons of chocolate syrup and, if liked, four tablespoons of rum. Stir everything into the coffee until fully combined, then pour into tall glasses over crushed ice and garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Iced mocha coffee

This recipe is not so much for an iced coffee as for a hot coffee with an icy topping, a great combination of flavours and textures.

To serve four, brew a litre of fresh coffee and add four tablespoons of chocolate or caramel syrup. Mix until fully combined. Pour into cups and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and one of chocolate ice cream. Sprinkle with chocolate shavings, add a couple of chocolate-covered coffee beans on the side and serve.

At the Wholesale Coffee Company, we stock a wide range of coffee beans and coffee ingredients, including flavoured syrups suitable for a variety of uses. For more information, please visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

 

 

How to make your own coffee essence

Posted on by Sara Walker

beans and groundsIf you love coffee, then keep a bottle of homemade coffee essence on standby in your kitchen. It’s great for flavouring pretty much any kind of dessert, or add a spoonful to stews or casseroles for a richer flavour. It’s also great for making quick iced coffee in the summer, or adding to other hot drinks for a quick pick me up. To make coffee essence, you’ll need:

  • About 300g good quality roasted whole espresso coffee beans
  • Cold water
  • A measuring jug
  • A coffee grinder
  • A saucepan
  • A large heatproof container, such as a Pyrex bowl, preferably with a lid
  • A spatula or wooden spoon
  • A fine mesh sieve
  • Jars or bottles

Start by grinding the coffee beans on a medium grind. Measure the grinds in a measuring jug, and then turn them out into a heatproof bowl.

Into the saucepan, measure ten times the amount of cold water that you had coffee grounds. Bring the water to the boil, then let it stand for about a minute. Carefully pour the hot water onto the coffee grounds, and give the mixture a good stir for 30 seconds with the spoon or spatula.

Cover the bowl. If it doesn’t have a fitted lid, cover it with aluminium foil and tie it down tightly with string. Leave for 12 hours at room temperature. Try not to leave it any longer, or the coffee may become bitter.

Sterilise the jars or bottles and lids by boiling in water for at least a minute. Next, carefully strain the mixture through the sieve and discard the coffee grounds. Pour the essence into the prepared containers and seal while still hot. Alllow the containers to cool, then store the essence in the fridge for up to a fortnight.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company we stock a wide range of good quality coffee beans suitable for all uses, all at great wholesale prices. For more information, please visit our coffee beans page.

Coffee and chocolate semifreddo dessert

Posted on by Sara Walker

601px-Milk_chocolateThis sophisticated chocolate and coffee dinner party dessert will draw admiration from your guests. ‘Semifreddo’ just means ‘semi frozen’, and this dessert is so rich and creamy it should be served in small pots so as not to overface your guests.

It needs to be prepared at least 12 hours in advance, so it’s best to make it the night before required.

To serve 8 to 10, you’ll need:

  • The grated zest of one orange
  • 3 tablespoons of chocolate liqueur
  • 3 tablespoons of coffee liqueur, such as Tia Maria or Kahlua
  • 100ml strong coffee made from freshly-roasted coffee beans
  • 1 200g pack of full fat cream cheese
  • 100g sugar
  • 400g good quality dark chocolate, broken into pieces
  • 200ml double cream
  • 75ml single cream
  • Few sprigs of fresh mint leaves, to garnish

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, coffee liqueur, coffee and orange zest. Place the white chocolate and 50ml of the single cream in a separate, heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water, and stir until melted and smooth. Beat the double cream and sugar together until thickened, but not until fully whipped and stiff.

Carefully fold in the cream cheese and white chocolate, and beat until fully combined. Line 8 to 10 small glasses or ramekins with cling film – it’s nice to use glass dishes to show off the layers in the dessert. Divide the mixture between the dishes, cover with more cling film and freeze overnight.

About twenty minutes before serving, prepare the sauce. Put the dark chocolate, the remaining single cream and the chocolate liqueur in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, and heat until smooth and fully combined. Turn the desserts out onto plates, spoon the sauce over and garnish with mint leaves.

At the Wholesale Coffee Company, we have a great range of coffee beans suitable for all uses, all at competitive wholesale prices. For more information, please visit our coffee beans page.

How to use up old coffee beans

Posted on by Sara Walker

beansOnce roasted, coffee beans quickly lose their flavour and should be used as quickly as possible for a fresh-tasting cuppa. If you’re running a catering business, though, it’s not always possible to estimate quantities correctly all the time and you could end up with some roasted beans left over. These can be stored in the short term in an airtight container, but after a few days shouldn’t be used for brewing, as they’ll taste stale and inferior. There’s no reason to throw them away, though – even stale coffee beans are still useful.

As long as the beans aren’t too old, you can still grind and brew them and use the resulting coffee for cooking with. Coffee is great for adding flavour to savoury dishes, desserts and baked goods alike.

As coffee beans are so porous, a small dish of ground coffee placed in the fridge will absorb any unwanted odours and replace them with the smell of fresh coffee. Replace the dish daily.

If your beans are too stale to use, grind them and use them as plant fertilizer. Ground coffee mixed with soil will gradually release nitrogen. Alternatively, brew the coffee grounds with plenty of water and use the resulting liquid as a plant food. Once you’ve poured off the liquid, you can use the wet grounds as a pest repellent in the garden. Spread thickly around plant stalks, it keeps off slugs and snails without the use of harsh chemicals.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company we’ve got a full range of coffee beans, suitable for all commercial and domestic purposes, and you can choose from ready-roasted or green coffee beans, and a variety of blends. All our coffee beans are available in catering-sized packages at great wholesale prices, and we’re always happy to help with any suggestions or advice. For more information, please visit the coffee beans page of our website.