Category: Blog

There’s Nothing Like Coffee…

Posted on by Sara Walker

There really is nothing quite as inspirational as the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans in the morning. If you ever worked in a coffee shop that roasted their beans fresh, you know what we mean. As we sell green coffee beans we sometimes roast ourselves, or take a deep breath when we open the bags of fresh roasted coffee beans we also sell. Then we have to use them all very quickly so they don’t go stale. It’s the perfect excuse to use the beans all that much faster…

As coffee really does inspire us beyond that first refreshing cuppa in the morning (we do work with it after all) we thought we’d share some funny “coffeology” we found lately. Or maybe not funny, more like…profound. If you believe in the power of coffee that is.

What are green coffee beans?

Posted on by Sara Walker

caribana-green-coffee-beansCoffee beans are the seeds of the coffee tree, and are found inside fruit called ‘cherries’ or ‘berries’. The berries are harvested, normally by hand, when they turn a reddish colour, which indicates ripeness. They’re then processed to separate the beans from the flesh. Green coffee beans, also called ‘raw’ or ‘unroasted’ beans, are coffee beans that have been through the process of picking, processing and drying, but haven’t yet been roasted.

Once they’re dry, the beans take on the slightly green colour which gives them their name. They have none of the rich, dark colour or smell normally associated with coffee beans, which they’ll acquire during the roasting process.

They’re then sold as green beans to the retailer or end consumer, who carries out the final stage of roasting, to get as fresh a brew as possible.

Although roasting the beans at the last minute can mean more work, it’s really the best way to get the maximum flavour from your coffee. The unroasted beans are also less porous, and keep fresher longer than roasted beans, so although you may buy your green coffee beans in bulk, it’s best to roast them in small qualities as you need to use them.

It’s possible to roast your own beans at home on the hob in a skillet or frying pan, but most regular users have a domestic or commercial roasting machine, which guarantees evenness and consistency. Green beans are becoming increasing popular, and with the advent of online sales are more widely available than ever before.

If you’d like to try roasting your own coffee beans, why not browse our range of green coffee beans? Roasting your own means that you can control the strength and intensity of the roast, so that your cup of coffee’s exactly the way you like it.

 

 

 

 

From Aztec to office – the journey of hot chocolate powder

Posted on by Sara Walker

Hot chocolate has a long and varied history. Venerated as a royal drink in Mexico, it was brought to Spain in the mid 15th century, and soon became popular with Europeans. Modern hot chocolate is a far cry from the original drink, though, which was made by mixing hot water and finely ground cocoa beans. As the beans still contained all their natural cocoa butter, they didn’t mix evenly with the water and turned into a sort of gritty broth with a layer of fat floating on top – not very appealing to modern tastes.

It wasn’t until the early 19th century that a Dutch chemist, Coenraad Johannes Van Houten, discovered a way of removing some of the cocoa butter. The resulting powder was treated with an alkali, so that it mixed more evenly with water. This alkali process is still known as ‘dutching’ in the chocolate industry, in honour of its discovery, and the Van Houten company still have a reputation for manufacturing top quality hot chocolate to this day.

Nowadays, the process involves giant hydraulic presses, which squeeze out the cocoa butter. Baking soda is added as the alkali, and the resulting product is cooled, crushed and sifted into powder. Sugar and sometimes milk powder is added to make a product that’s ready to drink with the addition of hot water, and it’s then packaged. Some of the hot chocolate goes off to catering industries for use as a flavouring, and the rest goes to retailers.

The cocoa butter residue is used by the cosmetics industry, among others.

So next time you’re enjoying a cup of creamy, smooth hot chocolate from your coffee machine, think about how far cocoa has come on its journey from bean to delicious drink. If you’re topping up your coffee machine with chocolate powder, check out our range of coffee ingredients, including Van Houten standard, less sugar and fairtrade varieties.

Mocha Coconut Fudge

Posted on by Sara Walker

Now when it comes to the coffee ingredients you stock in your pantry you might include fresh roasted coffee beans, a slab of coffee flavored chocolate, chocolate covered espresso beans, instant coffee and maybe a coffee cake…but how many stock coffee fudge? Not many. It tastes divine though, so even if it isn’t exactly healthy it’s a brilliant treat. Especially when you make it yourself so you know it’s only pure ingredients used. So get those coffee beans out of the cupboard (or buy coffee online from us…brilliant idea! 😉 We have plenty of fresh roasted coffee beans in stock!) and start making fudge today!

Ingredients

  • 12 ozs semisweet chocolate (chopped)
  • 12 ozs chocolate (white baking, chopped)
  • 15 ozs sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 12 tbsps espresso powder (or instant coffee)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 12 tsps coconut extract
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 12 cup flaked coconut (toasted)

Directions

Spray an 8×8 pan with non-stick spray.

Add semisweet chocolate to a double boiler, and melt completely. One melted, add in half of the sweetened condensed milk, the vanilla, the coffee powder and 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil. Stir with a spatula until combined and fairly smooth, then spread evenly in the bottom of the pan. Mixture will be thick. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Add white chocolate to a double boiler and melt completely. Add in remaining condensed milk, coconut oil and coconut extract, stirring until combined. Remove fudge from freezer and add white chocolate on top, spreading evenly to coat. Top with toasted coconut, then chill in the refrigerator for 60-90 minutes.

When ready to cut, fill a large cup with hot water. Dip a sharp knife into the water, then blot on a towel. Use knife to cut fudge into your desired size of squares.

Note: the melting can also be done in the microwave. I suggest melting the chocolate first on medium power in 30 second increments, stirring after each time. Once melted, add in remaining ingredients and stir until smooth. You can also use this Lindt Coconut White Chocolate for the coconut layer.

[adapted from How Sweet It Is who adapted it from mother lovett’s 3 minute fudge]

mcfudge-1-2

The story of chocolate

Posted on by Sara Walker

1024px-ChampurradoIf you ever decide to forgo your normal coffee in favour of a cup of drinking chocolate, you’re actually continuing a custom that  goes back hundreds if not thousands of years.

Columbus brought a few cocoa beans back to Spain in 1492, but they failed to cause a stir – the dark brown, bitter beans seemed useless and were forgotten until the following century. In the early 16th century, the great Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez was travelling round Mexico when he discovered the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans to prepare ‘chocolatl’, their royal drink. The original chocolate was so bitter and unpalatable to Europeans that Cortez soon had the idea of adding cane sugar. The Spanish experimented with adding various spices, and eventually with heating the drink, producing something more similar to the hot chocolate we know today. The drink became so popular in Spain that the decision was made to plant cocoa plants in Spanish overseas territories to ensure a better supply. Amazingly, the Spanish managed to keep the secret of their wonder drink to themselves for almost a hundred years, and it didn’t spread to the rest of Europe until the 17th century.

It may seem incredible, but solid eating chocolate wasn’t commercially available until the mid-19th century, and milk chocolate is an even more recent newcoming, making its appearance in Switzerland at the end of the 19th century.

Today, drinking chocolate is still extremely popular for its comforting and even mood enhancing properties. It’s also a great way of warming up in cold weather or cheering yourself up on a rainy day. Modern hot chocolate is so simple to prepare, and just needs the addition of hot water. If you’d like to buy whole hot chocolate powder online for your catering business, restaurant or vending machine, please visit our coffee ingredients page for a great range to suit all tastes.

 

Coffee in the UK

Posted on by Sara Walker

800px-Coffee-BeansTraditionally, Brits are a nation of tea drinkers. In times of crisis, we stiffen our upper lips and reach for the kettle. These days, though, we’re just as likely to reach for the coffee beans as the tea bags.

According to 2008 figures from research group Allegra Strategies, Britain’s coffee culture generates an annual turnover of 2.5 billion pounds – and that’s just from coffee shops. Once you add on the sales of UK coffee beans and other coffee related equipment, it’s clear that coffee has become big business, and it’s knocked tea out of pole position to become the most popular hot drink in the country.

Most Brits favour the americano, or ‘normal’ coffee, with cappucinos topping the list of speciality coffee. Around two thirds of us take milk, and a third take sugar or some form of sweetener. The majority of British coffee is drunk in the morning, with many of us either abstaining or switching to decaffeinated after lunchtime.

Just as the preparation of the perfect cup of tea has always been a subject for controvosy – milk or tea first, bag or loose leaf, cup or mug – so we’re becoming more knowledgable about coffee, and what goes into making a delicious blend. When you’re out and about, you may always make the same order in a coffee shop, due to shortage of time or disinclination to pay a high price for something you may not enjoy. At home though, it’s worth browsing through the huge range available online to find your  favourite at a great price, or try something completely new – many online retailers also supply smaller sample bags, or you could even try making up your own unique blend.

With a growing variety of coffee beans now available online in the UK, it’s never been easier for us Brits to sustain our coffee habit, and keep up the progress towards becoming a nation of coffee drinkers.

 

 

 

 

 

Coffee Chocolate Truffles

Posted on by Sara Walker
When looking for a good coffee chocolate truffle recipe you might get a bit annoyed by the fact that most people tend to use instant coffee in their truffles. If you are a coffee connoisseur eager to use your recently purchased high quality coffee beans you might feel a bit snubbed. What’s the fun if you can’t put to use the incredible coffee by matching it with equally incredible cacao? Of course you could just use the coffee beans for your regular cup of java in the morning, but it’s always nice to experiment with new flavors, is it not? At least here at the Wholesale Coffee Co. we enjoy trying out new things with our coffee beans, but then we are obsessed with coffee… Anyway: enjoy the truffles!

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours, 45 minutes

Yield: Makes about 20 to 25 truffles.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 8 ounces good quality, chopped semi-sweet chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons finely ground coffee beans (I used Sumatran, but you can select based on your personal preferences)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons Kahlua (or homemade coffee liqueur)
  • 1.5 cups finely chopped pecans, walnuts or other nuts, or 1/2 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder or confectioners sugar

Preparation:

  1. In a double broiler, bring the cream to a simmer.
  2. Slowly add the chopped chocolate a few pieces at a time, whisking constantly until the mixture is thick and smooth.
  3. Whisk in the coffee.
  4. Whisk in the butter until it is fully melted.
  5. Slowly whisk in the Kahlua. Add it very slowly if it is chilled. (This will prevent it from hardening the chocolate and harming the final product’s texture.)
  6. Remove the mixture from heat and pour it into a shallow baking dish.
  7. Place the baking dish in the fridge overnight or in the freezer until the chocolate has hardened (roughly a few hours).
  8. Once the chocolate has hardened, spread the chopped nuts or other toppings across a large, flat surface (such as a cutting board).
  9. Remove the chocolate from the fridge/freezer.
  10. Scoop a bite-sized piece of chocolate from the baking dish, roll it into a ball with your hands and roll it in the toppings. Set it aside on parchment paper or a baking sheet.
  11. Repeat until you have used all of the chocolate.
  12. Cover and refrigerate the truffles until they are firm.

Serve cold or at room temperature. When stored in a sealed container, the truffles keep about two weeks in the fridge or two months in the freezer… assuming you can keep yourself from eating them all first!

chocolate truffle

Cold Brewed Coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

It’s summer and iced coffees are everywhere. Frappuccinos are what the coffee shops are proudly advertising on big signs in the streets, hoping to lure in passersby with the idea of a refreshing cold drink to get their brain to wake up in the midst of the heat. If it’s noty raining of course. Being the UK you never know.

Frappuccinos and most iced coffees are usually made with regular coffee that’s then blended with ice. However, you can actually brew cold coffee. That’s right – you don’t need to heat the water first. If you are having a powercut, or are out camping, this might be good to know. It is also good to know if you like coffee and would like to find out what cold brewed coffee tastes like, as it will give you a different taste from regular coffee.

The best way to make cold brewed coffee is to have fresh coffee beans at hand that you then grind before you brew them. If you are out on a camping trip you might not have access to a coffee grinder and it’s preferred you bring already ground coffee. The best grind for cold brewed coffee is a coarse one.

You will need one cup of whole coffee beans per four cups of filtered water and the brewing process is simple: grind the beans, put them in a glass jar, pour over four cups of cold, or room temperature water, put on a lid, or cover with cling film and leave in the refrigerator for twelve hours. The filter the coffee using a regular coffee filter and either serve the coffee or keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks.

Cold brewed coffee can be a great alternative to regular coffee during summer as it’s nice to distinguish the flavour of summer! We offer green coffee beans as well so if you are looking to really get a coffee with a distinctive taste profile you can choose to roast the beans yourself as well!

676187766_1357111206

Coffeeology…

Posted on by Sara Walker

When you smell the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans you know you can’t go wrong…well not very wrong at least. Maybe you had a bad day and are looking for something to perk you up, or you’re just starting your day and looking for energy to get through it, but one thing is for sure: the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans can’t but help cheer you up.

For us java lovers that special cuppa is definitively a life saver. Always there to perk you up! For us that make a living out of coffee, what kind of fresh roasted coffee beans we use really makes a difference – we taste every cup like it was a glass of wine, noting the different nuances in taste. We also come up with silly jokes about coffee, research new coffee gadgets, fill our days with making sure our clients get the best coffee on the market and the best supplies to go with it. We listen to customers’ thoughts about coffee, our own thoughts about coffee, the suppliers thoughts about coffee… In other words: there’s a lot of coffee going through our minds (rather literally). So when we find jokes about coffee, or little sayings…we get excited. We laugh. And we realize maybe we think too much about coffee, but hopefully you will love the below photo as much as we did!

Enjoy the coffeeology – with a cup of freshly brewed coffee, naturally!

original1.66288.3

Roasting green coffee beans at home

Posted on by Sara Walker

home-roast-green-coffee-beansEvery coffee lover knows that freshly roasted coffee beans pack the most flavour. With modern vacuum packing and storage techniques, most commercial suppliers do a great job of delivering ready-roasted coffee that’s still fresh tasting and vibrant, and buying pre-roasted beans is far more convenient. If you’ve never tried roasting your own raw, green coffee beans, though, why not give it a try and see if you can tell the difference?

Roasting the green coffee beans forces water out, causes them to dry and expand as well as taking on a rich, dark, shiny colour and complex flavour. The best way to roast at home is to buy a home roasting pan or electric roaster, which will give you a consistent result. For your first try, though, use a heavy based skillet or frying pan, and make sure you’re in a well ventilated area.

Take a handful of your usual roasted coffee beans to use as a comparison, then switch on your hob to a medium setting. The ideal roasting temperature is around 250 degree celsius, but it’s important not to scorch the beans with too high a temperature. Add around 225g of green coffee beans. If possible, use a sugar thermometer to measure the temperature of the pan before adding the beans.

For a consistent roast, the beans must be kept moving, so keep stirring them continously. After a few minutes, they should start to jump and crack in the pan. Now is a good time to open a window! Keep moving the beans moving around until they’ve reached the same colour as your comparison beans, then take the pan off the heat immediately.

Tip the coffee beans into a colandar, and shake  it vigorously to remove any chaff and debris, and help cool the beans down. When completely cold, store and grind the beans as usual.