Easy dinner party desserts made with coffee – coffee granita

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Sara Walker

Looking for an easy dinner party dessert? Here’s a tried and tested recipe that uses our favourite ingredient, coffee. It’s very straightforward to make, and provides a light, refreshing end to the meal.

Granita is an Italian dessert consisting of roughly crushed, flavoured ice, which is often made with fruit juice. Our version is – of course – made with coffee.

The secret to this recipe is to use good quality coffee beans and freshly made coffee. You need no specialist equipment other than an ice-cube tray, a food processor and a domestic freezer. Start this recipe in plenty of time, ideally the day before you need it, to give the ice plenty of time to freeze.

Start by making the coffee. You’ll need half a litre (500ml) of strong, full flavoured black coffee, made from your favourite coffee beans. Stir in two rounded tablespoons of caster sugar until dissolved, then let the liquid stand until almost cold. Pour it into the ice-cube tray, and freeze until hard.

When you’re ready to serve, put a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream into each serving dish. Turn out the coffee ice cubes, and crush them roughly in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, wrap the cubes in a clean tea towel, put them on a chopping board and bash them with a rolling pin. Spoon the coffee ice round the ice cream, and serve. If you like, you can add a drizzle of flavoured syrup before serving – caramel, Irish cream and hazelnut all work well.

For a wide range of top quality coffee beans, suitable for all uses, please visit our coffee beans page at the Wholesale Coffee Company website. We also stock a range of flavoured syrups, perfect for making coffee drinks or for using in recipes.

Easy dinner party desserts made with coffee – ‘drowned ice cream’

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Sara Walker

Coffee’s normally on the menu at the end of every dinner party, when the favourite choice is espresso . If you’re a really coffee fan, though, there are dozens of coffee-flavoured puds to serve as well. Here’s one of our favourites – it’s icy cool, not too rich and looks a lot more complicated to prepare than it really is.

Perfect for rounding off a heavy meal, this is incredibly simple – all you need is some really good quality vanilla ice cream, some equally good quality espresso coffee made from freshly-roasted coffee beans, and the alcohol of your choice – Irish cream, Kahlua coffee liqueur and Tia Maria would all work well.

The secret of success with this recipe is timing. Have the coffee set up ready to brew, with the coffee beans ready ground and waiting. Put out the dishes that you’re using – glass sundae-style dishes work well – and have the alcohol ready to hand. Make the coffee, and take the ice cream out of the freezer at the last minute, so that it stays as hard as possible. Put two scoops of ice cream into each dish, and pour the hot coffee over it until each dish is about a third full. Add a little of your alcohol of choice, and top the dish with a chocolate covered coffee bean if you like, or a few chocolate sprinkles.

Take the dishes to the table immediately, just as the ice cream is starting to melt into the coffee. If you’re using sundae dishes, it might also be a good idea to provide long handled spoons so that your guests can finish the creamy coffee sauce with ease.

For a wide range of top quality coffee beans, suitable for all uses, please visit our coffee beans page at the Wholesale Coffee Company website.

Our guide to a great bonfire party

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Sara Walker

If you’re having a Guy Fawkes party this year, we’ve got a few ideas to help your night run smoothly.

1. Top up on coffee

Knowing the British weather, there’s a good chance that November 5th will be cold or wet, so hot drinks will keep your guests from freezing. Lay in plenty of your favourite coffee beans so that you won’t run out of coffee drinks. Keep coffee warm in vacuum flasks, and offer hot chocolate, non-alcoholic punch or mulled wine as alternatives.

2. Plan the fire

Choose a safe location for your bonfire, away from overhanging trees, wooden buildings or power cables. If you’re tight for space, build a temporary fire pit by digging a hole around 12 – 18 inches deep and edging it with stones. This will help keep a fire from running out of control. Don’t forget to have a hosepipe or other water source on hand for emergencies.

3. Decide on the menu

Potatoes baked in the fire always sound romantic, but in reality your guests risk keeling over from hunger before anything’s ready to eat. Keep some alternative food on hand, such as sausages, cooked on a barbecue and finished on the fire for that authentic flavour; marshmallows on sticks; parkin cake and vegetarian vegetable kebabs. If the potatoes survive the fire and are still edible, it’s a bonus.

4. Plan ahead

As well as food and drink don’t forget to plan for chairs and blankets for older guests, as well as disposable cups, plates, napkins and cutlery. Make the clearing up easier by offering individual portions of milk and sugar to accompany hot drinks, and position some strategic bins for rubbish.

5. Keep safe

Even at a small private function, accidents happen. Put the fireworks in charge of one person, and ban them from hitting them mulled wine too early. Have buckets of water and a first aid kit on hand, and make sure that any pets or neighbours’ animals are safely shut up indoors.

We wish you an excellent Guy Fawkes night!

For a wide range of coffee beans for all occasions, please visit our coffee beans page. For disposable cups and other catering items to help you plan your event, see our coffee accessories page.

Keeping coffee hot for bonfire night

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Sara Walker

If your catering company, pub or restaurant is running or catering for a bonfire on November 5th, then it’s time to think about how to serve hot drinks at your outdoor event.

The ideal solution is to have electricity and running water available, to enable you to operate as normal, but that might not always be practical from a logistical or cost point of view.

Other options include catering vacuum flasks. more commonly known as Thermos flasks after the best-known manufacturer, vacuum flasks are insulating storage flasks that keep the contents hot or cold. They consist of two flasks, one placed inside the other, and both joined at the neck. The space between the two flasks is emptied of air, leaving a partial vacuum which prevents heat transfer. There are many styles and models on the market today, specifically designed for commercial use. These include large-capacity dispensing flasks, operated by a lever or handle, and smaller thermos jugs which are designed to be picked up and poured. Any commercial flask should keep the contents hot for between six and ten hours, and they’re a relatively inexpensive option that will last for years.

Alternatively, if you have access to power, perhaps from running an extension lead, but not mains water, you could consider a manual fill water boiler. These require a permanent electricity supply, but don’t need a plumbed-in water supply. They’re available in different capacities, normally 10 litre, 20 litre and 27 litre to suit the scale of your function, and will keep water at boiling point for as long as you need it. If you have the choice, they’re a better option than thermos flasks as the coffee is brewed freshly as needed, rather than being made in advance and stewing.

However you choose to keep your coffee hot on bonfire night, make sure that you start out with the very best in coffee beans for a perfect drink. Browse our range of coffee beans, coffee accessories and coffee ingredients at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Bonfire coffee and treacle toffee

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Sara Walker

It’ll soon be November 5th: traditional time of bonfires, fireworks, parkin cake, treacle toffee and, knowing the British weather, hot drinks. Keep yourself and your customers warm on a chilly night with our special gingerbread coffee and treacle toffee recipes.

Gingerbread coffee (makes six servings)

In a small, heatproof bowl, mix six tablespoons of treacle, one heaped teaspoon of ginger and four tablespoons of brown sugar. Put in the microwave and melt together for 30 – 40 seconds, until well combined. Divide the mixture evenly between six sturdy mugs, suitable for outside use. Pour on a little black coffee made from freshly roasted and ground coffee beans, and stir vigorously to dissolve the spice mixture. Fill the cups with coffee until about 2/3 full. Add milk or cream, then top with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of extra ginger.

Treacle toffee

450g dark brown soft sugar
150ml water
75g unsalted butter
125g treacle
75g golden syrup

Grease a shallow18cm square baking, and line it with greaseproof paper, silicone paper or aluminium foil. If you use foil, press it down carefully into all the corners of the tin.

Using your largest pan (a preserving or maslin pan is ideal), heat the sugar and water together until the sugar has dissolved. Stir the mixture a couple of times to make sure there are no remaining sugar crystals. Add all the remaining ingredients and allow to heat for a few minutes to soften, then stir a couple of times. Let the mixture come to the boil, and watch it carefully – it will foam up inside the pan, and if your pan is too small you risk a treacle-flavoured sugar flood!

Using a sugar thermometer, test for the ‘soft crack’ stage (132 to 143 degrees centigrade) – this will be marked on the thermometer. Once it’s reached this point, pour the mixture carefully into the prepared tin, making sure it’s evenly spread. Mark it into squares with a knife (greasing the knife blade first will make this easier).

Leave the tin at room temperature until the toffee is completely set, then break it into pieces and store in an airtight tin until required.

Serve with gingerbread coffee. For the best coffee beans for use in all your recipes, browse our range at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk

International coffee festivals and events

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Sara Walker

Love coffee? So do billions of other people, worldwide. All over the world, coffee and catering companies hold events and festivals dedicated to showcasing the best coffee-related innovations. For example:

Dubai, Middle East

The International Tea and Coffee festival is a trade event held annually in Dubai. This year’s event is from 6th – 9th November, and features everything to do with coffee, tea, bar and café products, equipment and services. The event is now in its fourth year, and is helping to support and expand the Middle East’s flourishing tea and coffee industry. For more information about this year’s event, visit www.coffeeteafest.com.

Philadelphia, USA

Philadelphia is holding its first-ever tea and coffee festival, aimed at individuals rather than trade. More than forty exhibitors will provide tastings, information, instruction and products aimed at the discerning coffee lover. The festival is on the 2nd and 3rd November 2013; for more information visit www.coffeeandteafestival.com/philly.

Seoul, Korea

Two events run consecutively during November in Seoul. The World Coffee Leaders Forum is held from 20st to 21st November 2013. Running for the second year, the event features speakers on a range of topics relevant to the coffee industry. Last year’s event attracted over 1,000 attendees from 30 countries, and this year’s is set to be even bigger and better. For more information, visit www.wclforum.org.

The Forum will be followed by the 12th Seoul International Café Show, featuring dozens of exhibitors as well as the Korean Barista Championships. Although the event concentrates on coffee, exhibitors will also be present representing bakery goods, ice-cream, café machines and equipment, chocolate, desserts, café design, franchising and new business start-ups and restaurants. For more information, visit www.cafeshow.com.

Don’t forget to check out what’s available nearer home, as well – here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we have a wide range of everything you could need for a coffee-related business, from coffee beans, coffee ingredients and cups to flavoured coffee syrups. Browse our range at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Chocolate Meets Espresso for Heavenly Indulgence

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Sara Walker

It happens to all of us. That moment when we just know we need chocolate, or coffee, or both. Sometimes it’s after a hectic meeting on a Monday morning. Sometimes it’s to start off the weekend with a kick on a Friday afternoon, and sometimes it’s because we are faced with a problem that’s so paramount that without chocolate and coffee we just can’t handle it. Coffee and chocolate can be life savers. Especially when combined. Of course they can be enjoyed just for the sake of enjoying them as well. They are, after all, deliciously indulgent.

In the below recipe you will find espresso and coffee combined. Divine. Heavenly. And flourless, so that means it’s almost healthy, right? Or not.

We found this recipe in the Huffington Post.

Fallen Mocha Soufflé

Ingredients

4 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (you can also add 2 tblsp of Kahlua together with the espresso powder when combining the ingredients)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Butter and sugar a 4-cup soufflé dish or deep 1-quart baking dish (3 to 4 inches deep).
In a small saucepan, combine the chocolate and butter, and stir over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the espresso powder.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks form.
Stir one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. With a spatula, gently but thoroughly fold in the remaining egg whites. Scrape the soufflé into the dish. Place the dish in a larger baking dish or a small roasting pan and fill with hot water to come halfway up the sides of the mold.
Place in the oven, reduce the temperature to 400°F, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and beginning to crack around the edges.
Remove from the oven and the water bath and set on a rack to cool. As it cools, the soufflé will collapse. Unmold carefully and invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm or chilled.

You can of course serve this recipe with a nice cup of coffee and you can get the coffee beans from us. And all other great coffee ingredients you could possibly need for future endeavors in the kitchen.

What is brown sugar?

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Sara Walker

Everyone has their own way of sweetening their coffee. Your preference might be for white lump sugar, loose brown sugar or sweetener, but do you know what you’re adding to your caffeine? Here are the facts about brown sugar.

The sugar gets its distinctive darker colour and flavour from molasses. The brown sugar that’s normally offered with coffee will be light brown sugar, with low levels of molasses and thus very little difference in taste to white sugar, although aficionados reckon they can detect a richer, fuller flavour. Dark brown sugar is heavily molassed and more normally used for baking. The sugar may be allowed to retain molasses naturally at the point of refinement, or may be produced by adding molasses to refined white sugar, which is the normal method when bulk-producing sugar for commercial sale. The added molasses mean the finished product is softer and moister than white sugar. Naturally produced brown sugar is less refined, and thus retains more minerals than white sugar.

Due to its softer consistency, brown sugar is prone to clumping once the packet has been opened, and should be stored in an airtight container. If you’re providing the sugar commercially, in a café or catering business, it’s most practical to use lump sugar or individual sugar sticks to prevent clumping and wastage. For cooking, putting a specialist terracotta disk in with the sugar will prevent clumping. Sugar that’s already reached the lumpy stage can be rescued for cooking by being melted in the microwave

At the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re proud to supply La Perruche brown sugar cubes, a top quality naturally produced brown sugar that retains natural molasses for the best flavour. Prices start at £5.75 for 1 kg. We also supply individual sticks of Fairtrade brown sugar, for catering use. For more information on our range of sugars and sweeteners, please visit our coffee ingredients page.

Designing your own coffee packaging

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Sara Walker

If you’re re-packaging your own coffee beans for sale, there are several aspects to consider when designing the packaging. In addition to your own design, company logo, product name and contact details, there are also practical and legal aspects.

The packaging should provide physical protection, keeping the product inside safe from any damage which might cause it to deteriorate. It should also keep out any external contaminants such as water, dust or oxygen, keeping the contents fresh and clean for the duration of the shelf life. It should provide a platform for clear, easy to read information about the contents of the packaging, and be secure enough to show any tampering. Packaging should also make the beans easy to store and transport.

Many coffee bean retailers choose soft plastic bags for packaging, which are a cost effective option and keep the contents fresh. In addition to the product and company information, the packaging needs to carry a sell by date, and to list any ingredients other than coffee beans. It should also provide clear storage instructions for the beans, both when the bag is unopened and after it’s been opened. The weight of the contents must also be clearly marked, and the country where the product was packed. You might also like to add recycling information, including any relevant symbols to help consumers.

Any packaging that you choose must be made from a product that’s approved for safe food contact, and if you’re designing your packaging from scratch for the first time, it’s a good idea to get it checked by an expert – the Food Standards Agency are a great source of information and advice.

If you’re looking for pre-packaged coffee beans at competitive prices, please take a look at the coffee beans page of our website – we’ve got a great range available to meet all trade and commercial needs.

Coffee bean packaging

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Sara Walker

If you’re importing or re-selling your own coffee beans, there are lots of factors to think about. Sourcing, storage, transport, flavour, quality control and cost are all vital considerations, but one aspect you may have overlooked is packaging.

Whether you’re packaging for trade or consumer use, key factors are brand consistency, efficiency, cost and practicality.

Cardboard canisters and tubs

A type of packaging often seen in trade packaging is cardboard canisters. They’re ideal for use in coffee shops, as they’re robust, stable, easy to open and reseal and practical to serve from. As a disadvantage, they take up a lot of storage space and are a more expensive option.

Metal canisters and tins

Metal canisters share the advantages of the cardboard tubs, and are even more robust. They’re more expensive to produce, and can be heavier. Some companies also offer promotional tins or storage tins designed to be on show in front of customers, but these are intended more for show than for practical storage as they’re not totally airtight.

Plastic packs

Made from sturdy plastic, soft bags are the most popular packaging option. They’re relatively cheap to produce, stack efficiently to maximise space, and keep the coffee beans as fresh as possible as they’re completely sealed. As disadvantages, they’re less robust than the canister options and are not designed to be opened and re-sealed, meaning than an opened bag must either be used immediately or decanted into another storage canister. For most companies, though, they’re the most practical and cost effective option. They’re also flexible, as it’s easy to alter the specifications to produce bags of different sizes for different quantities of coffee beans.

Our bags of coffee beans are supplied in strong plastic packaging for trade and commercial use, and are sealed to keep the contents fresh. For more information about our range of coffee beans, or to buy online, please visit our coffee beans page at http://www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk/98-coffee-beans.