Tag: buy commercial coffee supplies online

Why it’s so hard to give up sugar in your coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

If you’re thinking of getting fitter for summer, one of the lifestyle changes you may have considered is giving up sugar in your coffee. It’s one of those things that sounds simple but is surprisingly difficult in practice – in fact, people who successfully manage to cut down sugar in other areas, such as eating cakes and biscuits, find they still can’t give up sugar in coffee. Now, research has shown just why this is.

The study, carried out at the University of York, has discovered that the sugar isn’t just addictive in its own right, it also changes the basic chemistry of the coffee to improve the taste. The research studied how the molecules of water, caffeine and sugar interact together to affect the final taste of the drink.

Coffee (and to a lesser extent, tea) contains caffeine, which can cause it to have a bitter taste, especially if over brewed or inexpertly prepared. When you add sugar, the molecules of caffeine group together reducing their overall surface area. In turn, this means they cause less reaction on the taste buds and reduces the impression of a bitterness.

The author of the study, Dr Shimizu, said: “It’s a bit like if you were asked to look for two one penny coins and they were both stuck together – they can be mistaken for just one.” He went on to say that the findings revealed just how complex the interaction of foods can be, and how science was helping us to understand it.

If you’re serious about trying to cut down on sugar, then the best ‘tried and tested’ method seems to be reducing the amount you take over about a week to give your taste buds a chance to adapt. In the meantime, stock up on everything coffee-related at our main website over at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk, where we’ve everything from beans…yes, to sugar!

Coffee fads: coffee leaf tea

Posted on by Sara Walker

Can we offer you a cup of tea? Or coffee? Or, if you can’t make up your mind, how about a hybrid version of both? The new kid on the block is coffee leaf tea, made from the leaves of the coffee plant rather than from beans. Scientists have discovered that the brew contains high levels of antioxidants, as well as a natural anti-inflammatory.

Researchers, including staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London, believe that up until now the value that we placed on the coffee berries themselves prevented anything thinking about the health benefits of the rest of the plant. The drink apparently has an earthy taste, without any bitterness, and doesn’t have coffee’s distinctive strong taste. Although the drink is relatively unknown in Europe, it’s been drunk in South Sudan and Ethiopia for centuries. The drink was briefly popular in the mid 19th century, and was believed to assuage the pangs of hunger, combat fatigue and provide a mental pick-me-up. It seems to have been the ‘Marmite’ of its day, with contemporary reports describing it as both ‘refreshing’ and ‘undrinkable’.

The leaves of Arabica coffee plants contained the highest levels of the natural anti inflammatory, mangiferin. which also had other health benefits including reducing the risk of diabetes.

If you fancy trying coffee leaf tea for yourself, you may struggle at the moment. It’s available online, but isn’t widely stocked in the UK. Mainstream coffee producers may be reluctant to turn coffee bushes over to be used for their leaves rather than their beans, which could explain the restricted supply.

Unfortunately you can’t get coffee leaf tea from us, either – but you can get great quality coffee beans and supplies for your commercial coffee business. Just take a look at our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk to browse our range of coffee accessories and coffee beans, all at great wholesale prices.