coffee beans Archives - Page 2 of 12 - Buy Coffee Beans & Ingredients Online UK Wholesale

Jacu bird coffee

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Sara Walker

We recently blogged about Kopi Luwak coffee, a rare and apparently sought after delicacy famous for being processed through the intestinal tract of a palm civet, an animal which looks a bit like a racoon. The civet eats the whole coffee berries, digests the sweet, pulpy outer layer and excretes the coffee beans themselves, which apparently emerge with a mellower, less acidic flavour. The beans are then thoroughly cleaned before being packaged for sale.

Very much in the same vein, we’d now like to introduce you to the Jacu bird. This native of South America looks a little like a pheasant, and has a penchant for picking the sweetest, ripest coffee berries, even flying between different coffee plantations to do so. This differentiates it from the palm civet, who loves coffee so much it’s happy to eat any quality of berry.

As the Jacu bird is so discerning in its appetites, when it excretes the coffee beans it leaves a pile of pre-sorted, top quality beans that are then just collected and cleaned ready for processing. Aficionados say that the coffee bean’s bizarre journey leaves no lingering flavour or aftertaste, and just results in a smooth, high quality brew.

If you’re feeling brave, the best way to try Jacu bird coffee is to order it online. It’s available for sale in small quantities, at prices that match its rarity value.

If you don’t fancy the thought of your coffee beans passing through some form of wildlife before they reach your cup, but you are a fan of great quality coffee, then why not take a look at our coffee bean range? We’ve hand picked the best varieties and blends from a range of countries, all at great wholesale prices – and no wildlife in sight.

For more information, please visit our coffee beans page.

The Wholesale Coffee Company guide to coffee grounds

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Sara Walker

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we specialise in supplying great quality coffee beans, and we’ve a choice of blends as well as roasted and green beans. Buying your beans whole and then grinding them yourself as required is the best way to get a really fresh, flavourful drink, and it’s generally more economical than buying ready-ground beans. It also means that you can control the size of the grounds, which is important, as when it comes to grinding, the coarseness of the grind can have a big effect on the taste and quality of the drink. Here’s our quick guide to what works when.

In general, the smaller you grind your coffee beans the more surface area they’ll have, so the quicker and stronger they’ll brew. When you’re grinding, there are several factors to consider when choosing how finely or coarsely you’d like your coffee.

Type of coffee machine

What you’re going to do with the coffee once it’s ground is a significant factor when choosing grind size. Espresso machines need a very fine, almost powdery grind. Filter coffee machines need a coarser result, and cafetières also need a coarse grind as otherwise a lot of residue will bypass the filter and end up in the cup.

Coffee strength and type

Broadly speaking, fine grounds mean strong coffee, and some beans, such as espresso beans, are designed to be finely ground for maximum flavour.

Many types of modern commercial coffee machine incorporate their own grinder, so you only need to add the beans themselves to the container. This takes the guesswork and inconsistency out of brewing. If you have a domestic coffee machine, though, you’ll also need a domestic grinder, which will give slight variations in results.

However you like your coffee ground, we’re sure that you’ll find something in our range of coffee beans to suit your taste. For more information, please visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas…

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Sara Walker

It is indeed starting to look a lot like Christmas. And with it sometimes comes visitors from near, or far, and potentially a bunch of children that are expecting treats. You may be wringing your hands wondering what to serve them without having them overindulge in too much sugar, or going insane yourself whilst spending hours in the kitchen. No worries – we have found an easy to bake cake, which uses honey instead of sugar and judging from the comments people are loving it. So no worries – the kids won’t be having tantrums about the cake at least…

This gingerbread cake is also perfect for grown-ups – take a break from the Christmas craziness and settle down with cup of tea, or coffee. If you have a coffee shop it’s also the perfect Christmas cake to serve with the coffee.

So let that pre-Christmas stress go away – mix these ingredients together, put on the coffee machine and sit down to inhale the aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans and gingerbread cake. Could there be anything more heavenly?

(If you are running low on ideas for Christmas gift ideas and starting to go crazy because that as well, we also recommend you check out our shop, get yourself a big bag of the best fresh roasted coffee beans and then divide it into small little handmade bags to give away together with a beautiful coffee cup. Naturally we aren’t marketing our services or anything like that. Not at all, but if you want to buy coffee online you know where now…)

This Apple Upside Down Ginger Cake comes from The Sour Path is the Sweetest

Topping

*1/4 cup unsalted pasture butter or ghee (someone used oil with good result, but baked it for 40 mins rather than 30-35)

*1/4 cup honey

*1 Tbsp coconut aminos (not essential)

*2 large apples, peeled, wedged and thinly sliced

Gingerbread Cake

*1/4 cup unsalted pasture butter or ghee

*1/2 cup honey

*4 pastured eggs, room temperature

*2 Tbsp coconut aminos, room temperature (not essential)

*1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

*2 cups blanched almond flour

*3/4 tsp baking soda

*1/4 tsp cloves

*2 tsp cinnamon

*2 Tbsp ginger

Directions

For topping: melt butter and honey. Add coconut aminos, stir. Pour mixture into an 8″ by 8″ square baking pan. Arrange sliced apples over butter/ honey mixture and set aside.

For cake: Warm the butter and the honey until just melted. Add room temperature eggs and other wet ingredients and mix. Combine dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Pour over the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate.

Think sweet thoughts 🙂

Coffee Cups in Coffee Shops

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Sara Walker

Maybe you are setting up a coffee shop, or looking to entertain your guests in style. Whatever the occasion one thing is for sure: how you present things alters how people perceive them. People feel better and think things taste better if they are beautifully presented.

If you are setting up a coffee shop paying extra for nice china probably doesn’t sound wonderful to your ears, but it may pay off in the future, if it’s matching an equally well thought through interior decor that makes clients feel at home. If you have the white standard cups that every other coffee shop uses no one will pay attention. If, on the other hand, you have something beautiful and unique, people will remember it. Of course it can’t be so expensive it ruins your budget, nor so frail that it breaks by the slightest touch.

When you choose your china, and for that matter the interior decor, set your creative juices free and dare to have some fun with it! Just bear in mind to double check how many others agree with your design as by the end of the day clients need to like it as well, not just you.

We also have to mention that if you are setting up a coffee shop we offer fresh roasted coffee beans, green coffee beans (if you are roasting yourself) and various other supplies through our shop at wholesale prices. Nothing better than self marketing and all that. Ahem.

A Winter Kick

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Sara Walker

It’s winter and what’s more perfect than adding spice to your food? This Mexican chocolate cake is perfect as it does just that. What’s more it’s not using sugar, but rather honey and molasses (hooray!). It makes us think it’s almost healthy. In moderation anyway.

We all know that when you couple cacao with coffee you can get a real kick. Add a bit of something sweet and you will be running for hours straight. In other words: great on a cold, wintery day when the sun is as absent as the heat that normally goes with it. If you light a candle when serving it you might truly get the lift you need to the day (just make sure to have your green juice and do your yoga practice first and all that jazz. Ahem).

So we found you all a spicy, chocolate cake that will match our fresh ground coffee beans perfectly. We are always looking for that – things to match with our coffee, so if you have any ideas, you can always shoot us an email! Furthermore, of course, as always remember you can buy coffee online through our shop. Perfect if you need a lot of coffee and don’t want to carry.

Mexican Chocolate Coffee Cake by the Paleo Mom

Ingredients:

6 Eggs
½ cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, melted
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp Coconut Flour
1/3 cup Cacao Powder
3 oz Unsweetened Chocolate, melted (100%)
½ cup Blackstrap Molasses
½ cup Honey
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper, to taste

1.    Preheat oven to 325F. Line 5”X9” loaf pan with wax paper. Grease wax paper with coconut oil.
2.    Sift cocoa, coconut flour, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and baking soda into a small bowl.
3.    In a food processor or blender, combine eggs, honey, molasses, and vanilla. Pulse a few times to beat together. Add melted coconut oil and chocolate and process/blend for 1 minute.
4.    Add dry ingredients to food processor, and pulse to combine.
5.    Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour (not a very forgiving cake if you burn it, so you might want to test for doneness with a toothpick at the 55 minute mark).
6.    Let cool completely in the pan. Remove from pan and carefully remove wax paper. Enjoy!

Raw Chocolate Truffles for Your Coffee

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Sara Walker

Raw chocolate truffles for your coffee is quite a treat and a healthy one at that. Naturally, if you want to keep it healthy you shouldn’t over indulge – one truffle twice a day is plenty. Although for Christmas you may want a few more…

What makes these raw truffles healthier than regular truffles is the use of raw ingredient which contain more antioxidants. Cacao contains some of the highest levels of antioxidants in the world, so when raw it’s truly a super food. Cacao is also a stimulant, which is why it’s rumoured to be an aphrodisiac. Especially when raw cacao can be very potent, so if you combine it with coffee you are likely to get a real kick. For the same reason you shouldn’t indulge though, nor eat it close to bedtime.

We find this the perfect treat to have with your coffee. Our fresh roasted coffee beans combined with raw chocolate is truly scrumptious. We love treats here at the Wholesale Coffee Co., but we don’t necessarily want to eat too much sugar, so keeping it to a truffle rather than eating an entire muffin is great. Oh and just so you know – coffee beans contain a whole lot of antioxidants too (if nowhere near what cacao contains).

We sourced this perfect match for coffee at the Alkaline Sisters.

Raw Hazelnut Truffles
Yield: Approx 20 truffles
1 1/2 cups raw cacao powder
1/3 to 1/2 cup organic agave syrup (adjust to your liking)
3 drops liquid stevia-optional
1/4 tsp ground vanilla or alcohol free liquid vanilla
pinch of Himalayan salt
1/2 cup raw hazelnuts soaked approx 2-3 hours, drained
1/4 cup raw cashews soaked approx 2-3 hours, drained
1 tsp hazelnut oil-optional
1/3 cup unrefined organic coconut oil
1/3 cup cocoa butter, finely chopped
1 recipe of raw dipping chocolate-see below

Method
Prepare and measure out all ingredients and set aside.
Place cocoa butter in a double boiler pan over boiling water to melt the cocoa butter for 1-2 mins. Remove from heat before all the pieces have melted leaving the top pan over the hot water and then add the coconut oil to the melted cocao butter allowing it to melt. Add all other ingredients to bowl of food processor and then add the oils and process immediately until smooth and creamy, forming a heavy mixture. Using spatula, scrape mixture into a bowl and chill for approx 45 mins. Once mixture is chilled, scoop by heaping teaspoon fulls and roll into balls and chill again for at least 10 mins on a parchment lined tray. These can now be dipped into the liquid chocolate- recipe is below- or rolled into raw cacao powder or fine dried coconut.

Dipping Chocolate
Yield: enough chocolate to dip approx 24-30 truffles
1 cup cacao butter, finely chopped
1/2 cups raw cacao powder
1/4 cup agave syrup or less- adjust to taste
pinch of Himalayan salt
1/4 tsp ground vanilla or alcohol free liquid vanilla

Method
Place cacao butter in a double boiler pan over boiling water bath to melt the cocoa butter for 1-2 mins. Remove from heat before all the pieces have melted. Add remaining ingredients to the pan and stir until smooth, then remove from water bath.

Take one flavour of truffles from fridge and place a toothpick in each. Dip each one into the liquid chocolate allowing the excess to run off, then placing the truffle on a tray lined with parchment or wax paper. When all are dipped carefully remove the toothpicks by twisting and gently pulling upward. In order to cover the toothpick hole add a garnish of a nut by dipping the nut in chocolate just enough to make it stay on tops or place fine shredded coconut or cacao nibs on the top of each before the chocolate hardens. If the dipping chocolate becomes too thick you may place it over the hot water for a minute or two. Once all truffles are dipped you can speed up the hardening process by chilling for a wee bit-say 10 mins. Do not leave them in the fridge too long as they will form condensation when removed from the cold and this will leave an unwanted finish on the surface of the chocolate. If you run out of dipping chocolate you can roll the truffle centers in cocoa powder or fine dried coconut. Voila, you have world class chocolates now!

Winter Blues and Nights as Dark as Coffee

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Sara Walker

If you live in the northern hemisphere the days are a lot shorter now, the nights longer, the air colder and Christmas cheer the thing to keep you awake and happy, apart from, of course, coffee. In the blistering cold and pitch black darkness you really do need a thing or two to keep you going. We have come up with various ideas for how to keep ourselves awake and happy during the day.

One of our fabulous ideas (if we may say so ourselves) is to combine the smell of gingerbread with coffee. Scent is a feel good factor and most people tend to wake up at the smell of fresh roasted coffee beans. Of course you need some light as well, so our recommendation is to get yourself a mighty nice gingerbread house, which you can put tea candles in. Next to it you keep a candle holder with coffee beans in it and a candle (be sure to watch this if you use a regular candle rather than a tea light, as the beans can catch fire when the candle get to the level of the beans!).

The other feel-good factor you need is of course fresh roasted coffee beans in your cup – in other words: a fresh cup of java. If you want to make it to taste like Christmas you can add some cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg (potentially a dash of cardamom too), as well as a little bit of honey or maple syrup.

To really perk you up in the darkness serve your coffee with some chocolate. You can either turn it into a Mocha, have a square of really good quality dark chocolate with it, or a slice of some dark chocolate cake. The darker the better for added antioxidants (fight the cold system!) and if you can find some cake that’s sweetened by honey, or maple syrup, rather than sugar. In the two coming posts we will teach share a raw chocolate recipe, and a chocolate cake that is sweetened in this way.

Apart from fresh roasted coffee beans and divine chocolate, what will keep you going through winter is plenty of rest, exercise, fruits, vegetables, walks in the outdoors, and some vitamins, like added vitamin D in lieu of sunshine.

If you want to buy coffee for your winter blues, you can buy coffee online through our shop. We offer great prices and great coffee (that in and of itself should cheer you up instantly!).

The perfect cafetière coffee – temperature and brewing

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Sara Walker

If you’re making a cup of coffee at home, or you work in an office where it’s practical to make coffee little and often, using a cafetière can be a good and inexpensive option. One of the simplest ways to make fresh coffee, the cafetière is a metal, glass or ceramic pot with a plunge handle, which allows you to brew the coffee then trap the grounds in a filter before pouring. The main problem with cafetières is inconsistency with the brew time and the water temperature, which leads to variations in coffee taste. If you’re serious about your coffee though, a little extra effort should give you a great result.

Brewing Temperature

For the perfect cup of coffee, the water should be just off the boil, or around 90.5 to 96.1 degrees Celsius. For a consistently accurate result, you’d need to invest in a thermometer and test the water each time before adding it to the coffee. For practical purposes through, letting the kettle boil and then counting to 20 should allow enough time for the water to cool sufficiently.

Brewing time

Experts generally recommend that coffee made in a cafetière is allowed to brew for four minutes. There are lots of variables, of course, including the size of the coffee grounds, the type of coffee and the personal preference of the drinker, but three and a half minutes should be a good starting point. Test the coffee after that time has elapsed, and allow it to stand for another 30 seconds if you’d prefer a richer, more intense flavour.

However you choose to brew your coffee, at the Wholesale Coffee Company we can help you with a range of coffee beans, coffee accessories and coffee ingredients, all available at wholesale prices. To browse our full range, please visit our coffee beans page.

Homemade Christmas mincemeat – with coffee!

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Sara Walker

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re getting ready for Christmas! Here’s our recipe for festive homemade mincemeat, for making the most delicious mincepies. Our secret ingredient? Coffee, what else! Adding a little of our favourite flavour gives a rich, dark overtones for a more indulgent result. This recipe should be made a couple of weeks before needed to give the flavours time to develop.

This recipe makes about 2.5 kgs, which should be enough to make mincepies for the entire office, or at least your colleagues. Any surplus can be bottled and sealed, and will keep quite happily until next Christmas.

You’ll need:

400g cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
200g suet, either vegetarian or beef
850g mixed dried fruit
225g candied peel
350g caster sugar
Zest and juice of two lemons
2 rounded teaspoons of ground mixed spice
1 rounded teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons of strong coffee, made from freshly-roasted coffee beans
Optional: six tablespoons of brandy, Cointreau or port

This recipe is simplicity itself – all you need to do is put everything except the alcohol and the suet into a Pyrex or other heatproof bowl, cover it loosely with aluminium foil and leave it overnight in a cool place. This is so that the flavours develop.

The following day, heat the oven to about 100 degrees Celsius, and put the dish in, still covered, for one to two hours. Take it out, and leave it to cool completely. Stir in the suet and the alcohol, if using, and either use it immediately to make mince pies, mincemeat and apple pudding or mincemeat and apple crumble, or spoon into sterilised jars, seal and label.

For a full range of coffee beans, coffee ingredients and accessories for all your coffee needs over the festive period, please visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Coffee and the fast diet

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Sara Walker

Better known as the 5:2 diet, this new weight loss phenomenon has struck a real chord with Britain’s dieters and would-be dieters. The brainchild of medical journalist Michael Mosley, the diet is the result of his research for BBC Two’s Horizon programme.

The principal is simple. A ‘traditional’ weight loss diet involves following a low fat regime, forcing the body to consume its own fat reserves instead. However, as many longterm dieters will know, after initial weight loss the body will eventually go into ‘starvation’ mode as it becomes used to using fewer and fewer calories, meaning you’ll eventually reach a plateau where it becomes very difficult to shed any further pounds.

The concept of the Fast Diet is equally straightforward. By ‘fasting’ (or eating a very low amount of calories) for two days out of every seven, the body won’t be able to adjust to a lower intake and will continue to shed weight. The dieter can then eat normally for the other remaining five days.

The regime is proving particularly successful with dieters who normally fail due to low will power. As there’s no need to follow a restrictive diet for months on end, most people find it fairly straightforward to complete their two fast days a week, by eating 500 calories (women) or 600 calories (men). The diet has also won fans for its flexibility, as the two fast days can be fitted in at the dieter’s convenience and don’t have to be consecutive.

The good news is that an average mug of black coffee contains only 5 calories, so even on your fasting days you can enjoy several cups, although it might be a good idea to replace one or two with a decaffeinated brew, particularly if you’re drinking more coffee than you normally would. If you don’t like your coffee black, add a splash of skimmed milk for another 15 – 20 calories.

At the Wholesale Coffee Company, we supply a full range of coffee beans and coffee ingredients to suit every need, so if you’re planning a post-Christmas diet, don’t forget to stock up ready to go.