Tag: coffee facts

The Wholesale Coffee Company Coffee Break Quiz

Posted on by Sara Walker

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company we’re coffee experts – and here’s where you find out if you’re an expert too! We’ve put together some fun facts and figures in the shape of our coffee break quiz about everyone’s favourite drink. No Googling now! Answers at the bottom of the page.

1. Coffee originally came from:
a. Ethiopia
b. Indonesia
c. Brazil

2. ‘Café Sua Da’ is:
a. A single origin coffee bean commanding the world’s second highest price per kilo
b. Vietnamese iced coffee made with sweetened condensed milk, espresso and ice
c. Nothing to do with coffee – it’s Italian for a bar that serves food as well as drinks

3. Coffee beans are technically:
a. Fruit
b. Seeds
c. Beans

4. What does ‘espresso’ literally mean in Italian?
a. Strong
b. Fast
c. Pressed out

5. There’s something very special about kopi luwak coffee. What is it?
a. It’s only harvested at certain times of year, when the moon is full
b. It passes through the digestive system of a civet cat before being harvested, which is said to give it a milder, smoother flavour
c. It’s only grown on one tiny island in the West Indes, and the entire annual crop weighs less than 100kg

6. Which country drinks the most coffee per capita?
a. USA
b. UK
c. Finland

7.‘Decaffeinated’ doesn’t actually mean ‘completely caffeine free’, as the process can’t remove caffeine completely. If ‘normal’ coffee has between 95 and 200mg per cup, how much caffeine do you think is in decaff?
a. 2 to 12mg per cup
b. 20 to 40mg per cup
c. 15 to 20mg per cup

8. We all know that a caramel-topped, sugar-sprinkled latte is going to contain more calories than a straight, unsweetened black coffee – but how many calories does that ‘straight coffee’ actually contain per cup?
a. 15
b. 1
c. 25

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we specialise in supplying delicious coffee at great wholesale prices, both to businesses and directly to customers at home. Take a look at our main website www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk to find out more and browse our range.

Scroll down for the answers!

Answers: 1a, 2b, 3b, 4c, 5b, 6c, 7a, 8b

Top 5 Coffee Myths

Posted on by Sara Walker

Myth 1 – you need to use boiling water to make the perfect cup of coffee.

In fact, using water that’s too hot will scorch the coffee, causing it to release bitter-tasting
compounds and spoil the taste. The correct temperature to use for the perfect cup is around
93 degrees centigrade – good commercial coffee machines will regulate this automatically.

Myth 2 – the best place to store coffee is in the freezer or refrigerator.

Actually, roasted coffee beans are porous, and quickly absorb liquids, moisture and food
smells, making the freezer or fridge one of the worst places to store coffee. Keep any
leftover coffee beans at room temperature in an airtight container, and make sure they’re
well away from strong light or heat which can quickly cause the flavour to deteriorate.

Myth 3 – buying ready-ground coffee is just as good as grinding your own

In reality, the flavour of coffee beans starts to deteriorate as soon as they’re ground, and
despite modern manufacturing and packaging methods, ready-ground coffee will never be
as fresh as coffee that you grind yourself. Ideally, coffee should be freshly ground each time
you use it.

Myth 4 – if you buy good-quality coffee, it’s fine to use cheap paper filters

Cheap paper coffee filters can produce inferior results, as they’re treated with chemicals
that can affect the flavour. If you’re using paper filters, check for brands that say ‘oxygen
bleached’ or ‘dioxin free’.

Myth 5 – a strong cup of coffee needs to brew for a long time

As a rough guide, coffee should brew for between four and five minutes. Leaving it any
longer than this may result in stronger coffee, but the resulting drink will also have a bitter,
unpleasant taste. Brewing for less time may give you a weaker drink, but it will be insipid
and flavourless. For the perfect cup, you’ll need a good coffee machine to take care of the
brewing time, and you’ll also need to choose the right blend. Robusta blends are stronger
than Arabica, and dark roasts are more intense than lighter roasts.