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.

Homemade hazelnut syrup for coffee

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Sara Walker

It’s starting to feel autumnal out there, and what better way to warm up than with a cup of your favourite coffee, liberally laced with seasonal homemade hazelnut syrup? If you’ve got some syrup left over, it makes a great dessert sauce or cooking ingredient.

If you’re lucky enough to know someone with a hazelnut tree, this is the time to get on their right side! For this recipe, you’ll need a good double handful of hazelnuts, shelled.

Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan on a medium-high heat, and add a double handful of hazelnuts (around 300 – 400g). Shake the pan occasionally so that the nuts toast evening and don’t burn. Continue until they’re a uniform pale golden colour, then remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.

Once cool, put the nuts in a food processor and blitz until roughly chopped (don’t chop them too much, you’re aiming for whole nut pieces rather than a powder).

Put 500g of sugar and 500ml of water into a pan, and heat gently until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the nuts, and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and let it cook for around 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it’s not sticking.

In the meantime, sterilise a glass bottle or jar with a close fitting lid by placing into a pan of water and bringing to the boil. Strain the syrup into the bottle. Once completely cool and sealed, store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

If you like the idea of hazelnut syrup but don’t have time to make your own, we stock a full range of readymade coffee syrups, including hazelnut, for only £7.29 a litre. For more information, visit our coffee ingredients page.

This recipe was inspired by Homemade Hazelnut Syrup from www.fiveeurofood.com.

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Homemade vanilla syrup for your coffee

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Sara Walker

If you’re addicted to flavoured coffee, love an iced drink or just fancy trying something a bit different, then this homemade vanilla syrup is for you. In addition to adding it to coffee to make an indulgent drink, you can also use it in dessert sauces, poured over ice cream or as a cooking ingredient. It’s simple to make, and uses fresh vanilla for a rich, luxurious taste. Find fresh vanilla pods at some supermarkets, in delicatessens or online.

Ingredients

450g white granulated sugar
240ml water
one vanilla bean, split along the length and with the seeds scraped out
two teaspoons good quality vanilla extract

Put the sugar, water and vanilla into a heavy-based saucepan, and turn the hob to a medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is completely melted, then bring the mixture to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, being careful not to touch the contents which will be extremely hot. Let the pan sit for one to two hours then stir in the vanilla extract.

While the syrup is cooling and thickening, sterilise a small jam jar or glass bottle by boiling it in a large pan. Allow the jar to cool, then sieve the syrup to remove the vanilla pod and any pieces, and pour it in to the container. Once it’s completely cool, store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

To use the syrup, add a shot to hot coffee, or create an iced coffee by combining an espresso shot, milk, crushed ice and syrup to taste.

If you’d like to keep a bottle of vanilla syrup on stand by in your kitchen but don’t have time to make it yourself, then browse our range of top quality readymade syrups on the Coffee Ingredients page of our website. A one litre bottle of syrup is only £7.29, and we have a range of flavours to choose from including vanilla.

Paleo Double Mocha Biscotti

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Sara Walker

In our last blog post we talked a little bit about coffee on the Paleo diet – most people allow it in small to moderate amounts, and we gave you a fabulous Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe. This time we are moving on to the treat to go with it – Double Mocha Biscotti. Once again they are Paleo and vegan if you use agave nectar rather than honey.

Now, all you need is some real good quality cacao and fresh roasted coffee beans for this recipe. As we are obsessed with beans, we have to state that it’s always better to get good quality coffee beans and cacao. It’s what’s separate gourmet food, from average food. Coffee beans being our passion we know what we are talking about. You may not know why if you’re not a coffee connoisseur, but the biscotti will taste better with good quality coffee beans. Guaranteed.

So we got a bit sidetracked with our coffee obsession, but now onto the amazing, fabulous, most certainly healthy biscotti (cacao, honey, almonds and coffee all have antioxidants and other nutrients that are good for you). We found the recipe at Elana’s Pantry. Enjoy guys!

2 ¼ cups blanched almond flour
¼ cup cacao powder
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon organic decaf coffee, espresso grind
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup agave nectar or honey
½ cup chocolate chunks

In a food processor, combine almond flour, cacao powder, arrowroot powder, ground coffee, salt and baking soda
Pulse until ingredients are well combined
Pulse in agave nectar until the dough forms a ball
Remove dough from food processor and work in dark chocolate with your hands
Form dough into 2 logs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
Bake at 325° for 25 minutes, then remove from oven and cool for 1 hour
Cut the logs into ½ inch slices on the diagonal with a very sharp knife
Spread slices out on a baking sheet and bake at 300° for 12-15 minutes
Remove from oven and allow to cool, set, and become crispy
Serve

Makes about 14 biscotti

Paleo Coffee Treats

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Sara Walker

You’ve probably heard of the Paleo diet. Chances are if you are reading this you might be on the diet right now, or curious to try recipes from it. And therefore, you probably also know there will be no gluten, no refined sugars, and no dairy in the recipes. That doesn’t mean you don’t get treats, or coffee, even though strictly speaking, coffee isn’t part of the diet. For most people the important bit is health however and so long as coffee isn’t damaging your health, then it’s allowed, given you don’t so to speak over dose.

The Paleo diet is a lot about quality foods and sticking to what is natural. In other words: if you are to make a treat, or drink coffee, use the best quality options: organic, fairtrade and if decaffinated then use water processed coffee beans. And as always: fresh roasted coffee beans makes for the best cup. You don’t necessarily have to buy green coffee beans and roast them yourself, but if you have a grinder then it’s better to grind your own coffee! Or use Nespresso capsules!

Today we will share a Pumpkin Spice Latte Paleo recipe from Freckled Italian with you and our next blog will be Double Mocha Biscotti. Combined we figured they’d get you through the winter blues!

Pumpkin Spice Latte, the Paleo Way

Ingredients:

Makes at least two drinks.

5.46 (yep, that’s real) ounces of canned coconut milk

4 tablespoons of canned pumpkin (I just put the rest in a Tupperware)

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

A tiny dash of ginger

(Feel free to add more or less of something if you really love or hate one of these spices)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

An ounce or two of regular unsweetened coconut milk (in a carton)

A shot or two of espresso or some strongly-brewed coffee

1. Open your tiny can of coconut milk. Put a spoon under the thick part and pour the liquid underneath into a bowl. That’s what you’re using for your latte. The thick part will be whipped cream later, so put it in a separate bowl.

2. Mix everything except for the coconut milk in the carton together in a bowl and stir them up.

3. Once all the spices are incorporated into the pumpkin, add a few splashes of coconut milk from a carton to the mixture until it seems more liquid than thick. Heat up on the stove while you make some espresso or strongly-brewed coffee.

4. Take the bowl with the thick portion of canned coconut milk and whisk it up with a bit more vanilla and agave.

5. Fill a mug halfway with coffee and add the pumpkin mixture from the stove. Stir it–this stuff separates. Don’t get freaked out.

6. Add a few dollops of the coconut cream and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top.

The journey of sugar

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Sara Walker

Ever wondered how sugar gets from the ground to your cup of coffee? The world’s sugar comes from two main sources – sugar cane, and sugar beet. British sugar is made from sugar beet, and sold under the brand name Silver Spoon.

Sugar from beet

After harvesting, the sugar beet tubers are thoroughly washed and dried, sliced into chips, then suspended in hot water for about an hour. The sugar is diffused out of the beet chips into the water, which thickens and is referred to as ‘juice’. The beet slices are pressed to extract the maximum sugar, and the remaining solids are used as animal feed.

The sugar juice is cleaned then evaporated to reduce the liquid content. The remaining fluid is then boiled until the sugar starts to crystallise out. The crystals are then dried and packed.

Sugar from cane

Sugar cane grows in tropical and sub-tropical climates around the world. Once harvested, the cane is crushed to extract the juice which is then cleaned and evaporated. The juice is then boiled, until crystals form in the same way as they do for the sugar beet process. Any residue is used to make molasses, which is used in cattle food or in a distillery to make alcohol.

The final product of both sugar beet and sugar cane is called ‘raw sugar’ and it looks like brown sugar at this stage, with a moist, sticky texture. Once it’s been packed and transported to the country where it’s to be used, it’s normally refined again to remove any remaining molasses and produce white sugar.

At the Wholesale Coffee Company, we sell a range of sugars, all made from sugar cane. Our products include brown and white sugar, lump sugar and individual sugar sticks, and all are suitable for cafés or caterers. For more information, please visit our coffee ingredients page.

Café de Olla – an Autumn Favourite!

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Sara Walker

Autumn is coming towards us at a hundred miles an hour and it’s time for those days of hot stuff. Meaning: anything hot goes – hot chocolate, hot wine, hot fireplaces, hot duvets, hot…anything (we’ve heard hot people are especially in demand…hugs can keep one warm almost forever!)! Adding to the list of hot things is Café de Olla – a Mexican coffee drink.

Coffee ingredients you keep in the cupboard may include honey, sugar (brown, or white), sweeteners (xylithol and stevia are the most natural/healthy ones we’ve been told?!), honey, cacao to sprinkle on your cappuccino and maybe a flavouring syrup, or two. Have you tried cinnamon in your coffee though? It’s a delicious addition to any cup (in some places they use it instead of cacao for the cappuccino) and in Café de Olla it’s one of the main coffee ingredients. The Mexicans are very specific about how a cup of Café de Olla is supposed to be made, but if in a hurry, why not just try to add a dash of cinnamon sprinkled on top of your coffee? Did you know that cinnamon can help balance your blood sugar levels if you use a sweetener as well? Just don’t overdoes on it – too much cinnamon is not good for you. Many say you shouldn’t even use it every day.

Café de Olla from Nibbles and Feasts

Coffee Ingredients:
4 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks
4 heaping tablespoons of ground coffee (36 oz.)
4 tbsp. of brown sugar (piloncillo)

N.B. For better results boil the water in an earthenware pot and serve it in earthenware mugs. According to Mexican cooks, it imparts a more flavorful experience.

Preparation:
Boil 4 cups of water with brown sugar and cinnamon in a clay pot, when boiling add the coffee and turn off heat. Let stand 4 minutes, strain and serve, preferably in clay cups.
You can also add a little rum!

Makes 4 cups

The story of sugar cubes

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Sara Walker

Sugar cubes or lumps have been a popular method of sweetening coffee for over 150 years. Sugar in cube form is stable, easy to store and most importantly, easy to measure, helping the coffee drinker to regulate their intake.

Sugar lumps come in two varieties – sugar cubes, which are commercially manufactured to give a uniform size and shape, and lumps which are more irregular.

The inventor of a commercial process to make sugar into uniform cubes was a Swiss-born Czechoslovakian named Jakub Kryštof Rad. At the time, sugar was available in large, unwieldy blocks called ‘loaf sugar’, which were extremely hard and difficult to break. Juliana was injured while attempting to cut the loaf sugar, and asked her husband to invent an easier method. Quickly seeing the possibilities, he began working on a machine which would both refine cane sugar and press it into cubes. He was already the director of a sugar company, and his sugar cube press was operational less than a year after his wife’s request. On January 23rd 1843, he was granted a five-year patent for his invention.

The famous Henry Tate of Tate and Lyle quickly took up the idea, and was soon manufacturing sugar cubes at his sugar refineries in London and Liverpool. As Tate wasn’t able to use the Czech method, he bought a patent from a German engineer called Eugen Langen, who’d invested a different method of processing the sugar in 1872.

La Perruche, who produce high quality sugar lumps, use the different method of moulding the cane sugar into a block, and then breaking it into lumps. Each lump weighs between three and six grams. This has the disadvantage that the cubes aren’t a standard size, but also the advantage that each user can adapt their serving size if necessary. To see our range of La Perruche sugar lumps, as well as sugar cubes from other manufacturers, please visit our coffee ingredients page.

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.