Tag: Coffee Supplies

Coffee games to play at home

Posted on by Sara Walker

We’re all in need of a bit of cheering up at the moment, so we’ve put together some coffee games for you to try. You may end up improving your coffee knowledge, or you may just end up drinking lots of great coffee – either way, it’s a win/win! Here we go:

Game 1 – full of beans. You’ll need two players for this one, so you can either co-opt another member of your household or play virtually with a friend. You’ll also need four completely different coffees, such as our sample pack of beans – try and pick different roasts and origins. Label four identical cups or mugs with a sticker on the bottom. Brew each of the samples using the same method, and mix up the mugs without looking at them. Then, try to guess the origin and roast. If you’re not a coffee afficionado, then just try and guess the continent – if you have a friend who thinks he knows his beans, then challenge him to guess the country or even the region. Player with the most correct answers wins.

Game 2 – around the world in 7 coffees. This one’s less of a game and more of a challenge! As we’re all limited on travel at the moment, the aim is to travel virtually around the world via coffee specialities. Nominate a country every day for a week (France, Italy, Vietnam, Turkey, USA) and brew a traditional coffee from that country to enjoy. Try café au lait, cappuccino, ca phe, traditional Turkish and more.

Game 3 – the right note. As all coffee lovers know, different blends of coffee have different top notes, including floral, chocolate, fruit, nuts, citrus and more. This one is a variation on game 1 – but instead of matching the coffee to the country, you have to choose which flavour belongs to which blend! Set up the cups as in game 1, and write down the predominant flavour note for each blend. Then, see if you can match them up using your sense of taste alone. The player who gets the most right answers wins.
One thing we’re definitely still taking seriously is our wholesale coffee! We’re still supplying wholesale coffee beans and ground coffee online, all at great bulk prices, so take a look at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk to browse our full range.

Paid coffee breaks under threat in Spain

Posted on by Sara Walker

We like to keep our eye on coffee news worldwide, and, this story reached us from Spain. Many Spanish employees have a late-morning ritual of leaving the office and meeting colleagues for a cup of coffee and a cigarette. Although they’re not paid for this break specifically, employees have been able to take advantage of up to two hours of paid breaks a day, whatever they want to use it for.

Now, a new law has been introduced that ironically aimed to protect working hours. The Socialist government now requires employers to clock their staff in and out in an effort to prevent them trying to make employees work unpaid overtime. An unintended consequence for the workers, though, is that now employers have the option not to count coffee breaks, smoking breaks or other downtime as part of the paid working day, as has been the case so far.

Spaniards are believed to work around a staggering 2.6 million hours of unpaid overtime a week, so the new legislation would offer them better protection. Unions have on the whole welcomed the new move, but are believed to be looking at options for monitoring how much time at work is actually spent working. The government have suggested trying to differentiate between time spent working and time on breaks which should be unpaid. It’s worth mentioning that the breaks in question are not statuary legal breaks but voluntary breaks for meals or a quick coffee. The new proposal may see workers required to clock in and out whenever they leave their desks, so that they don’t exceed a total break time.

While it’s important for productivity that employees don’t regularly exceed their break times, spending a few minutes stretching your legs and grabbing a coffee can help re-focus the mind and boosting performance. From our point of view, the ideal solution would seem to be installing a coffee machine in the office!

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’ve got all your commercial coffee supplies covered. Visit our main website to browse our selection of coffee beans and accessories for your coffee business.

Coffee fads – ‘coffee in a bag’

Posted on by Sara Walker
Image: Pixabay

Teabags, introduced as a quick, easy, mess-free way of brewing up, have been with us for a while. In fact, patents for hand-sewn fabric teabags were first filed as early as 1903. So, with coffee now firmly ensconced as the UK’s favourite drink ahead of tea, have you ever wondered why no-one’s invented a ‘coffeebag’?

 

Step forward Raw Bean Ltd, a small, artisan producer based in Winchester, who earlier this year launched Bean Bags – pre-roasted and ground specialty coffee, in a single-serve bag. While it’s not quite the first such offering on the market, it is the first to use high-grade specialty coffee. The bags themselves look like the design of a certain major tea company – pyramid-shaped and larger than normal teabags. Each one contains 12 grams of pure arabica coffee, which is roasted specially for each order to make sure it’s as fresh as possible. The larger bag leaves room for the coffee to infuse. So far there are three products in the range – a single origin, a blend and a Columbian single-origin decaff. More varieties are also planned for the future.

Are coffeebags the future?

So is this the future of homebrew coffee? It’s a great idea – to deliver a hit of high-quality caffeine with the convenience of a teabag. No more messing around with coffee machines or filters – just pop the bag in and off you go. However, we’re included to think it won’t knock home coffee machines out of pole position. With a bag, it’s too easy to get the water temperature wrong and end up with a bitter brew. The main danger, though, is forgetting you’re in the middle of something and leaving the bag in too long for a result that’s only fit for the bin. Most home coffee machines just require charging with coffee and water and leaving, and they’ll take care of filtering, water temperature and brew quality with no further input. Standing over a coffeebag, waiting for the right moment to whisk it out with a spoon, might be more trouble rather than less. We can see a place for them as a convenience product though – for example if you’re camping. We suspect that these won’t catch on with coffee aficionados, who prefer a more purist brewing method, but that doesn’t mean there’s no place for them at all.

To browse our range of (traditional!) coffee beans, coffee accessories and coffee supplies for your commercial catering business, restaurant or cafe, take a look at our main website www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Do Your Coffee Bean Supplies need some New Flavours?

Posted on by Sara Walker

Wholesale Coffee Company can help you liven up your coffee bean supplies with these delicious coffee bean blends. From sweet caramel to yummy treacle and chocolate, take your pick from the list below.

If you’re a café or coffee shop owner and you buy your coffee bean supplies in bulk and would like to try some of our coffee beans before you buy wholesale, you can order sample bags starting from only £6.

At Wholesale Coffee Company you’ll find excellent quality coffee beans at affordable prices. This is a guarantee.

Cafeology Fair Trade BlendCafeology Fair Trade Blend

Smooth, rich and full of flavour, these fair trade, medium to dark roasted coffee beans are perfect for milk based coffee drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos. With notes of caramel and burnt toffee, these medium to full bodied beans will add a sweet addition to your coffee bean supplies.

Get a Cafeology Fair Trade Blend sample bag here

 

 

 

caribana-blend-coffee-beans-Caribana Blend

This gourmet blend of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans has yummy chocolate notes and a deliciously rich, smooth aroma. The Caribana blend is ideal for milk based coffee drinks such as cappuccinos and lattes; And it’s great value for money.

Get a Caribana Blend sample bag here

 

 

 

tunki-blendOrganic Tunki Blend

All the way from the Peruvian Andes, these organic, Arabica coffee beans have a beautiful floral aroma with notes of treacle and sweet chocolate. They’re enhanced with red berry and citrus undertones providing a delicious, full bodied blend. You won’t be disappointed if you add these beans to your coffee bean supplies.

Get a Tunki Blend  sample bag here

 

 

 

Sample SelectionSample Selection

And finally, if you can’t make your mind up, you can try a sample selection consisting of four 1kg bags of luxury coffee beans, including the Tunki and Caribana blends featured above.

Get your sample selection here

What’s on Britain’s coffee menu?

Posted on by Sara Walker

Tea might be Britain’s unofficial natural drink, but from a historical point of view coffee beats its rival hands down. The first coffee house opened in London in 1652, whereas tea took much longer to become really popular, and wasn’t commonplace until a hundred years later, in the mid 18th century. Originally, the only addition to the basic coffee would have been sugar, but nowadays, there’s a vast range of coffee drinks available to suit every possible taste. Here are some of the most popular:

Espresso

An espresso is a very concentrated shot of strong coffee served in a small cup. It’s made by forcing hot water through very fine coffee grounds, and is more popular on the Continent than in the UK, where it’s often drunk after meals to aid digestion. As it’s so concentrated, espresso is often diluted with water or milk to form the basis of other coffee drinks such as Americano.

Latte

More properly called ‘caffè latte’ from the Italian meaning ‘coffee with milk’, this drink is known as ‘café au lait’ in France and ‘café con leche’ in Spain. The perfect latte involves a shot of strong espresso, made from freshly-ground coffee beans, and an equal quantity of warmed milk.

Cappuccino

Cappuccinos are similar to lattes, but are made with the addition of steamed milk foam to give a creamy, velvety texture. Cappuccinos can be tricky to prepare, as heating the milk too quickly or to too hot a temperature will cause it to split, and the perfect cup involves the combination of a good commercial coffee machine and a skilled barista.

Liqueur coffee

A liqueur coffee is a long coffee, normally served in a clear glass for visual appeal. Sugar and liqueur are added to the basic coffee, then the cream is floated over the top of the liquid to produce an attractive layered effect. Popular variations include Irish Coffee, containing whiskey, and Russian Coffee, which contains vodka.

 Buy coffee beans online at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk

Coffee Table Book Ideas

Posted on by Sara Walker

Top 10 Coffee Table Books Ideas

Once you’re stocked up on your coffee bean supplies and you’ve made yourself a fresh brew and some chocolate brownies, relax and enjoy one of these coffee table books.  Or, use them if you’ve got guests over for coffee and the conversation runs dry.

  1. The Art of Looking Sideways

This is the ultimate coffee table book featuring collections of anecdotes, images and interesting facts – all beautifully presented to form a coffee table experience that goes beyond being just a book.

  1. The Earth from the Air

This fascinating photography book features almost 200 images taken from helicopters flying over 75 different countries around the world. Enjoy your coffee whilst gazing at photos of lush coffee bean plantations, patchwork quilt landscapes and polka dot like crowds.

  1. Monsters in the Movies

If you’re a film fan, Monsters in Movies is an epic collection of film stills of the greatest movie monsters of all time. Sip your coffee on the edge of your seat as you work through some beautifully scary illustrations and photographs.

  1. Unseen Vogue

Unseen Vogue takes you on a journey from the 1920’s to 2004 and features over 1, 000, 000 photographs, annotated contact sheets and unedited film that never made it into Vogue – a must if you’re into fashion and photography.

  1. Post Secret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives

Laugh, feel inspired, shocked and more when you flick through this stunning book, featuring postcards with handwritten secrets from real people. Post Secret is irresistibly addictive, a great conversation starter and perfect to flick through with a hot mug of coffee.

  1. The Greatest Album Covers of All Time

Feel nostalgic leafing through this stunning book filled with 500 of the greatest album covers of all time from 1956 to 2005. Rock, pop, blues and more, this beautifully illustrated book is the ultimate pick for music buffs all over the world.

  1. Sports Illustrated: Athlete

Sports photographer, Walter Ross showcases some of the world’s most iconic sporting photographs from the last couple of decades. From Michael Jordan’s ‘Blue Dunk’ shot to images of Tiger Woods, this is a must for any sport enthusiast.

  1. Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Experiences for a Lifetime

Have you always wanted to explore the world? Feel inspired as you flick through images of paradise beaches, snow-capped mountains and tropical rainforests. Follow the suggestions or create your own ‘to do’ list.

  1. Vitamin Green

Vitamin Green brings sustainable design and living to a new level and shows us what really can be achieved with our future buildings. It’s full of inspirational photographs, ideas for designers and consumers and even DIY projects.

  1. I Love Coffee: Over 100 Easy and Delicious Coffee Drinks

Our list wouldn’t be complete without an actual coffee table book all about coffee. Jam packed with amusing anecdotes, colour photographs and of course lots of yummy coffee drink recipes, this book will inspire you to start stocking up on your coffee bean supplies.

Composting With Coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

Composting with coffee

If you use commercial coffee machines on a daily basis, you’ll know how much waste those freshly-ground coffee beans can produce. Those grounds aren’t really waste, though – they’re full of nutrients that plants love, so instead of tipping them into the bin, you could try using them in the garden.

Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, which means they’ll help a compost heap to decompose more quickly – and you can even throw the paper filters on the heap too. If you don’t have a compost heap, you can spread the grounds directly onto the soil as a mulch. Rainwater will wash the nutrients out of the coffee and into the soil, and a thick layer of grounds will help warm the soil and protect delicate plants or bulbs. In addition, slugs and snails aren’t as fond of caffeine as we are, and faced with a layer of coffee mulch might decide to quit your garden for easier pickings. Using coffee as a mulch can also help to deter neighbouring cats from using your garden as a litter tray, as they’re said to dislike the strong smell.

If you don’t have a compost heap or flower beds, treat your window box plants or tubs to an occasional feed made with coffee grounds. Dilute a few good handfuls of grounds around 1:40 with lukewarm water to produce a feed that’s rich in nitrogens. Plants with dark green leaves tend to love nitrogen, and will be particularly grateful for a little leftover coffee. These plants include rhododendrons, camellias and hydrangeas as well as vegetable plants such as Brussels sprouts and rhubarb.

If your garden is tiny or non-existent, or you don’t think you’ve got green fingers, why not put a sign up offering leftover grounds to local gardeners – it’s a shame to let all those lovely nutrients go to waste.

Visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk for commercial coffee machines and coffee supplies with next day UK delivery.

Homemade Chocolate Brownies

Posted on by Sara Walker

Homemade chocolate espresso brownies from the Wholesale Coffee Company

You’ve got up early to grind the coffee beans, you’ve kick-started your day with the perfect cup of espresso – now make sure that lovely, fresh leftover coffee doesn’t go to waste. Coffee is the secret ingredient in many cake recipes, and works particularly well with chocolate, adding a depth of richness and flavour.

Use what’s left in the coffee machine to make these easy Chocolate Espresso Brownies – the coffee gives a lovely, squidgy texture and a rich dark colour. It’s best to use good quality chocolate, with a high cocoa content, ideally around 70%. This will combine with the espresso to give an intense flavour hit.

Before you start:

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 20cm square tin, and line the base with a double layer of greaseproof paper.
  • Make sure you’ve got some leftover coffee – if not, it’s time to fire up the coffee machine and maybe have a small cup just to keep you going…

You’ll need:

  • 60g butter or margarine
  • 50 g good quality plain chocolate
  • 175g sugar
  • 70g self raising flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 60g walnut pieces (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons espresso coffee

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in the microwave, using 20 second burst of power and stirring between bursts to make sure the chocolate doesn’t burn.

Add the sugar, and mix thoroughly. Add all the other ingredients except the nuts, and mix to a smooth batter. Finally, add the nuts, if using.

Pour the batter into the tin, and smooth it out evenly. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until set round the sides and just slightly soft in the middle. Leave in the tin until completely cool, then cut into squares or bars.

These are great served as a mid-morning treat with a latte. For a decadent dinner party dessert, serve with vanilla ice cream and decorate with a couple of chocolate-coated coffee beans.

For more information on our commercial coffee machines and coffee beans visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk

Britain – a nation full of beans

Posted on by Sara Walker

The UK may have a reputation as a nation of tea drinkers, but according to a recent survey by coffee brand Nespresso, almost half of adult coffee drinkers believe that coffee actually has a higher social status than tea. Of the 2,081 people surveyed, 45% believed that coffee was the drink of choice for ‘ambitious high achievers’, the traditional accompaniment to late night business meetings and high pressure deals.

The survey may be tongue-in-cheek, but it seems as if the UK is really becoming a nation of coffee drinkers – many of us find it difficult to get started in the mornings without our caffeine fix, and the success of coffee bars and takeaway shops are proof of the drink’s popularity. For  aficionados, grinding their own coffee beans or buying exotic mixes from boutique coffee suppliers has become commonplace, and many people also own professional-standard machines, producing café-style cappuccinos and espressos at the touch of a button.

Part of the appeal of coffee lies in its versatility. As well as a morning pick-me-up, the health benefits of the drink are well-documented. Studies have shown that a moderate intake of coffee can help guard against Parkinson’s Disease, dementia and even some forms of cancer.

As if that wasn’t enough, it’s also great for cooking with. If you have some fresh coffee left over from your morning cup, you can use it not only as an ingredient in sweet recipes such as chocolate espresso brownies or coffee and walnut cake, but  also in savoury recipes. Adding a mixture of wine, stock and coffee to stews and casseroles gives an incredible depth of flavour, and produces a rich, glossy sauce.

With all of these benefits, it’s easy to see why the UK now spends around £650 million a year on coffee – and why we’ve turned into a nation that’s full of beans.

Visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk to view the full range of commercial coffee machines and ingredients online with next day UK Delivery.