Tag: commercial coffee machines

Drinking coffee could help protect against breast cancer, new study suggests

Posted on by Sara Walker

Researchers from two Spanish universities have found evidence that eating more phenolic acids in your diet can help protect against post-menopausal breast cancer.

Scientists have found evidence of a protective effect from a diet full of phenolic acids on the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. Phenolic acids are plant compounds found in a variety of plant-based foods, usually in the leaves of vegetables and the skins and seeds of fruit. The study found that the phenolic acid with the strongest effect was chlorogenic acid, which is mostly found in coffee, especially green coffee beans, and some other fruit and vegetables. It shares some health benefits with caffeine, but is less potent.

The study looked at the link between phenolic acids and the incidence of breast cancer in over 11,000 women. All the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire to confirm how often they ate 136 particular types of food. Researchers followed them over a period of around 12 years, and found that just over 100 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. Scientists worked out how much phenolic acid each woman had in their diet by matching up the incidence of consumption of each food type with a database containing the amount of phenolic acid each food contained.
Depending on the results of the food matching, researchers put the participants into groups.

Researchers split women into three groups according to their intake of specific phenolic acids. Those who consumed the most hydroxycinnamic acid in their diets had a 62 per cent reduction in their risk of getting breast cancer, compared to those who consumed the least.

Those who included the most chlorogenic acids in their diet saw their risk reduce to 65 per cent less than the group who consumed the least.
The study concluded that eating more phenolic acids, particularly chlorogenic acids found in coffee, fruit and vegetables, was associated with a decreased risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. Researchers concluded that the high levels of phenolic acids may possibly work to reduce fat tissue inflammation or resistance to insulin, both of which could make women more susceptible to breast cancer.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re coffee experts. Over at our online shop you’ll find everything you need for your coffee business, including coffee beans, coffee machines and a range accessories for your restaurant, café, office or retail space.

Like sugar in your coffee? It might be in your genes.

Posted on by Sara Walker

New research carried out at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago has revealed that your preference for taking sugar in your coffee and sweetening other drinks could be genetic. Since 2007, scientists have known that a certain variant of the mysterious ‘FTO gene’ is linked to an increased tendency to obesity. People who have a different variant of the gene are at a lower risk of the disease. This same ‘lower risk’ variant also seems to be linked to a preference for sweetened drinks, which scientists agree is counter intuitive.

Lead researcher Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the university believes that the gene variant could be linked to behaviour which is why carriers were less likely to put on weight despite their sweet tooth.

In general, though, the study found that with the one exception of the FTO gene variant, our preferences for whether we like drinks sweetened or not are more to do with association and feeling rather than taste. Psychologically, you could be craving the increased alertness of a caffeine buzz rather than the taste itself. The study also showed that there’s a large ‘reward’ component to what we choose to drink. For example, if we’ve had a really nasty journey to work, we might choose to ‘reward’ ourselves with an extra cup of coffee.

The results of the study were published recently in a scientific journal, and included data from around 336,000 people who’d been asked to record their drink intake. The study classed ‘bitter’ drinks as coffee, tea, beer, red wine and grapefruit juice, and ‘sweet’ as other fruit juices and soft drinks.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company we’re coffee experts, and we’ve got everything in stock to keep your coffee business running smoothly. Our range includes top quality coffee beans, syrups, cups, accessories – and sugar! To find out more, visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Commercial coffee machines from the future

Posted on by Sara Walker

commercial-coffee-machinesAt some point in the future, you could see the commercial coffee machines in your office get an upgrade.

Forget waiting around in queues for your morning coffee because the future could bring us Wi-Fi tablet controlled, commercial coffee machines.

Although Wi-Fi coffee machines aren’t currently available on the market, Qualcomm did present one at the 2013 Mobile World Congress. Could this be a taster of what’s to come?

The design basically functions as a regular coffee machine apart from the fact that it’s powered with one of Qualcomm’s Atheros 4100 chips.

If the coffee machine existed, users would be able to order their coffee using a simple hand held tablet. So, rather than physically pressing buttons on a large machine, you’d be able to have so much more control over how your coffee is made.

Using the tablet, you’d be able to choose your preferred coffee beans as well as the strength, size and brewing time. Then once your drink is ready, your tablet will inform you – presumably with some sort of alarm system – when your drink is ready.

At present, there are no plans to manufacture commercial coffee machines with Wi-Fi; however, it certainly sounds like it might take off at some point.

It does make me wonder though – what happens if someone orders their coffee and then forgets to pick it up from the machine or other priorities somehow prevent you from collecting your cup?

Will the machine get confused and overloaded like a factory production line working on the highest speed? I’m sure this has already been thought of though.

So, what does the future hold for all our electrical appliances? If commercial coffee machines can have Wi-Fi, what about other vending machines or our everyday household items?

Will we become a nation of super lazy people or could this be the beginning of a brand new technological revolution with products designed to make us as efficient and productive as we possibly can be?

 Image: Coffee Beans to cup coffee machine

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

Would you drink coffee from an elephant’s bum?

Posted on by Sara Walker

We love a good bargain in the UK which is why at the Wholesale Coffee Company, the products we supply such as commercial coffee machines, and coffee bean supplies are excellently priced without the quality being compromised.

But, not everyone loves a bargain. There’s a coffee shop in Melbourne selling coffee for $25 a cup. The Geisha coffee, also nick-named the ‘God shot’ takes four minutes to make and the brewing process involves bunsen burners  and is said to look a bit like a school science project. The result is a coffee that tastes rather like tea with a jasmine and strawberry aroma – intriguing.

Moving things up a notch to the Maldives – home to the world’s most expensive coffee beans – is the elephant dung coffee, going for about $50 a cup. It sounds like something from Brass Eye, but coffee from an elephant’s bum can be found on the menu at Antara Resorts in the Maldives and Antantara’s Golden Triangle property in Thailand.

The coffee beans, called ‘Black Ivory’ are being sold for a massive $1,100 per kilo, the equivalent of £693.11 – all because they’ve passed through the bum of an elephant. But it’s not just about the gimmick.

Coffee beans that have been naturally refined by elephants are less bitter because during the digestion period, the elephant enzymes break the coffee protein down as it’s the protein in coffee beans that’s responsible for the bitter taste. The outcome is a coffee with a chocolate, floral, nutty aroma with traces of red berry and spice.

It doesn’t end with elephants though – there are other similarly if not more bizarre and fascinating coffee bean creations out there such as civet coffee which is made from the poo of civet cats, coffee beans made from deer dung and finally, there’s even a special breed of bat that can harvest coffee.

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.

What is the fastest bean to cup commercial coffee machine?

Posted on by Sara Walker

What is the fastest bean to cup commercial coffee machine?

If you are looking for a high output fast dispense coffee machine the La Costa bean to cup is the answer. A fully automated double cup dispense bean to cup coffee machine with the ability to serve both crockery and takeaway drinks.

La Costa | Commercial Bean to Cup Coffee Machine