Tag: next day coffee

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

What kind of coffee drink are you?

Posted on by Sara Walker

What kind of coffee drink are you?

Once it was just coffee; then in the 1600s, a French doctor added milk – the latte was born. Fast forward to today and there are now dozens of coffee based drinks to feast on – from the caramel latte (skinny or with soy) to the mocha in a clear glass. What kind of coffee drink are you?

Black Coffee – no milk – maybe a sugar or two – but never instant

If you’re partial to a freshly brewed black coffee made from your own good quality coffee beans, you probably have opinions, an intellectual outlook and sophisticated tastes. Your sense of humour is dry, you’ve got a quick wit and you hate trashy T.V. You’re not a snob – you just have good taste.

Espresso – or anything – as long as it’s strong

On the ball and moving it in the right direction is the best way to describe you. You’re an entrepreneur – a career focussed go-getter on a mission and nothing’s going to get in your way. It’s either this or the clock on your office wall has reached 3pm, you’re hung-over and you’re about to drift into a deep sleep on top of your mouse mat. If it’s the latter, you’ll take any coffee that’s to hand – from one of the coffee machines, instant… as long as it’s strong.

Mocha – served in a clear glass

You’re not a huge coffee lover, but you’ve been invited out for coffee with Sue from up the road and she loves coffee. So you order a mocha, but you’d actually prefer a hot chocolate but mocha seems like a good compromise and it looks nice served in a glass cup.

Instant Coffee – out of choice – not laziness

You’re straightforward, down to earth and practical. A coffee is a coffee and you can’t understand why there are now so many different types. You think that anyone ordering a cinnamon skinny/ soy latte, for example, is just trying to show off – you’re not impressed.

Syrup (Caramel, vanilla, toffee…) Latte – as long as it’s sweet

Add some complementary pick ‘n’ mix sweets to your order – in a bag or on the saucer and you’re happy for the rest of the day or at least the next couple of hours. You appreciate the little things, you’re a lover of surprises and you love life best when no two days are the same.

And there we have it – a small descriptive selection of some popular coffee drinks and the kinds of people who drink them. If you have some suggestions for the list, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.

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

Beans, seeds, cherries or berries – just what are coffee beans?

Posted on by Sara Walker

When is a bean not a bean? When it’s a coffee bean.

Confusingly, coffee beans aren’t really beans at all. They’re called ‘beans’ because of their physical appearance, but they’re actually the seed of small fruit called coffee berries or cherries, which grow on evergreen trees in tropical climates.

According to the World Coffee Organisation,around 70 countries worldwide have the right climate to produce coffee, with Brazil topping the chart as the world’s largest producer and exporter. As each country produces coffee with different characteristics, the taste can vary from fruity to acidic to rich depending on the country of origin.

The two types of coffee normally found in the supermarket are Arabica and Robusta, with Arabica accounting for around 80% of the total. Arabica trees like high altitudes, and their beans are normally ground for fresh coffee as they have a rich, mellow flavour. Robusta, as the name suggests, is a much hardier plant capable of flourishing at lower altitudes. It fruits more prolifically than Arabica, and the resulting beans are often used in blends and freeze-dried instant coffee.

Once the berries have ripened from green to red, the bean inside is fully formed and the harvest is picked and dried. The husk of the berry is removed, and the bean removed. Most commercial coffee beans are then roasted to intensify the flavour, with the degree of roasting varying from light, medium, medium-dark or dark depending on the strength of flavour required. It’s also possible to buy non-roasted beans for home roasting. Coffee aficionados know that roasting the beans in small quantities as they’re required guarantees the freshest possible flavour – but most of us would find this a little extreme, and prefer to enjoy one of excellent varieties of commercially-roasted bean on the market.

Once roasted, the beans are normally either sold as wholesale coffee, to be ground in cafés and bars by commercial coffee machines, or ground for sale in small packs to consumers.