Coffee Farming in Northern Ireland?

plants-pot

Coffee is primarily grown in ‘The Bean Belt’, the colloquial term to the countries that lie between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. It is in this geographical area that the fruit thrives; the climate is the perfect mixture of warm and wet, and the terrain – think mountains, rolling hills, rich soils and plenty of forests and jungles – isn’t half bad either. Every single major coffee producing nation lies within the Bean Belt.

But all that could change in the near future if an experiment in Northern Ireland proves to be successful. A coffee company based in Lisburn has teamed up with David Patterson, a landscape gardener, to grow coffee plants in the country.

…continue reading Coffee Farming in Northern Ireland?

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Monday the 16th November 2015

Our Award-Winning Coffees

award-winning-coffee

We sell some truly brilliant coffees.

It’s a line that you’d expect to be trotted out. Everybody likes to proclaim that their product is the best around and in that sense, we’re no different. But when we say that we sell some really great-tasting coffees, we aren’t lying: We have the awards to prove it.

Lately, we’ve sent a small sample of our selection of coffee beans off to the judges at the Great Taste Awards.

Known as the ‘Oscars of the food world’, this annual competition brings together leading lights of the food and beverage world to see which products are the best available and, therefore, worthy of being awarded Gold Star status.

The coffees below have all been bestowed with at least a gold star in recent Great Taste Awards. So as we said, don’t just take our word on the quality of our coffee! …continue reading Our Award-Winning Coffees

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Tuesday the 10th November 2015

A Decaffeinated Coffee Shop: A Halloween Horror Story?

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At the end of last week the baristas of one temporary coffee shop in New York served their last espresso and closed the doors of the one-time gas station. The coffee shop had signalled the onset of the apocalypse; was the embodiment of hipsterism gone mad; was a modern day horror story for Halloween, and could force the ‘city that never sleeps’ to get some much needed shut eye.

Worse than that, it was run by a couple of “Canadian weirdos”.

…continue reading A Decaffeinated Coffee Shop: A Halloween Horror Story?

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Monday the 9th November 2015

Five Uses For Coffee Grounds

coffeeground

Don’t let your leftover coffee grind you down.

The United Kingdom creates some 500,000 tonnes of coffee waste per year according to reports. Unfortunately, the majority of those used grounds are put into the trash and make their way to landfill sites.

But we don’t need to throw these grinds away. Here are five different ways that you can put your grounds to good use, from the practical to the ingenious.

…continue reading Five Uses For Coffee Grounds

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Friday the 30th October 2015

Coffee Machine Servicing from Caffe Society

machine-und-handles

Looking after your commercial coffee machine is sound economy. There are, obviously, the general day-to-day cleaning routines which are to be carried out, but one of the soundest ways of keeping your machine ticking over and reducing maintenance bills is to schedule an annual service.

It goes without saying that coffee machines are expensive products, often packed with state of the art electronics and finely tuned plumbing systems that require care and as such, it is important to keep an eye on their performance.

…continue reading Coffee Machine Servicing from Caffe Society

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Monday the 19th October 2015

Create Seasonal Coffees with Sweetbird Syrups

autumn-header

What is it with autumn and certain flavours, specifically that of pumpkin spice and all things nice?

According to data from Twitter, the social media buzz surrounding pumpkins goes up numerous notches in August and runs right through autumn and the festive period before gradually dying down in the New Year.

Psychologically, we’re in a situation where we’re effectively pre-programmed for warm, comforting flavours too at this time of year. As Jonah Berger notes, “autumn has become a trigger for pumpkin, apple, cinnamon and other homely flavours. When the season comes around, [people] are immediately reminded of [them] and want to try it.”

And then after the leaves have turned red, fallen by the wayside and the snow sets in, our preferences shift to mulled spices and gingerbread: It’s a natural reaction and one that you should be attuned to if you want to maximise the profitability of your coffee shop or café during the busy festive period.

…continue reading Create Seasonal Coffees with Sweetbird Syrups

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Thursday the 15th October 2015

5 Essential Barista Accessories

5 Essential Barista Tools

Making a great cup of coffee requires a fair amount of knowledge and a bit of kit. But you shouldn’t just be relying on your espresso machine and grinder to do all the work; yes they might be the workhorses of your coffee shop (not to mention your staff, obviously!) but there are some other items of equipment that you’ll need to knock together some seriously cool coffees and make the somewhat tedious cleaning process that bit easier.

So without further ado, here’s a list of five of the best barista tools that will seriously take your coffee output to the next level.

…continue reading 5 Essential Barista Accessories

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Friday the 4th September 2015

Coffee World Records

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Countless records have been awarded and celebrated since the first edition of the Guinness Book of World was published sixty years ago today.

Entries range from the sublime to the ridiculous and everything in between. For example, did you know that Operation Chariot is down as the world’s largest naval raid in history and that Raymond Woodcock holds the world record for the highest bungee jump dive into water when he leapt from a height of 141.73 metres earlier this year.

People have even set records for having the stretchiest skin, travelling a mile on a space hopper in the quickest time possible, and who could grow the heaviest cabbage*.

…continue reading Coffee World Records

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Thursday the 27th August 2015

Introducing Swordfish Espresso Blend

fairey-swordfish

We’re really excited to announce that we’re bringing Swordfish production back to Sherburn in Elmet.

For a while now we’ve wanted to produce something that was a little different; something that would expand our current coffee portfolio; something that would straddle contemporary and traditional approaches to blending. We wanted to conjure up a fantastic, multipurpose espresso blend that had a modern kick; a blend that created great-tasting drinks, but also explored origin unlike anything else that we offered.

And so, after plenty of experimentation and becoming slightly accustomed to the continued sight of our roasting team running around the place like the bunch of mad scientists that they are, we’re happy to say that our Swordfish blend is ready to go out of the door.

…continue reading Introducing Swordfish Espresso Blend

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Wednesday the 19th August 2015

Coffee Granita – A Sicilian Treat

Coffee Granita

The granita is a true Sicilian treat; a fine dessert, or accompaniment, which is the ultimate summer pick-me-up for those long and lazy summer days which are so often spent between stints under sun and shade.

As Marcella Hazan, the esteemed Italian cookery writer, noted: “[The coffee granita] is one of the best ways to while away the time, watching life dawdle by…until the roof of your mouth [feels] like an ice cavern.”

Despite being closely connected to the Italian island, the granita is, much like Sicily’s architecture and aqueducts, Arab in both origin and inspiration.

…continue reading Coffee Granita – A Sicilian Treat

Last updated by Damien Wilde on Thursday the 13th August 2015