Continue reading »]]> If there was a simple answer you would never get a bad cappuccino, latte or espresso.. anywhere…. sadly this is not the case. It is easy to make a poor coffee from a good bean as many  factors impact on the in-cup quality.

Here are three key points to start with. However other factors can greatly influence the the end product!

1.Freshly roasted & ground beans – Once exposed to air the roasted beans begin to oxidise (which is why all our coffee is packed in foil bags with a one way valve allowing the coffee to “breathe” whilst keeping it fresh). This oxidisation speeds up dramatically when the coffee is ground with ground coffee becoming stale within hours.

2.Setting the ground coffee coarseness to the machine in order to maximise the extraction – We would typically look to pour a single espresso shot in around 20-23 seconds. This can be dramatically affected by the setting of your grinder ( the best analogy I can think of is if you pour water into a bucket of pebbles the water easily finds its way to the bottom of the bucket – if you pour water into a bucket of sand the water is held within the sand). To optimise your grind setting you need a happy medium which allows for optimum extraction. <click here for a guide to grinder setting>

3.Temperature & pressure – Both these points are only adjustable though settings on your espresso machine and are likely to require a visit from your local technician.

Pressure: This is typically set within the machine. The optimal range to correctly  extract the best taste from your beans is 8-10 bar. This should be displayed on the machine gauge whilst the pump is running (coffee is pouring from the group).

Temperature: Again this is adjustable within your machine. Older machines typically rely upon a heat exchanger to heat the group and therefore determine the pouring temperature with the boiler pressure switch, However the latest generation of traditional espresso machines have temperature control devices within the group to closely regulate the in-cup temperature. Ideally you would look to avoid temperatures exceeding 90 Celsius in order not to scorch the coffee during extraction and spoil the taste.

Continue reading »]]> Introducing the Bianchi espresso coffee machine “Sara”. A great compact traditional espresso coffee machine. Benefiting from a small footprint the machine is ideally suited to any location looking to add quality espresso based coffee drinks to their menu. (ideal for bar/small tea, coffee or sandwich shop). Running from a 13amp socket it only requires water connection & waste drain to be up and running in minutes….. <click here for details>

Continue reading »]]> We offer Jura machine service & repair on a “return to base” system:-

Step 1 – Contact us & arrange shipping of your unit with fault description.

Step 2 – Machine arrives at our workshop and is inspected (any additional parts or work will be notified before work is undertaken). Serviced then tested.

Step 3 – Payment and equipment returned to your specified shipping address.

Continue reading »]]> Our range of Natural infusions and green tea is perfect to expand your hot drinks menu, adding a refreshing summer twist with infusions such as Lemongrass & Ginger , Red berry flower,  Green tea & peach along side traditional black tea and green tea blends <Click here> for full tea range available in our shop.

If we get some more long hot days why not try turning your favourite tea into and sweet iced tea – Ice tea recipe links:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/53528/real-iced-tea.html

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/IceTeaAndra.htm

Enjoy your refreshing infusion this summer!

Continue reading »]]> Dancing goat coffee blends are establishing a growing reputation both locally and nationally offering our customers freshly roasted coffee with a unique and eye catching brand. To see why dancing goat <click here>

Our commitment to service has seen our customer base consistently grow both on-line and locally and has generated the need to keep expanding our product range. Our range now includes:

Monin syrups & sauces <Click here> for details

Imporient teas & infusions <Click here> for details

Dancing goat wholebean freshly roasted coffees <Click here> for details

Continue reading »]]> The biggest growth area in the Tea market over the last few years has been in the “speciality” tea’s (although not always containing tea!). Sales of caffeine-free herbal and fruit teas have risen by up to 50%. together with this change in taste has come a change in presentation with many serving tea loose in a cafetiere and presenting natural infusions in a tall glass highlighting the infusion as it takes place in front of the customers eyes – gone are the days of the cracked tea pot with no handle!

See the Imporient range of natural infusions & black tea in our webshop.

Peach & green tea infusion

Continue reading »]]> Everyone likes their coffee (non more than us!) it is unprecedented to see this climb in the market – driven by speculators or demand, it is hard to say. What I can guarentee is the quality of our coffee, that won’t change as we are committed to offering a consistent blend quality to customers  to keep them coming back for more. (in these harder times you find some roasters cutting in lower quality /cost beans to keep their margin over your quality in cup)

quote from http://artobuono.com

“coffee prices surge to a 34-year high last, climbing over $3 a pound before meeting resistance. As a socially acceptable addiction, the caffeine from coffee and resultant energy boost due to its consumption has become a societal norm in the business world among most countries. There will be variations between nations which prefer tea over coffee, but those which down that glass of hot java each morning have no doubt felt the pinch these past several weeks.

Coffee prices behave in interesting ways. Whereas many commodities will respond to price jumps with shifts in demand and consumption, coffee behaves more like a narcotic. No matter how high prices go, consumers are still willing to dish out the cash to get their next fix.

Recent consumer reports have noted that the price for coffee at most cafés in Europe and the United States have been raised by $0.10 to $0.30 per cup. The size of each price hike was not just associated with coffee, however. Rising sugar prices have also been passed on to consumers since sugar packets are often given as complimentary to coffee purchasers.

Look at your online trading platform, today’s price for one pound of coffee is $2.75 (coffee prices are reported in US cents/lb.). Now, sugar prices have fallen significantly since touching their recent high of $0.35 a pound, so the relative price of sugar may have less impact than it did three months ago. Nevertheless, rising prices among these basic food-stuffs has caused many morning commuters to dole out additional funds for that energy-granting cup of coffee.”