Why do we have numbers ranging in the supermarkets from 1 to 5? Some have dots increasing in a neat line or different shades of colour to identify what strength a bag of coffee is?
Surely strength is made up from the how much coffee is dissolved in the liquid? Take for example a nice gin and tonic. If you have a shot of gin in a pint of tonic it is going to be weak! Now lets take a shot of tonic and a pint of gin, strong eh! Every diluted beverage is the same whether it’s a cup of freshly brewed loose leaf tea. A refreshing orange squash or a pint of shandy. It’s all about the ratio to get the correct balance for the perfect drink.
Producing coffee (espresso or filter) does not allow all of the coffee bean to be dissolved into the liquid. In fact, only around 30% of the bean gets dissolved. Generally, this leaves wet soggy coffee grounds behind when the liquid is removed. Now within this 30% that is dissolved, only around 20% approximately is what we want to go into the cup. This is your caffeine strength.
It’s about the Brew
No matter how you brew the coffee. No matter how much liquid you use you can only ever get the same amount of extracted caffeine from the coffee beans. That’s just life and chemistry, no magic involved.
We can however control some of the other elements to get the best flavour. Water to coffee ratio as mentioned earlier with my G&T analogy. Use excellent quality water and filtered where possible. The time the grounds sit in the water. The correct water temperature and even down to the correct grind size for the chosen brew. Espresso, cafeteria, V60, chemed, or a pour over for example all should have different particle sizes. All these variables will have an impact on the extraction being either weak or strong.
Country of Origin
The wonderful taste coffee gives us is dependent on the country of origin. Processes used in the harvesting. Blending by the expert roasters and the physical process of the bean roasting. Flavour and aroma is brought out during roasting. Because of this, it is a rule that the darker the roast the more pronounced the bitterness will be. The darker the roast the least acidity in the final drink product.
So to summarise. A dark roast or a light roast has the same amount of caffeine extracted from the beans. So when our supermarkets are mentioning strength, I feel this mostly references the roast profile i.e. a mild, a medium or a dark roast. The coffee descriptors will give you what you see in the cup.
Growing areas
As a guide to growing areas, South America’s (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua) are said to have a clean and bright taste. Natural acidity, well-balanced and with a mild to medium body.
Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia make up much of coffee growing countries in South America. They offer a very mild-body. Whilst still being a light, clean cup, these coffees are also a bit creamier, often with a slight chocolaty after-taste.
Brazilian coffee varies in profile from spicy and rich to mild and fruity. Great for a filter coffee!
The Africans are more complex & bold. Generally a sweet, fruity and floral coffee taste. With the most popular roasts coming from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
Asia beans are more earthy, and with a fuller body.
Ultimately, it’s a personal choice. Just like having a shot of tonic in a pint of gin. Strength guides on supermarket packaging can in my opinion be a bit misleading.
As a father of 3 wonderful boys, what more could I possibly want for Fathers Day this year. Ideally the morning starts with cards and cuddles. Breakfast in bed, being able to dose off again for a few hours. Up for a freshly made lunch, more cuddles and presents or a new car, new clothes, new rugby boots, a couple of bottle of gin and bottle of whiskey. Lots of appreciation, a few more cuddles, off to the pub for a couple of pints then out for dinner. Preferably at my favourite place to enjoy the food and a couple of glasses of wine. Yeah right!
In realty it will be out of bed at silly o’clock as number 2 child cannot seem to sleep past 6am. Preparing breakfast, tidying up, dad’s cab to football / drama then collection from football / drama. Lunch, afternoon spent doing the household chores that not had time to do during the week. Dinner, tidy up, bath the boys, school bags packed and ready to do it all over again the following day.
What I really want is something I can call my own. Something that will last and give me enjoyment whilst the hectic-ness of life goes on around me. So if the good lady is reading this, these are my top 5 gifts for Father’s Day, nudge nudge!
Wish List
Number 5 – the Hario Hand Grinder. Small, portable, ideal for that instant grind and consistent. Essential kit when it comes to filter brewing on the move. Dead easy to use, store and maintain.
Number 4 – the Aeropress. What a cracking invention! Ideal for getting the caffeine fix anytime and a terrific way to try different coffee’s. Easy, no fuss, allows you to understand brewing and the variables i.e. time, pressure, grind size etc.
Number 3 – A Clever dripper. What’s so cleaver about this you say? Easy to use, no mess, cleverly has a release valve in the base that allows the brewed coffee to pour into your cup once ready. Simple, portable, makes a really clean cup of coffee. Did I mention no mess? It really is clever.
Number 2 – has to be a Chemex. Look stunning, all hand-blown glass, ideal for dinner parties. Durable, makes brewing coffee fun and sociable, allows you to brew to your taste.
Number 1 – a dads gift has got to be a syphon. How cool are these. Takes me back to chemistry lessons or watching breaking bad. A memorising and fun way to make a cup of coffee. Cold fresh water in the bottom, heat via the burner so the water rises and creates a vacuum. Ground coffee in the top chamber, allow brew time, remove the burner and watch as it magically returns to the lower chamber as brewed coffee. I was never any good at chemistry at school so in my mind this really is magic.
And practical
The common thing I have noted whilst dreaming of Father’s Day. All these brewing gadgets are small enough to store away, to travel with, to clean, make cracking coffee & inexpensive.
The kids don’t need to spend much so they win. They don’t take up much room, don’t need electricity, don’t make a mess or a noise. So the wife wins and if I still get a hug from the boys in the morning. I’m a winner whatever happens this Father’s Day.
There is something about having a nice tiny display. Either to be given a tin as a gift or selecting a tin when out buying a product. Tins feel right, ooze quality and seep of something gourmet. Even an empty tin has the potential to either tell a story of its past journey or awake the opportunity for something in the future.
Twisting that lid off to reveal the initial inner lid is a delight. This could be breaking the seal on a tube of Pringles. Plunging a knife into a Nutella jar to release the power of chocolate. Or what about that wonderful coffee aroma that hits you smack in the face as you lift the tin towards your nose. With a huge inhale allow the flavour and character to fill your head – boom!
The power of your senses
The smell of something can sometimes be better than how it tastes. Not in this case I can assure you, and it tastes as good as it smells. Especially as its one of your own coffees so we know how good it is.
Our wonderful and growing customers have been asking us to provide them with something they can offer to their customers. They want them to be able to enjoy the coffee experience at home.
Not being content with the usual packets, foils, pouches and zip-locks. In desperation I opted for a night cap as I pondered what would work for us and our customers. This pondering was in the form of Whisky and as I ransacked the drinks cupboard I came across a tin containing my inspiration. The tin was a bottle of Royal Lochnagar 12-year-old single malt whisky. After a couple of wee drams, a daft drawing of a screw lid and ring pull the Hessian tin was conceived. A dark tin with a screw down lid and an initial ring pull to allow the freshly roasted coffee to be at its best until opened. Then those wonderful flavours and aromas could be released.
Coffee tins
Having 5 popular coffee brands under our umbrella we selected just 2 to launch into tins initially for our customers and for the retail sector. Our Bourbon Select is 100% Arabica. Produced 1400m above sea level at the Monte Sion farm in El Salvador. Fully washed pure Bourbon varietal and harvested only for a brief period between December and February. The washed process allows natural sweetness and floral notes to develop. Once roasted gives wonderful complex flavour with notes of caramel, chocolate, almond citrus fruit. Not just all this, its Rainforest Alliance Certified and picked up Great Taste Award at the end of 2017.
To complement the Bourbon Select we have selected Espresso No 1. Once again, a 100% Arabica blend with equal components from Brazil, Honduras, and the African Congo. A fruit and nut taste with notes of citrus flavours. Not too bitter, not too acidic, smooth flavours and medium / medium dark body. Great for people just getting started on their relationship with coffee. Grown at altitude by small holdings, the addition of the Honduras blends the flavour and balances acidity for an all-round profile.
Both the brands are packaged in 250g Tins and available as either wholebean or as pre-ground for Cafetiere / filter use.
Delighted we were to offer these and chuffed they are on the shelves within Bishops Stortford Eat17 Spa’s as well as in coffee shops and cafés nationally.
So much information about tea out on the web and whilst brushing up on a bit of knowledge I became distracted on some of the fun, pub quiz, pop master type information. You never know when you will need to shout out loud that you know the year Iced Tea was invited or the origin of the little tea pot song a few of my favourites nuggets of information
Tea Bags invented over 100 years ago (1908) by an American Thomas Sullivan. He would place loose leaf teas in a silk bag to give to potential customers as samples. Instead of these bags being opened and used directly in tea pots the customers, accidently, would simply put the bag in the pot or cup and add the hot water. Tea has moved on a lot since then but happy say Novus tea continues to use silk for its pyramid teas.
Tasseography is the correct names for reading tea leaves. Not a common word so when those fortune tellers approach offering you your future destiny for a few pennies you can impress them with knowledge.
High Tea was introduced by Queen Victoria when the evening meal was followed by taking tea at a physically high table
Earl Grey was in fact the British Diplomat to China during the 19th Century who apparently never set foot in the country. Various tales and legends of heroic deeds, water hardness and gifts being presented for saving peasants lives are around, so I’m not entirely sure!! The scented oil Bergamot was apparently initially added to imitate some of the more expenses Chinese teas before importing.
Lemon curdles milk so you should never have these both in the cup. Plus, I presume tastes awful.
1877 – An Ice tea recipe was published in a House Keeping magazine.
Formal Tea Service included a “slop” bowl. This was used to discard water used to warm the pot. As we know warming the pot, using freshly boiled water, clean equipment and crockery is recommended for a perfect cuppa
The song “I’m a Little Teapot, Short and Stout” was written in 1939 by Clarence Kelley and George Harry Sanders. It was created to assist teaching children overcome a challenging tap dance routine as the rhythm gave the correct beats to move to.
It was only in 1717 that women could drink tea in coffee houses in England. These cafes were all men only and it was only when Twining’s opened the Golden Lion that welcomed women. Twining’s has the oldest original commercial logo in the UK.
The average person in the UK drinks 16 cups per week. 11 at home and 5 at work
As long as you maintain your leaf tea in ambient, air tight and dark it can last for up to 2 years. Naturally it will deteriorate over time, but as a rule the larger and tighter leaf ie Oolongs & Pearls, the longer they will last. Green and White teas tend to lose flavour quickest due to the natural oils within them, and black tea due to the process are the longest. Tea bags 6 – 12 months.
I’m parched, the sun is shining and fancy a nice refreshing Egyptian Mint to get back to the day job.
Tea is a huge part of our lives, for me personally the morning routine is pretty much the kettle on as soon as awake and before speaking to anyone, grab a largish cup, pop in a pyramid tea bag, fill the cup, allow the tea to infuse, remove the bag, add milk (yes milk last – however I’m open to debate on this?) and stir. In our house we have a couple of moments to enjoy it before getting on with the chaos of getting the kids sorted for school, feeding cats, making lunches, brushing teeth, putting shoes on and getting the bikes ready – which to be fair has become a fine art over the years, however I never generally manage to finish a cup of tea before 8 in the morning apart from recently on father’s day was I bought an English breakfast in bed !
Whilst similar in ways to the production of coffee, the variety of teas is close to 2,000 however generally broken down to 3 main categories, Black’s, Green and Whites and herbal infusions, some of which I love and others that are not my cup of tea so to speak. Blacks include Earl Grey’s, Darjeeling’s, Ceylon’s, Lapsong Souchong’s (always like saying this!!) and of course the nations favourite, English Breakfast. Greens and Whites such as Green, Matcha, Oolong’s and Jasmine’s are loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful effects on the body which are said to include improved brain function, fat loss, a lower risk of cancer and many other impressive benefits, then we have the Herbal Infusions such as Mints, Chamomile and Rooibos – caffeine free, full of natural ingredients, refreshing, healthy, tasty and colourful.
Not knowing too much about teas we partnered with Novus, a family ran business with blending, manufacturing and packaging all done in the UK and not a million miles from Hessian Towers, which makes a great working relationship. With so much passion and enthusiasm, Novus have won great taste awards year after year for 99% of the products and support us with training, education, customer visits as well as bespoke premium display solutions and tea ware accessories for hotels, restaurants and cafes.
My personal tea education has moved rapidly from the common tea bag where you dunk your bag in hot water for 17 seconds, stir it a bit, squeeze it a bit, look at the colour in the cup and add milk to suit, to recently ensuring freshly boiled filtered water, a clean cup, infused for 4 minutes until dark brown and a touch of milk. English Breakfast should be rich, full bodied yet delicate in flavour as well as capable of packing a punch. Novus only ever use the highest grade of whole leaf tea out of the 28 grades, classed as Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe or FTGFOP for short. The standard “17 second dunking tea bags” we have grown up use very small particles known as fanning’s or dust, very poor quality but unfortunately used by the market leaders. Novus also use the same high-quality leaf across its product range of pyramids, loose leaf and individually wrapped bedroom envelopes, I know other companies will us a lesser quality in the tea bags – not our friends at Novus.
The pyramids themselves are 100% Biodegradable as decomposes into carbon dioxide & water and resolves into the Earth faster than a newspaper does which is impressive!
Now then, having discovered decent English breakfast tea my taste buds were then blow away by some of the other teas and infusions Novus offers. Not experiencing anything other than the “17 second stir” growing up, tasting Persian Pomegranate literally blew my socks off! Apple, pomegranate, orange peel, blackberry leaves, liquorice, Hibiscus and Rose petals blended together in harmony this is simply stunning with the most amazing red colour. Infused for 4 – 5 minutes it gives a sweet, well rounded fruity caffeine free drink full of super fruits and antioxidants which can’t be bad for you! Superb served over ice as well.
My mornings will still be chaos I’m sure but need to make more of an effort to enjoy these wonderful teas and infusions. Tea is just not for Father’s Day!
