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Cappuccino or Latte?

Cappuccino or Latte?

by | Oct 9, 2018 | Coffee

The only difference is a sprinkle of sugary chocolate dust?

So, its Friday, yippee!   You decide to head in to town to pick up the random items not possible to get in the weekly shopping. While in town you decide to treat yourself to a large shot of hot caffeine, but which one?

  • Cappuccino is in theory ⅓ of espresso coffee, ⅓ milk and ⅓ froth, usually with some chocolate sprinkles or powder on top.
  • Lattes arrived later to our shores, at least I think they did and are milkier!

Back when I was working for peanuts, in hotels and restaurants, it was Cappuccino’s all the way.  Nobody outside Italy, knew what a Latte was! This normally involved splashing, steaming, screaming, hot milk about in a big, old milk caked jug and hoping that you would muster something resembling foam.  You then would spoon onto a cup of steaming black stuff made several hours earlier.

What is a Latte?

So, a Latte, often served in a tall glass, precariously on a saucer that doesn’t fit the base with a long spoon. What’s that all about? Also with a single or double espresso shot.  Depending on what you have ordered or the premises you have visited.  The milk should be silky smooth with a little foam on the top, which if lucky, your Barista (get me) may have created something artistic on top for you to gaze at.

The Cappuccino

So, to conclude! Cappuccino should taste a little stronger as there is less milk and more air, and probably less calories if you forgo the chocolate on top.  Latte is a milky coffee, it will be a longer drink as there is more milk and less aeration.  You will possibly get a mixture of the two as the cafe are making lattes and cappuccinos at the same time. The only discernible difference will be that whoosh of hot chocolate on the top and the type of cup or glass that they have served it in.

After queueing for more than 5 mins, drooling over the lemon drizzle cake and chocolate tiffin tray bake. At the same time you are justifying why you should or shouldn’t treat yourself. Then reluctantly realising there is a very real chance that you are going to get a parking ticket. So you opt for a takeaway.  A takeaway then will leave you completely clueless what you have been served until it’s finished.  This is the time when you take the lid off to get the best bits of the ‘Capsulate’ chocolate foam entrails.  Don’t forget this  requires you sticking in your middle finger around the edges of the cup to rescue the good bits.  In the process you get it all over your hand and down your chin in the process, or is that only me?

Roll on wine o’clock when there are no such complicated decisions to be made.

How our coffee is roasted

How our coffee is roasted

by | Oct 9, 2018 | Coffee, Great Taste Award

How is your coffee roasted?  This is often a question asked either by customers, prospective customers, or competitors.  I would like to say it is lovingly roasted by 2 guys in a shed with tattoos, handlebar moustaches, skinny jeans, no socks with impeccable sensory awareness.  Men with pallets as smooth as silk and hand packed by ninja’s!  But this is not the case and nor is this the case for the majority of coffee roasted in the UK.

Most coffee we drink in the UK has been commercially roasted and packaged (still lovingly) in a factory somewhere.  At Hessian Coffee we are extremely proud of the fact we use a commercial roaster and don’t feel the need to pretend we are something other.

The roasting process

The roasting process is something that needs your undivided attention.  Attention that is required throughout the entire process to ensure this perfect consistency. I am a big believer in letting those that know what they are doing get on with it.

So it begins with the green coffee beans (the coffee plant seed) arriving in large Hessian coffee sacks.  They come from whichever part of the world it is grown (always between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn). As seeds, the green coffee will not deteriorate and it is the process of roasting that unlocks the flavour and aroma from the cells.  This gives us coffee beans as we know them. Before these little green beans can enter the oven, they are always quality checked for defects or any foreign bodies that may have entered the sacks during harvest or transportation.  Next, small batch samples are roasted and cupped to ensure they meet our quality requirement.

Coffee roasting takes time

Roasting takes around 15 minutes at temperatures of between 200 – 230 degrees C.  During this time the beans will expand and “crack”.  This cracking is fundamental in the process as it allows the aroma and flavours to develop.  If the beans pass the point of no-return which is after a second crack the beans will be ruined. This is one of the reason we use an expert for their years of experience, quality controls and state of the art roasting technology.

Once roasted to our recipe they are cooled.  Cooling is critical as you don’t want to continue cooking the beans. Lighter roast coffees generally have more acidity and tend to be dry.  Whereas darker roasts develop oils on the surface and offer a bitter taste. Caffeine levels also decrease the darker the coffee is roasted.

It’s about the balance

Getting that balance correct 100% of the time is the key to our blends. One of which is a great taste award winner. Transported through tubes like something out of Willy Wonker and the Chocolate Factory our beans are whizzed to packaging.  Here they are cleverly weighed to ensure each branded kilo bag has a kilo of wonderful coffee in it. Next they get thermally sealed with a valve to ensure any additional de-gassing can take place.  Lastly they are lovingly hand packed in our bespoke boxes ready for shipping.

Our Coffee beans in either single origin, arabica blends or mixed blend, are roasted specifically for the Hessian Coffee brand. By using the finest grade green coffee every time and it is our policy to trade in an ethical, environmental and socially responsible manner.

It’s a real art and science to consistently deliver quality freshly roasted coffee.  So as mentioned we are delighted to leave it with the pro’s, allowing me and the other guys to get on with what they are good at!

Coffee Strength on Packaging

Coffee Strength on Packaging

by | Oct 9, 2018 | Coffee

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.

Fathers Day

Fathers Day

by | Oct 9, 2018 | Fathers Day

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.

Hessian’s new retail coffee tins

Hessian’s new retail coffee tins

by | Oct 8, 2018 | Coffee tins

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.