What is your favourite coffee saying?!

The Fountain, Bedford - A Coffee shop with a difference

I want to tell you about a place I haven't ever actually visited (yet! It is on the agenda for this next month or so and I am soooo excited!!) but I want to share a little bit about what they do....

The Fountain is a cafe/coffee shop in Bedford that doubles up as a youth venue, they describe themselves as "A charity coffee shop and community venue for Bedford" and I've been following them for a while, being friendly with the wife of the director Chris.

In a world where we all need a little bit of help, this charity coffee shop is able to do just that, as well as serving (I'm told) awesome coffee, they are able to provide warm drinks when people can't afford them, a safe and welcoming environment for the young people of Bedford when there isn't a lot else for them to do and the team are there to lend an ear when things get tough.

Of course, they are a charity and are always looking for donations and there are various ways to do this listed on the link.  They set up a text donation process too, so if you are in the UK, and feel you can help them provide a warm drink for someone who needs a bit of help I know they would be incredibly grateful.

I can't wait to go along, and when I do I promise to come back and write a bit more about the coffee itself!

Mine is a Venti Skinny Latte if you are asking?!

World's Most Expensive Cuppa?!

This one has been doing the rounds for a while, but I really like it.
The world's most expensive cup of coffee!

At $47.50 (around £31.40 in GBP) that is around 15 of my usual Venti Skinny Lattes! And I'm not sure I could drink it... could you?

(from mashable)

The right mug!

Everyone has a favourite mug (or mugs).
In our house we have  a lot of mugs, too many really, for 2 people, and we've had to ask people to stop buying them for us.  Of the thousand (slight exaggeration!!) mugs we have, there are a few that get used on rotation, we have our favourite ones that we go back too time and time again.

They are also the mugs that we don't let other people use (unless we have too!!)

This is my current favourite mug...

It is massive! The picture doesn't really show the scale, but it is a huge mug and unavailable to buy anywhere, I actually won a set of 6 in a competition on the Pret facebook page. They don't even use them in store.

The problem with these mugs of course is there is only so much coffee a girl can drink, I usually top out at 3 of these!  It is a weighty mug too, a real hugger.

Do you have a favourite mug?

Instant Coffee choices

Kenco Really Rich 

So, I mentioned that I'm a fan of coffee, but I'm definitely not a snob.  I make do with instant coffee most days, for ease, and even though we drink skimmed milk here I do try not to drink too much milk all the time.

I'm fairly picky about the coffee we have at home, and Kenco Really Rich is often my go to coffee. It makes a nice strong coffee, without being bitter and the granules dissolve well (not always the case with cheaper coffees).  One issue I have with instant coffee is that it can smell a bit gravy-ish if its not nice coffee.  I've tried a few over the years, but discovered Kenco at uni and when some of the other coffees I like aren't on offer (more on those another time) it is one of my favourites.

According to mySupermarket the 100g jar of Kenco is currently retailing for somewhere between £2.50 and £3.50 in the different supermarkets. Which I don't think is unreasonable, and it is often on offer (where aren't there offers nowadays?).

Kenco also do eco refill packs, many of us transfer our coffee out of the glass jar it comes in, and I think these refill packs are a great way of saving a little bit of money (they are often cheaper) and helping the environment.  In fact, you can send your empty packages back to Kenco, who will get them recycled and donate a little bit of money to charity at the same time.

Kenco partner with The Rainforest Alliance and buy 100% of their beans from RA approved farms, which is good for the farmer, good for the environment and good for us.

Overall, as I say, a great all round coffee, rich in flavour and definitely not bitter.

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This was not a sponsored post, I have not been asked to write this post, nor compensated for it.  All views are my own.

A review : Kopi Coffee (Sponsored Post)

This is a blog I wrote over on my personal blog in 2012, but it fits perfectly here. I've updated it at the bottom with details of the current prices and some useful links...

As you may have guessed from my birthday present from Mr Dave, I am a bit of a coffee fan! I drink it multiple times every day and I like “proper” coffee, either in a cafetiere or my lovely coffee machine, I also have a drip coffee machine.

So when I was offered the chance to review Kopi Coffee I jumped at the chance!

Kopi offer a subscription based service, from their site:

Every month we’ll send you a different hand-picked gourmet coffee chosen by our Kopi experts from around the world.

They have 3 different subscription levels

1. Monthly – £9 gets you 250g of coffee delivered once a month and you can stop and start as you see fit
2. 6-monthly – £8 a month (£48 every 6 months) for 250g of coffee delivered for 6 months
3. Annual – £7 a month (£84 every 12 months) for 250g of coffee every month for a year

I got to try 100g of their January 2012 coffee:

Malawi Geisha AB Msese District

Which I have to say is out of this world! The coffee comes with a tasting notes document, so you can understand exactly what it is that you are drinking, where it is from and what you should be experiencing. I’m beginning to see that tasting coffee is a bit like tasting wine, but for me the best way I can describe this coffee is it is perfectly mellow, rich and delicious, no bitterness at all. It smells amazing and makes an awesome latte (yes, I realise this is a bit heathen!).

I really love the concept of the Kopi offering.  A monthly subscription is a really lovely idea, what a treat to get a new coffee to try once a month? But here comes the rub, I understand that Kopi pay their farmers a fair price and this is reflected in the cost, but for me, the amount of coffee I drink, even £7 for 250g is just a bit prohibitive.

I do however, think that it is something I would buy as a gift for someone else, for a special birthday, or possibly a wedding gift for a coffee loving couple – the cost as a treat to myself though is a bit beyond my means.

I’d like to thank Kopi coffee for allowing me a chance to review their coffee in exchange for this review. I was sent the sample free of charge.  The review is my genuine belief and I would not give a positive review unless I truly meant it.

 

Kopi have since changed their prices a little and they are now as follows:

- 1 month is £8.95

- 3 months is £25.35 (£8.45 a month)

- 6 months is £47.70 (£7.95 a month)

- 12 months is £83.40 (£6.95 a month)

If you fancy trying  out Kopi, and getting some cashback at the same time Quidco are offering £2 for a new 3 or 6 month subscription.