Buzzfeed - 19 perks of being a barista

I can waste hours on buzzfeed and have to say this is one of my favourite lists for a while:

19 Perks of being a barista

I love it when a barista can memorise my order! (#15)

In the summertime... Iced Coffee!

Iced Latte From Costa

I've never enjoyed iced coffee as much as I have this year. The summer snuck up on us here in the UK, and much as I'm still drinking hot coffee it doesn't always hit the spot in the same way.  I'm being careful to only drink the iced versions of my normal faves though. The fabulous icey frappucino drinks are a bit too calorific for me at the moment!

So, do you do iced?
I've tried the costa version, and the starbucks a few times too. In fact, if you hit starbucks on your way into work at the moment you can get a £2 tall iced drink with your receipt in the afternoon.

Treat Receipt promo from starbucks

This can save you a little bit, especially if you are a regular customer there.

So, my next plan is to attempt an iced latte at home! I'll let you know how I get on.

Pandora's Kitchen, another quaint Norwich coffee shop

I met a friend for coffee today, and in my ever ongoing quest for new places to try I thought I'd give Pandora's Kitchen on London Street a try. It was a gorgeous sunny day here in Norwich so the outside seating was lovely and a great place to catch up with my friend.

I think there may be seating upstairs, I didn't explore too far, and I know they do hire out their space too.

The Coffee
As ever, my weapon of choice was the skinny latte, which was £2.15, pretty reasonable I think. There was only one choice of size, probably equivalent to a medium in one of the chain stores, so good price in comparison.

I'll admit, for me the first taste was a bit strong, I needed to add a little bit of extra milk, but it was a nice flavour, not bitter at all. According to their website the coffee is roasted and packed in nearby Suffolk, I shall have to find out more!


Everything else
The service really was lovely, smiley staff with a warm greeting and they bought the drinks out with milk and sugar. The food looked lovely (sadly not diet friendly! so I didn't partake) and the quaint touches, like bunting and decor made me feel very welcome.

Overall, if I'm that end of the city again I will definitely pop in, maybe I'll have to ask for less shots in my coffee though!

Latte art with a twist!

This is truly special... I want my face on a latte!

Recipe - Gingerbread Syrup

As promised yesterday, here is my recipe for Gingerbread Syrup.
I say recipe, but honestly, it really isn't that difficult.  I originally found it on the money saving expert forums years ago.

• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Combine the water, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla in a small to medium saucepan. 
• Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. 
• When done, pour into a melt-proof container and let cool. It will thicken a bit more once cooled.

Best to keep in the fridge and pour a little into your regular coffee! Utterly delicious and I can't wait to make some more in the winter!

Flavoured Coffee - Right or Wrong?

I promised you a blog post about flavoured coffee, so here it is.

There are a couple of different ways to get flavoured coffee, firstly there is the addition of flavoured syrups. (I have a great recipe for Gingerbread Syrup which I'll share when I dig it out!) You can buy them from most coffee shops, or pay a little extra to have a shot in your coffee.

These syrups are available at www.thecoffeepod.co.uk and cost around £6-£8 a litre

Now, at christmas time I'm very partial to a gingerbread latte (hence the desire to find a recipe!) but generally I go for a straight up latte, the extra sugar that these syrups add is not conducive to dieting, and honestly the sugar free ones are not so nice!

However I recently tried the Douwe Egberts Vanilla instant coffee:

Delicate vanilla flavoured coffee - 2 calories a cup!

The flavour collective range also has a caramel flavour and a hazelnut one. I actually got sent a sample of the caramel (go to the Douwe Egbert's facebook page to request one) but I bought a jar of the vanilla and I have to admit I'm impressed.

The trademark jar is miniaturised down to 50g and when you open it you get a waft of vanilla fragrance, in fact I have to admit the smell is the most impressive thing about this coffee, it just smells fantastic and is perfect first thing in the morning.

Now bear in mind there is no added sugar in this coffee, so you aren't going to get the same sweetness you would if you added a shot of vanilla syrup, but there is a hint of mellowness that coffee sometimes lacks.

Something I really like though, as it cools this coffee actually still tastes good! In fact they suggest you can serve it over ice and make your own iced vanilla coffee, though in that case I'd add some sugar for a touch of sweetness.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this coffee. Of course it's only a little jar, they say 25 servings, but I've not been keeping track. And I'm afraid this is not an every coffee drink for me, I'd love too, but it is a little bit pricey for such a small jar, according to my supermarket the current prices (at 30/5/2013) are:

• Sainsburies has an offer and it is £1.99 a jar 
• Tesco has it at full price - £2.99 a jar
• Asda have it on offer at £2 a jar

I would definitely say it is worth keeping an eye out for an offer though - my next purchase will be the caramel!

Starbucks infographic created by ilovecoffee.jp

ilovecoffee.jp created this awesome infographic about starbucks

As you all know, I am a fan of starbucks, and I'm very jealous that Ryko over at ilovecoffee.jp got to go into the Seattle headquarters.

I'm not sure how much of this applies in the UK (especially about the gold card - I want! or the Clover coffee!) but I thought it was cool and you'd enjoy it.

Whittard wishlist.... (warning picture heavy!)

Today's blog is a little daydream through the Whittard of Chelsea website. I love this store and was very sad when the Norwich store closed down. It is by no means the only coffee store in the world, but one I like. This is not a sponsored post!

First up, a grinder to replace my broken one, this time with no pesky 'electric's:

Classic Coffee Grinder - £25

I've always liked these stove top espresso makers, and think this red one is adorable:

3-cup Red Stovetop Espresso Maker - £20

Keeping with the red theme, the classic way to make coffee at home is of course the cafetiere. I have an adorable 3 cup purple one that is going to grace my desk at my new job, but sticking with Whittards, this red one is cute:

3-cup Red Bistro Cafetiere - £12

I think that is enough equipment, let's look at what else they have to offer...

I'm a sucker for flavoured coffee (a whole blog post coming up on those soon) and this cute little gift set of flavoured syrups is lovely:

Flavoured Coffee Syrup Set - £10

And whilst we're looking at gifts, this set of 9 coffees of the world looks like a lovely way of trying some different coffees:

Coffees of the World gift set - £20 

Looking at the china (there is a lot of china!) I love these hand painted mugs in the Florence range, sticking with the red theme again (but available in blue, green and orange too, as well as stripes):

Florence Red Spot Mug - £6

Currently they are running a promotion, where if you spend £35 you can get a free set of raspberry stripe mugs (though the promotions change pretty regularly!)

Current Promotion

And don't forget if you are ordering online you can go through Quidco and get 8% cash back. If you aren't a member of Quidco yet I have a referral link here.

What would you put on your Whittard wish list?

35 Awesome mugs...

My current favourite website is Buzzfeed, I've managed to kill many an hour clicking through stories on it! But this one was quite perfect for a Sunday evening blog post: 35 Awesome mugs...

Bank Holiday Coffee

It is bank holiday monday and following a lovely weekend with my family I am chilling out with a cuppa, the back door open and the radio tuned to my favourite old lady station, Gold (I'm 30!).

Bank holiday coffee is big coffee, I've had a latte this morning in my big Pret mug and now on the instant (too lazy to make another latte!)

What does your bank holiday cuppa look like?

Cheers!

The Window Coffee, a special treat in Norwich

Today I had a rare chance to grab a quick coffee at The Window, a gorgeous, tiny coffee shop in Norwich.  Often described as "The world's smallest coffee shop" (I don't quite know if it is true, but it is tiny!) it really is a wonderful place to go.

Run by Hayley one of the nicest baristas in the world (that is true!) it is such a treat to go there and taste her beautiful coffee, there is even room to sit in, but my meeting today took place in the sun :)

This isn't a review, it is just a small post of joy! If you ever find yourself in Norwich and you love coffee then you should treat yourself to a visit with Hayley!

Some days I really feel like I could rule the world with enough coffee...

From here: http://jjumpjennifer.tumblr.com

....Some days I'm not sure there is ever going to be enough coffee!

Starbucks new reusable cup - Only £1

New reusable cup from Starbucks

I got an email from Starbucks last week explaining that they were launching a new reusable cup in time for UK Coffee Week which I talked about last week.  The new cups are only a pound and every time you use it they will give you 25p off your coffee.

For UK coffee week they will also donate 25p to Water charities as well.

Made of plastic instead of the usual cumbersome ceramic, it looks like a Grande paper cup.  It reminds me a little of the keep cup the original reusable cup, the same sort of plastic and weight.  I don't know if the cup is dishwasher safe (and I forgot to ask!) but it doesn't take a huge amount of effort to wash it up.

My big wonder (not worry) is whether I will actually bother to take it out with me in future.  I'd like to think I will, and I know that if I worked in the city I would definitely use it, I thought it was worth a punt anyway. It'll actually save me a little more than 25p a time, as my usual drink is a venti, which is more expensive!

I'll report back on whether I actually use it over the next few weeks, or if it'll just get used at home to make me feel like I'm getting my starbucks fix! Would you make use of a reusable cup?

UK Coffee Week

Next week is UK coffee week and coffee shops around the country are coming together to help raise money for Project Waterfall.

2012

Over 360,000 people participated in UK Coffee Week 2012 by donating 5p to the price of their coffee, hosting a fundraising event or participating in projects such as Coffee@Work. 

Get Involved

There are a whole host of ways to get involved, including adding as little as 5p onto the price of your coffee at participating stores.  All of these chains are involved, as well as local independents, check the list lower down that page for details.

If you work in an office you could even host a Coffee@work event to raise additional funds.

I only heard about this today, but hopefully we can all manage to do something, to help Project Waterfall through the product we love so much!

Strangers Coffee Shop, Norwich

Remember when I wrote about the local barista in the finals of the UK barista championships? Well, as I promised, I went back and visited the coffee shop, taking some notes whilst I was there.

The Coffee Shop
Strangers is a beautiful little cafe, in the heart of Norwich's lanes - kind of on the corner of Pottergate and Lower Goat lane.  I love this area of Norwich and twice now I've managed to snag the window seat to indulge in a little bit of people watching whilst enjoying my latte! The Lanes is full of little indie shops, charity shops and places to eat and drink with very few chain shops and Strangers fits right in.

With 5 tables inside the shop is small but perfectly formed and for warmer days there are some seats outside too. I love the atmosphere in the shop, the staff are friendly, the music is excellent (opinion I know!)

This is the counter - view from my seat by the window

The Coffee

My drink is a latte, usually with skimmed milk (if it is available) and as large as possible! The number of shots are advertised on the board and a large latte comes with 3 shots, costing £2.65.  3 shots is often a bit much for me, so I ask for just 2, and it is perfect.  The staff are happy to do it.

In the mornings, before 10am they offer a regular (assume medium size) latte/cappuccino for £1.50 and my large was only £2.  

According to their website they offer the best latte art in the city, and my beautiful coffee was not a disappointment: 

Pretty leaf in my latte

My coffee was served with a biscuit, those yummy lotus ones, all caramelly and lovely that go so nicely  with coffee so I was able to resist the amazing looking cakes (only just though!) though I did get takeaway sausage rolls and donuts for lunch.

The Verdict

Overall this is the kind of coffee shop that just makes me happy. The prices are reasonable, the atmosphere is welcoming and the coffee is out of this world. I didn't notice any kind of loyalty scheme (I'm a sucker for those!) but it doesn't matter! The coffee is enough to make me want to make it a regular haunt.  I can't wait to get back there!

Remember my friends at "The Fountain"?

Well, they have been featured in the local newspaper in Bedford.
There has been a lot of talk about suspended coffees around various social media sites recently, which is what The Fountain guys have been doing all along.  If you have spare cash, you can buy a coffee for someone less fortunate than yourself.

The general consensus is that it is a good idea, I certainly think so, and I'd love to see more places fully embrace the idea.

Here is a copy of the article:

Norwich Barista is a finalist in the UK Barista championships 2013!

I was very excited to read the news this week that a barista from one of the coffee shops in Norwich, Strangers in Pottergate has reached the final of the UK Barista championships to be held at the London Coffee festival on 27th April.

I've yet to try Strangers, I've walked past it a few times and it looks lovely, so I will give it a go and report back! I've also got a roving guest blogger who will be at the Coffee festival, so watch this space!!

Ground Coffee Review - Tesco Finest Costa Rican Fair Trade coffee

From the Tesco website, the bag

My coffee grinder has broken recently and whilst I am looking to replace it I've decided to buy pre ground coffee for the moment and this was the latest that I picked up.

The description reads: "Gentle and fruity with a slightly spiced chocolate after taste" and the strength rating is a 3, which is about right for me.  I believe the strength ratings are pretty universal to UK supermarkets too.

At my last job my colleagues and I used a cafetiere rather than make instant or get coffee from the horrible machine, or spend a fortune in the cafe downstairs. Whilst we did this we tried a whole range of different coffees, usually when they were on offer, but we often came back to the Costa Rican beans. There is something smooth and mellow about them, I'm not sure I can describe what it is.

This coffee promises gentle and fruity. I wouldn't say I got fruity specifically but gentle was about right.  This is a good all round coffee.  It makes a delicious latte, but you need to be careful in the percolator (if you don't like super strong coffee) and measure properly.  I put a bit too much in the machine and it was too strong.  3 scoops for 8 cup worth of water would be perfect.

Overall not a bad cup of coffee, and definitely going to go on the "we'll buy this again" list.  Costa Rican beans win again.

By the by, the packaging has changed since the tesco website was published, my picture is a bit fuzzy...

I think I like this packaging better!

Currently available in tesco for £3.28 for 227g.

Too True

Kopi special offer

The coffee that I reviewed early on in this blog, Kopi, currently have a special offer running - If you go to this link you can try a 3 month subscription for the price of 2 months. That is just £16.90 for 3 months of awesome coffee.

I might have to give it a go myself!

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.