Tag: commercial coffee supplies

Coffee helped 11-year-old boy recover from rare condition

Posted on by Sara Walker

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we do love a positive coffee story – and this tale from Paris takes some beating. In a recently published case study, researchers have released the details of an 11-year-old boy in Paris, diagnosed with a rare condition called ADCY5-related dyskinesia, which is an abnormality or impairment of voluntary movement and causes the sufferer to have severe shakes similar to those caused by Parkinson’s disease.

Scientists at the university hospital Hopitaux de Paris tried the unusual step of asking the young patient to drink coffee, as caffeine is a muscle relaxant and also helps boost an enzyme that helps muscles to contract. The results were extraordinary. One standard 60ml shot of espresso, which contains around 100mg of caffeine, stopped the shakes for around seven hours. Adding another cup and a half gave the youngster almost a whole day of relief from his condition. The child had been suffering with the condition since he was three, and by the time he was 11 was having up to 30 episodes a day which were having a severe effect on his everyday life.
During the trial, the boy’s parents accidentally gave him decaffeinated coffee and only realised with the alarming symptoms returned, as badly as before. Once they realised, they switched back to ‘full fat’ coffee and the symptoms were once more alleviated. The authors of the report said that the accident went to support the theory that caffeine was responsible for the improvement. They went on to say that caffeine ‘should be considered in all patients with ADCY5-related dyskinesia’.

We do like a positive story about the health benefits of coffee, which is a great mood booster and pick me up. If you’d like to discuss what we can do for your commercial coffee business, café, restaurant or office, then do give us a call on 0800 0121226 or browse our range of coffee supplies online.

Paid coffee breaks under threat in Spain

Posted on by Sara Walker

We like to keep our eye on coffee news worldwide, and, this story reached us from Spain. Many Spanish employees have a late-morning ritual of leaving the office and meeting colleagues for a cup of coffee and a cigarette. Although they’re not paid for this break specifically, employees have been able to take advantage of up to two hours of paid breaks a day, whatever they want to use it for.

Now, a new law has been introduced that ironically aimed to protect working hours. The Socialist government now requires employers to clock their staff in and out in an effort to prevent them trying to make employees work unpaid overtime. An unintended consequence for the workers, though, is that now employers have the option not to count coffee breaks, smoking breaks or other downtime as part of the paid working day, as has been the case so far.

Spaniards are believed to work around a staggering 2.6 million hours of unpaid overtime a week, so the new legislation would offer them better protection. Unions have on the whole welcomed the new move, but are believed to be looking at options for monitoring how much time at work is actually spent working. The government have suggested trying to differentiate between time spent working and time on breaks which should be unpaid. It’s worth mentioning that the breaks in question are not statuary legal breaks but voluntary breaks for meals or a quick coffee. The new proposal may see workers required to clock in and out whenever they leave their desks, so that they don’t exceed a total break time.

While it’s important for productivity that employees don’t regularly exceed their break times, spending a few minutes stretching your legs and grabbing a coffee can help re-focus the mind and boosting performance. From our point of view, the ideal solution would seem to be installing a coffee machine in the office!

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’ve got all your commercial coffee supplies covered. Visit our main website to browse our selection of coffee beans and accessories for your coffee business.

Why it’s so hard to give up sugar in your coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

If you’re thinking of getting fitter for summer, one of the lifestyle changes you may have considered is giving up sugar in your coffee. It’s one of those things that sounds simple but is surprisingly difficult in practice – in fact, people who successfully manage to cut down sugar in other areas, such as eating cakes and biscuits, find they still can’t give up sugar in coffee. Now, research has shown just why this is.

The study, carried out at the University of York, has discovered that the sugar isn’t just addictive in its own right, it also changes the basic chemistry of the coffee to improve the taste. The research studied how the molecules of water, caffeine and sugar interact together to affect the final taste of the drink.

Coffee (and to a lesser extent, tea) contains caffeine, which can cause it to have a bitter taste, especially if over brewed or inexpertly prepared. When you add sugar, the molecules of caffeine group together reducing their overall surface area. In turn, this means they cause less reaction on the taste buds and reduces the impression of a bitterness.

The author of the study, Dr Shimizu, said: “It’s a bit like if you were asked to look for two one penny coins and they were both stuck together – they can be mistaken for just one.” He went on to say that the findings revealed just how complex the interaction of foods can be, and how science was helping us to understand it.

If you’re serious about trying to cut down on sugar, then the best ‘tried and tested’ method seems to be reducing the amount you take over about a week to give your taste buds a chance to adapt. In the meantime, stock up on everything coffee-related at our main website over at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk, where we’ve everything from beans…yes, to sugar!

Drinking coffee could help protect against breast cancer, new study suggests

Posted on by Sara Walker

Researchers from two Spanish universities have found evidence that eating more phenolic acids in your diet can help protect against post-menopausal breast cancer.

Scientists have found evidence of a protective effect from a diet full of phenolic acids on the risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. Phenolic acids are plant compounds found in a variety of plant-based foods, usually in the leaves of vegetables and the skins and seeds of fruit. The study found that the phenolic acid with the strongest effect was chlorogenic acid, which is mostly found in coffee, especially green coffee beans, and some other fruit and vegetables. It shares some health benefits with caffeine, but is less potent.

The study looked at the link between phenolic acids and the incidence of breast cancer in over 11,000 women. All the participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire to confirm how often they ate 136 particular types of food. Researchers followed them over a period of around 12 years, and found that just over 100 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. Scientists worked out how much phenolic acid each woman had in their diet by matching up the incidence of consumption of each food type with a database containing the amount of phenolic acid each food contained.
Depending on the results of the food matching, researchers put the participants into groups.

Researchers split women into three groups according to their intake of specific phenolic acids. Those who consumed the most hydroxycinnamic acid in their diets had a 62 per cent reduction in their risk of getting breast cancer, compared to those who consumed the least.

Those who included the most chlorogenic acids in their diet saw their risk reduce to 65 per cent less than the group who consumed the least.
The study concluded that eating more phenolic acids, particularly chlorogenic acids found in coffee, fruit and vegetables, was associated with a decreased risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. Researchers concluded that the high levels of phenolic acids may possibly work to reduce fat tissue inflammation or resistance to insulin, both of which could make women more susceptible to breast cancer.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re coffee experts. Over at our online shop you’ll find everything you need for your coffee business, including coffee beans, coffee machines and a range accessories for your restaurant, café, office or retail space.

Like sugar in your coffee? It might be in your genes.

Posted on by Sara Walker

New research carried out at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago has revealed that your preference for taking sugar in your coffee and sweetening other drinks could be genetic. Since 2007, scientists have known that a certain variant of the mysterious ‘FTO gene’ is linked to an increased tendency to obesity. People who have a different variant of the gene are at a lower risk of the disease. This same ‘lower risk’ variant also seems to be linked to a preference for sweetened drinks, which scientists agree is counter intuitive.

Lead researcher Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the university believes that the gene variant could be linked to behaviour which is why carriers were less likely to put on weight despite their sweet tooth.

In general, though, the study found that with the one exception of the FTO gene variant, our preferences for whether we like drinks sweetened or not are more to do with association and feeling rather than taste. Psychologically, you could be craving the increased alertness of a caffeine buzz rather than the taste itself. The study also showed that there’s a large ‘reward’ component to what we choose to drink. For example, if we’ve had a really nasty journey to work, we might choose to ‘reward’ ourselves with an extra cup of coffee.

The results of the study were published recently in a scientific journal, and included data from around 336,000 people who’d been asked to record their drink intake. The study classed ‘bitter’ drinks as coffee, tea, beer, red wine and grapefruit juice, and ‘sweet’ as other fruit juices and soft drinks.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company we’re coffee experts, and we’ve got everything in stock to keep your coffee business running smoothly. Our range includes top quality coffee beans, syrups, cups, accessories – and sugar! To find out more, visit www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

UK now drinks 95 million cups of coffee a day

Posted on by Sara Walker

Have you had your first cup of coffee yet this morning? Well, you’re not alone. It seems that from being the clichéd nation of tea drinkers we once were, the UK is now officially a nation of coffee drinkers. Research carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research revealed that our national coffee consumption has increased by a staggering 25 million cups over the last decade or so. In 2008, we drank 70 million cups of coffee a day. As of 2018, that figure had risen to 95 million cups a day.

The study surveyed 2,000 adults in the UK. Around a third of the participants didn’t drink any coffee, which the top six percent drank at least six cups a day. The average was around two cups a day.

People were also asked about their coffee drinking habits, with around two thirds of us preferring to enjoy our coffee at home, a quarter at work and the remainder while out and about at coffee shops or restaurants. Consumption was unevenly split over the age range, with those under 20 drinking the least at an average of half a cup a day. Those aged 20 to 37 drank 1.3 cups, and those aged 38 to 52 around 2 cups a day. Those aged over 53 were the heaviest consumers, drinking around 2.2 cups a day.

As well as an increase in pure volume, it seems that the last decade has seen us evolve into a nation of coffee connoisseurs, knowledgeable about roasting methods and blends.

As coffee is so popular, it’s reassuring to know that it’s also one of the best-researched foods in the world with millions invested in research. Studies to discover the effect on a wide range of health concerns are carried out all over the world, and current evidence suggests that coffee can support a healthy balanced lifestyle when drunk in moderation (around three to five cups a day).

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we can supply everything you need for your office, workplace or commercial coffee business including coffee beans and accessories. Take a look at our main website to browse our range.

Is coffee flour the next big thing?

Posted on by Sara Walker

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re always looking for ways of reducing waste and being kinder to the environment. That’s why we were interested to hear about a new company in the US, set up to use waste from the coffee industry.

A former employee of a well-known coffee chain, Dan Belliveau was concerned about the billions of pounds of used coffee cherries left after the coffee beans themselves have been removed. While there are various initiatives st up to re-use the pulp, such as using it as fertiliser, most of it is discarded as waste. After some research, Dan eventually came up with the idea of ‘coffee flour’. It’s gluten free, contains only a very small amount of residual caffeine and behaves like cocoa powder when used for baking. The idea has received backing from coffee industries, and Dan has worked with leading chefs to come up with recipe ideas.

One of the problems with making coffee flour commercially available is that of collecting the used cherries from various diverse sources. Dan has decided on drying the wet, used cherries at the mills where they’re processed to make them easier to transport, and hopes to make use of the existing coffee supply chain.

The coffee flour, which apparently tastes ‘fruity’ rather than of coffee, contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including iron and potassium as well as fibre and protein and is said to give baked goods a ‘rich and earthy’ flavour. So far, the product is mostly being sold to commercial bakers and restaurants, with a limited number of retailers selling directly to the public.

Dan hopes that eventually coffee flour will become a mainstream ingredient, helping to reduce waste and provide a valuable protein and food source.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’ve got everything you need to make your commercial coffee business a success. To browse our range, take a look at our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

Coffee fads: anyone for hot buttered coffee?

Posted on by Sara Walker

The ingredients of the perfect breakfast have always been hot coffee, toast, butter and marmalade. Now, though, we’re being encouraged to start combining some of those ingredients in slightly odd ways. The French like to dip their thickly-buttered toast into their milky coffee first thing in the morning – but here’s a trend that cuts out the middle man (or the toast). That’s right – adding butter to your coffee instead of milk.

At first glance, it seems very peculiar. It’s become normal, though, to add cream to coffee in certain speciality drinks, and butter’s certainly in the same category. Why would you want to do it, though? Well, in Tibet they’ve been doing it for centuries, using yak butter. Butter is nutrient-dense and rich in several vitamins including A, E and K2, and the result is a nutritious drink.

The main problem is that butter is very high in fat and doesn’t dissolve easily in hot liquids, so if you want to get the full experience you’ll have to use a blender. Add a cup of hot black coffee and one or two teaspoons of unsalted butter to a blender and pulse until the liquid is creamy and frothy looking. According to butter coffee aficionados, the trick is to use a very high quality premium coffee blend for the best taste.

We have to say we’re not totally convinced – but then someone had to be the first to think of putting milk in coffee! In some cultures, that’s just as odd as adding butter. So next time you’re sitting down to your toast and marmalade, why not give it a try – but maybe make enough coffee for two cups just in case.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company we’ve got everything you need for your commercial coffee business, including coffee beans, coffee accessories and coffee supplies, all at great wholesale prices. To browse our full range, take a look at our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.

 

 

 

Coffee fads: coffee you can see through

Posted on by Sara Walker
Image: Pixabay

Every time we think we’ve really heard it all in the world of coffee, something else comes along to prove us wrong. A Slovakian inventor and heavy coffee drinker, David Nagy, was so concerned with coffee potentially staining his teeth that he came up with a brand new invention – clear coffee, which he claims uses a unique brewing process. The inventor spent several months developing the product, now marketed as ClearCoffee (Clrcff), and launched a Crowdfunding initiative to help him bring it to market.   Rather than a traditional cup of coffee, the finished commercial product looks more like a soft drink, as it’s sold in a bottle and designed to be drunk cold.

Mr. Nagy said that his inspiration was to ‘Create a product that would grab everyone’s attention,’ and came up with the idea while he was living and working in the UK and saw how important coffee was to UK culture. A standard 200ml serving of the drink apparently contains as much caffeine as a cappuccino (usually around 12.83 mgs per 100 ml), and has no sweeteners or artificial additives. Although the exact brewing process is a closely guarded secret, we’d guess that it possibly washes the caffeine from the beans in a similar way to decaffeination as ‘natural’ caffeine is then added back into the drink.

According to Mr. Nagy, the product has a unique taste and aroma and there are no chemicals used in the brewing process. The result is a drink which is low in calories and contains nothing but Arabica coffee beans, natural caffeine and water.

It’s certainly true that coffee in large quantities can stain your teeth, as tooth enamel has microscopic areas of roughness that can harbour tiny particles of food and drink. Alternating coffee with drinking a glass of water can help to prevent these particles from remaining on your teeth long enough to stain, as can regular brushing and dental care.

Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we’re got everything you need to make your commercial coffee business a success. Choose from our wide range of coffee beans, supplies and accessories, all available at great wholesale prices.

 

Perfect partners: how to pair coffee with other foods

Posted on by Sara Walker
Coffee is surprisingly versatile as a drink. Photo credit: Pixabay

Coffee and cake, anyone? Coffee and full English breakfast? As well as these traditional partners, coffee goes surprisingly well with a wide range of other foods, and taste-savvy consumers are pairing it just like wine. We find out how it’s done.

What to look for in your coffee

The trick to getting the right food/coffee pairing is to understand the subtleties of the coffee flavour. Coffee can vary in acidity, which affects the taste, ranging from smooth and rich to bright and crisp. Broadly speaking, if you can identify certain taste notes in your coffee (chocolate, red fruit, citrus) then that particular blend should pair well with that same food. Avoid food that’s too over powering, such as anything too garlicky or spicy.

Each country tends to specialise in producing a different coffee blend, as the flavour is affected so much by soil types, climate and growing conditions. Beans from South America tend to have smooth, chocolatey flavours, while those from Africa have lighter, more floral tones.

Before you can decide, you may have to teach yourself ‘coffee tasting’, in a similar way to wine tasting. Breathe in the aroma first, without tasting – that will give you an idea of the acidity levels in what you’re about to drink. Next, draw a little of the coffee into your mouth and slosh it around. Wait for the flavours to develop – they could be sweet or sour, fruity or nutty. If you taste a range of different coffees and beans of different origins, you’ll soon develop the ability to differentiate between the flavours.

At the Wholesale Coffee Company, we specialise in supplying great quality beans and coffee accessories at wholesale prices. To take a look at our range, just visit our main website at www.wholesalecoffeecompany.co.uk.