You Use Tap Water

What’s the main ingredient in your coffee? It’s not the beans—it’s the water.

If you’re using tap water, there’s a high chance it’s the culprit behind your drab morning cup. Tap water can be full of chemicals and minerals that throw off the delicate balance of flavors in your coffee.

The Fix

Invest in a water filter or use bottled water. You’ll taste the difference when you eliminate all the random extras hiding in your H2O.

You Buy Pre-Ground Beans

Convenience comes at a price, and in this case, it’s flavor. Pre-ground beans lose their freshness much faster than whole beans. Consequently, your coffee lacks that punchy aroma and vibrant taste.

The Fix

Grind your own coffee just before brewing. This might seem like a hassle, and there’s a whole debate around the pros and cons of grinding your own coffee. But for flavor’s sake, fresh grinding wins every time.

You Aren’t Measuring Properly

Winging it might work in some parts of life, but not in coffee-making. If your coffee-to-water ratio is off, expect a lackluster brew. Too much coffee can result in a bitter taste, while too little will make it watery and weak.

The Fix

A good starting point is 1 to 2 tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of water. Get yourself a good kitchen scale or a proper coffee scoop to make sure each brew is consistent and delicious.

Your Coffee Maker Is Letting You Down

A coffee maker’s job isn’t just to make the kitchen smell divine. If your machine isn’t brewing at the right temperature or takes too long, it affects flavor.

The optimal water temperature for brewing coffee is between 195°F and 205°F (90°C – 96°C). Many standard coffee makers fail here, brewing at too low a temperature and drawing out bitter, unwanted compounds.

The Fix

If the coffee you make at home is bland, consider upgrading to a machine that maintains the right temperature and completes a brew cycle in a reasonable time. You might have to splurge on an expensive piece of equipment, but it will be worthwhile.

Do any of these reasons sound like why the coffee you make at home is bland? If so, try out the solutions we provide and let us know if they work. Now go forth and make the perfect cup you deserve!

Whether you find yourself working in the office from hell or simply didn’t get enough sleep last night, coffee will always be one of the best pick-me-ups for your busy workday.

The post Reasons the Coffee You Make at Home Is Bland appeared first on Weekly Living.

This seems to be an ongoing question with ongoing studies. Is coffee good for you? In the past it wasn’t great to have too much coffee and we were supposed to stay away from it while pregnant but in the more recent years all the studies have pointed towards yes, maybe coffee is good for you and even yes, in a limited capacity, while you are pregnant it’s okay to have coffee. So what are researchers and doctors saying now? Read below for an update on the long time question, “Is coffee good for you?”

Now before we get started, let’s clarify what it is we are talking about. All the studies and guidelines have been related to black coffee only, no other forms of caffeine or flavored coffee are being considered here as this would dramatically change the variables for health risks related to coffee consumption. According to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee a small amount of black coffee on a daily basis is okay and has shown to have some health benefits! This committee is comprised of health experts on nutrition and other public health matters. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (aka DGAC) produces a report every five years with updates and/or changes to American dietary guidelines. This report allows consumers like you and me to know what kind of diet and exercise is good to promote overall health and prevent disease.

SO HOW MUCH COFFEE SHOULD YOU BE CONSUMING & HOW IS COFFEE GOOD FOR YOU?

The current standard for general health is that a moderate amount of coffee daily, about three to five cups (8 ounces) is okay. No long term health risks have been linked to this amount of black coffee in an individual’s diet. The experts of DGAC have set the cap at 400 mg of caffeine daily and strongly advise not to go over that. Again, that is a standard for black coffee.  Caffeine in the form of the now-popular energy drinks have not been tested and are currently not being regulated by the FDA so we don’t know what will come of long term consumption of energy drinks but experts advise adolescents to stay away from energy drinks.

Experts have also said that drinking black coffee while pregnant is okay as long as your doctor gives the go ahead first but they have set a limit of two 8 ounce cups per day, no more than 200 mg of caffeine daily.

The benefits? The most current report from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee shows that there is a reduced risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver cancer and Endometrium for healthy adults who drink a reasonable amount of black coffee.

Now, time to put on another pot & enjoy your cup of Joe! 😉

You can stay up-to-date with the DGAC recommendations here.

The post IS COFFEE GOOD FOR YOU – LATEST STUDY appeared first on Weekly Living.

Where to buy your coffee mugs

Some people simply purchase a new coffee mug from every place that they visit. Almost every village, town or city has an arrangement of coffee mugs available to purchase with their location stamped firmly on the outside. As you travel around the world, the purchase of a single coffee mug is not going to increase your overweight suitcase charges.

Others reach agreement with friends and family that wherever they are travelling to, they collect a coffee mug from each location. In return when you are passing through an airport, you will purchase an item that they can add to their collection.

You can get other items for your collection from everywhere else you visit as you travel the length and breadth of the country. Museums, castles and sports stores all have something to offer.

Some particularly rare coffee mugs can be collected after they have been made in small quantities for special occasions like school reunions, for a 5K run around your village for charity and for the day that your children’s primary school won their local cup final.

Investigating the variety of Internet auction websites can lead you to pleasant surprises as many people look to offload their coffee mugs, especially when they believe they have something special to offer. If you manage to find one of only a small number of coffee mugs Elvis Presley had made for his employees in the late 1960s, you might have to pay more than usual, but you may be able to turn it around as a sound investment in later years.

Using car boot sales

As with everything else for sale at a car boot, you might find coffee mugs on sale for just a few pence alongside others where people are asking exaggerated prices. If you become a moderate expert in coffee mugs and their prices after touring the Internet, you will soon learn which coffee mugs are a good purchase as an investment and which may form a great selection for your collection. Almost everyone would want a coffee mug made especially for the Queen’s Jubilee to mark the 60 years leading the Commonwealth, but finding an original coffee mug made especially for her ascension to the throne in 1952, would be a great accomplishment.

It’s all in the display

For every coffee mug collector that insists on using a different coffee mug for each coffee drink, every single day of the year, there are more people who simply wish to display their coffee mugs as a personal collection so they can share and discuss particular parts of the collection when friends visit to share a coffee.

An excellent collection of coffee mugs can be purchased quite quickly and without too much expense if you are selective in your judgement, but you’ll have to wait a while to beat Charles Hubbell’s collection of over 19,000 mugs. He only started collecting at age 75, six years ago!

Damien Higgins loves a nice cup of coffee. He writes for Eden Springs who supply office coffee machines.

The post How To Collect Coffee Mugs appeared first on Weekly Living.

Once you’ve decided on the reason that you need to raise some funds, here are some ideas to ensure your coffee morning goes off without a hitch.

Where to hold your coffee morning

You can hold a coffee morning at your home and it doesn’t matter if you live in a £2 million house or the smallest terraced house as the occasion is more about raising money for a good reason rather than showing off your home.

If you don’t like the idea of cleaning your home before your guests get to see the inside of your property, you might decide that your coffee morning will be better held at a place of work, one of the local mother and toddler groups or even your local church facility.

When you are involved with a group of people that meet regularly for coffee in a cafe, for a change you could invite them to your home and everyone could donate the amount that they would have spent on their coffee and cakes, on your homebrewed and baked varieties, with all of the funds going to the chosen charity.

Your workplace may be willing to help you in providing a space to hold a coffee morning and equally you could use a club or a church for your coffee morning. If it is held straight after a well attended meeting, you will have a greater number of people for your occasion.

Thinking about the fundraising

If you are meeting with a group of people who are not short of a pound or two, you could charge a small entrance fee even if you’re using your own home or that of a friend. By inviting a special guest of honour that can open the event your guests will be pleased to pay to attend your coffee morning.

You can ask friends and family to help you with serving coffee and cakes at your meeting and you might even ask them if they can bake home-made cakes and biscuits for the occasion.

Planning ahead to make your day a success will include making sure that you have some other drinks available for those who don’t think coffee; they’ll think of you as very thoughtful.

Although it’s obvious, don’t forget the milk and sugar, sweeteners and perhaps alternatives for people who are allergic to milk. If you’re not using your own home, you will need to make sure that the venue has sufficient cups and saucers or mugs and to enquire whether you are expected to wash up afterwards. You’ll need rubbish bags to clean up after you and your friends, but if you’re going to be inviting a lot of people, think ahead about how many kettles and containers you will need to be able to store and serve sufficient drinks.

Making sure that all the food produce meets with all the rules of the Food Standards Agency is important and listing any potential allergies alongside any of the cakes and biscuits will help your day run better.

You must make sure that everyone knows why you are running the coffee morning and what the money is going to be used for, so having somebody on hand to give  a short talk to the invited guests will help you make as much money as possible.

Finally, if you intend to hold coffee mornings regularly to raise money for your favourite cause or charity, you may be able to ask for sponsorship which will increase the profits from your day.

Damien Higgins writes for Eden Springs, the water and coffee company who supply the Kenco singles machine.

The post How to Make a Coffee Morning a Fund Raiser appeared first on Weekly Living.

Even if you settle for two coffees a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, why should you have to suffer the superstore’s basic brand that costs less than a pound for a large tin that will last several months? It’s time to make some simple suggestions to your coffee management.

1.   Start by buying the best coffee

Avoiding the cheap and cheerful coffees will at least give your office the opportunity of sampling a range of quality flavours. Where your office has the facility and the funds to install one of the pod systems in a communal kitchen, employees will be able to choose their favourite coffee while making the whole process as easy and clean as possible.

2.   Using filtered water only

Although the U.K.’s water is generally very good, plenty of people use a water filter either on their tap at home or with a freestanding unit that filters all of your water before you make your coffee. It’s no wonder that coffee tastes so different in your office if you’re not using filtered water like you would at home.

3.   Keep your coffee fresh

Some offices choose to use a filter coffee machine, which essentially saves time because it means there is always a coffee pot ready and willing.

Unfortunately, when it is your turn to take a coffee from the filter machine, you won’t know how long the coffee has been resting there, which might be an hour or more. Fresh coffee will bring you a fuller flavour as most coffees start to lose their flavour and their freshness if you don’t consume them quickly. Where you are able to drink your coffee straight away, your overall satisfaction level will rapidly increase.

4.   Tweak the whole process

Cleaning the office coffee pot can make a vast difference to the flavour of your coffee. Where water and coffee have been brewed over weeks and months, there will be a build-up inside the coffee pot which may ruin the flavour of your fresh coffee.

5.   The right milk or cream is important

Some offices choose small individual milk or cream containers in the hope that the kitchen area will remain relatively clean. Other companies will choose jars of powdered milk and creamers which suffer the indignity of having spoons plunged into them time and time again, just after stirring another person’s coffee. It’s no wonder that this may have a detrimental effect on your taste buds, making the office coffee taste different to the one you experience at home.

Making a few small changes to the way that your office stores and produces coffee for your employees and visitors, can change the sour look on people’s faces to one of pure enjoyment.

Damien Higgins writes for Eden Springs, whose office coffee machines give you a delicious cup of coffee at work.

The post 5 Common Mistakes That Are Ruining Your Coffee appeared first on Weekly Living.

Why It’s So Bad

Unlike at home or in a restaurant, the office coffee machine is probably never cleaned. Go ahead, think about it. When was the last time someone in your workplace took the time to thoroughly clean the entire machine and perhaps run vinegar or a cleaning agent through a full cycle? The truth is that a dirty coffee machine is the number one culprit when it comes to bad coffee.

Here’s another excuse for that bitter brew – it’s old. The first pot of the day might get drunk quickly but chances are the next pot will sit on the burner for hours on end until the carafe is emptied. The longer the coffee sits there, the more burned tasting it becomes.

And finally, much of the quality of your workplace cup of coffee relies on the person brewing it. Often that task is left up to a receptionist or just the first worker through the door each morning. That person might or might not be experienced in brewing coffee. He or she might make it strong enough to support an upright spoon or so weak it resembles herbal tea. In either case, that results in a bad cup of coffee.

How to Brew a Better Pot of Coffee

So how can you, as employer or employee, ensure that the coffee in your workplace is more palatable?

For one thing, you must assign a single person or position to be in charge of cleaning and brewing the coffee. Ensure that this person knows the basics of making a delicious pot of coffee and that they maintain a regular cleaning schedule. Here’s a tip: if your employees or co-workers need a bit of help in their role as break room baristas, ask the company that supplies your coffee to provide a training session.

If you pour a cup of coffee and it tastes burnt or bitter, throw out the whole pot. Don’t let the next unsuspecting person come along and suffer along with you; make a new pot and while you’re at, why not take a moment to scrub the pot and filter basket before adding fresh water and coffee beans?

Make sure the proper supplies are available. Fresh, bottled water is preferable and replacing the coffee in the canister on a regular basis essential. Cleaning agents or just a bottle of plain white vinegar will ensure the gets cleaned on schedule.

Are you ready to enjoy your workplace cup of coffee rather than dreading its bitter, burnt taste? Use these tips to ensure you are brewing a better cup of coffee at the office.

Damien Higgins writes for Eden Springs, the UK’s No. 1 bottled water cooler supplier who also provide an office coffee machine that provides a delicious cup of coffee every time. 

The post Brewing a Better Cup of Coffee at the Office appeared first on Weekly Living.

In a world of double tall extra-hot skinny no foam mochachinos it can be hard to know what to expect when walking into a professional coffee shop staffed by professional Baristas. While these shops may seem intimidating compared to your local Starbucks, the jargon is easy to learn and most Baristas are more than eager to share their passion for coffee with a new comer. Here are a few of the more common coffee drinks to help get you started.

The Macchiato

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood drinks at any espresso bar, the humble macchiato A. should NEVER be covered in caramel syrup and B. Should be less than 2oz in volume. The macchiato is simply espresso with a very small amount of steamed milk that helps to curb the coffee’s acidity. It is most often served in a small espresso cup.

The Cappuccino

A classic cappuccino runs about 8oz in size and features espresso with steamed milk. In comparison to other espresso drinks, a cappuccino is made with milk that has been more aerated, making the milk fluffier and creamier than in other drinks. The milk is also heated to a slightly lower temperature which makes it sweeter.

The Latte

A latte tends to have a higher milk to espresso ratio than any other espresso drink, a typical ratio being 1 oz of espresso to 11 oz of steamed milk. While the milk is still aerated it has less volume than a cappuccino, leaving less foam at the top of the drink and allowing for greater versatility in making free pour latte art.

The Cortado

The cortado falls between a cappuccino and a macchiato. Typical milk to espresso ratio runs between 1:1 and 1:2 and is typically served in a 4oz glass cup. The milk is steamed on the thinner side similar to a latte. Like any of these espresso drinks, it is a great beverage to make at home as well as to order at your local cafe.

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