Siphon / vac pot for training courses

We are now starting courses by brewing a coffee with the siphon. What a cool way to start the day!

Today we were brewing our Honduras which is one of the best coffees of the year for me. The siphon gives similar results as the Aeropress but an even better presentation.

Counter for espresso machine for sale

We have a counter for sale that we used in our old training room. The counter is in good condition and has two holes for cables and hoses.

We are selling it for £300 Inc vat and is pickup only from Halifax. This is perfect for a coffee shop. The counter is 4 meters long. The top is one piece so you need a van to move it.
Please email us for more info.

What is your budget for the espresso machine + grinder package?

Aeropress coffee

We have been using the Aeropress for a long time now and I am starting to like it more and more every day. It is quick and produces a fantastic cup.

The Aeropress is a certain way of brewing coffee. It is not a cafetiere/french press, it is not a single cup pourover, it is not an espresso. Just its own way of brewing and we like it!

The beauty is that they only cost £22!

There are many different ways of brewing with an Aeropress. On this video I am trying to show that you can do it very quickly this way. You can brew a bit longer but I find it works really well like this and it could work extremely well for coffee shops like this because it is so quick!

How to serve a latte

How do you think a latte should be served? What is your preference?

This is what fresh coffee looks like

This video shows how fresh coffees looks like when it is pulled as an espresso.

Soon we will add a video of old coffee to demonstrate the difference.

Fresh coffee has more gases and the gases in the coffee react with oils to create a foam which is what is called crema. The fresher the coffee, the more crema. Old coffee wouldn’t have the foam coming out at the same time as the liquid and would look more black and watery. Fresh coffee however looks extremely tasty.

Blend and roast

The Blend and Roast program is going really well! The latest roast is all gone and the feedback has been amazing and a few people now have it as their own blend.

On Monday we are going to roast a new one. It will be a base of our delicious Honduras coffee. We have been serving this through the Aeropress for a while now and now we are blending it with Ethiopia and Indonesia to create another stunning blend. If you are coming on a course in the next few weeks then you are in for a threat.

White coffee anyone??

Most orders you get in a coffee bar are quite straight forward. There are of course a couple of difficult ones like a macchiato as it could be with milk, with foam or with milk and foam. And lets not get it confused with a Starbucks caramel macchiato (not sure how they call it exactly .

Another one is a white coffee. What is a white coffee?

Blend & Roast – Dark Chocolate

Ruth roasted the Blend & Roast for us on Thursday and boy is it good!

Everybody has got dark chocolate notes from it so far. It might be my favourite so far actually.

I designed it so it is mainly Brazil with a little Ethiopian and some Indonesian. We worked on it today during the training and the slow extractions and small concentrated shots just produced the most amazing coffees.

If you order coffee from us then please contact me and I can get you a free bag with your next order (as long as stock lasts)

Is your coffee really fresh??

Okay, so we are all about freshness! guess you have figured that out by now.

All good talking about it but it is time to show you how you can tell whether your coffee is fresh or not.

We have purchased a new camera that arrives next week and allows us to record in HD. We will show you how you can tell whether your coffee is fresh or not.

The question for now is:

Can you tell by simply at looking at the coffee whether it is fresh or not?

New green arriving :)

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Just had more green coffee arriving and thought it would be good to show you all how it looks like. Some very special feeling to see all that coffee arrive. Amazing!

I love it when a plan comes together…

Finally we are working closely with Natalie and Kevin. Kevin is probably the most passionate person I have ever met. He jumps up and down everytime he drinks a shot. I LOVE IT!

We are lucky enough to work with them and I am so happy that they took in some advice I gave them with regards to the layout and setup of their really cool coffee shop. I suggested to have a hole in the wall behind the espresso machine so you can fill up the machine with cups from the back where the kitchen is. This saves a lot of time and makes things a lot easier. It works a treat and it is just fantastic to be part of people’s businesses like this. It makes me enjoy my job even more!

There will also be freshly ground filter coffee which will change with regurarly and each coffee is of course carefully produces and ground fresh to order. Natalie is already pouring bears on top of the coffees

They also have a hole in the wall (with shutters) to off load dirty cups directly into the washing up area. The idea is that you never have to go behind the counter with cups.

On another note. We are just using up the last of the Blend & Roast of Ethiopia and Brazil and tomorrow Ruth and I will roast the new batch. It is going to be of Brazil, Colombia and Java and will be very tasty.

Absolute Drops

We have just added a new product to our list, something that we have wanted to offer for a while now: REAL CHOCOLATE.

After a bit of sourcing and trying lots of real chocolate drops (I know, it is a hard job we have!) we have set our mind on a Belgian chocolate which is just absolutely delicious. It is like drinking a milk chocolate bar.

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Playing with brewing a Java – single cup

Just roasted a Java coffee which I really like. I have been playing with different ways of brewing. Lots of weighing, different grinds, different dosages, different temperature, to stir or not to stir etc etc.

I’ll post 2 pictures. Which brew do you think tastes best? There is only one difference between the two brews. If you think you know it let us know.

First brew

Second brew

What do you want from your coffee supplier?

Please help us improve and tell us what you would like us to focus on. What is most important to you? What matters the most?

We want to make sure that we focus on the correct things and so we would be SUPER greatful if you could please let us know what you are looking for in a coffee supplier.

New forum for people who work and run coffee shops

How to start a coffee shop.co.uk has started a new forum.

This could be great. We need your input as well so please take a second to sign up and fire away with those questions that you have always wanted to ask.

Back to work – Love it! New Blend & Roast..

Just been a couple of days away to take a breather although I was working most of the time anyway.

Yesterday I was back at work doing what I love: teaching people about coffee.  We had a couple of courses booked and it was a great day. Kevin came in with his new team and even brought a present for me! A jar of instant coffee HAHA (but also a delicious bottle of red wine). It was great to see Kevin and his funny team making great coffees. We love the passion!

Also we did a little test on temperature and flavour. We made 2 espressos and drunk the first espresso straight away and the other espresso 1,5 minutes later. It is part of showing that too hot drinks have less flavour. Milk that is too hot will ruin a drink but also an espresso that is too hot will have less flavour. Your tongue is a muscle and doesn’t like it when it comes in touch with drinks too hot.

Also tried our new Blend & Roast coffee yesterday. We roasted it on Monday and it is a blend of Ethiopia and Brazil. Fruity and chocolaty and also nice and sweet. It surely went down really well yesterday.

Fantastic day and thank you Paul and Carl for the wonderful reviews!

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Teaching over the phone at 21:30!

Andy is one of our customers in the south and he just got the new Mahlkonig K30  grinder and needed to learn a bit more about how to set it up. So we taught him yesterday over the phone at 21:30 in the evening…. bit obsessed with service maybe?

The Coffee Shop Inspector

We have added a new service which is an auditing and mystery shopper service. Have a look at this page:

http://www.absolutecoffee.co.uk/coffee_shop_inspector.html

Super duper home equipment and lots of coffee

Grant came all the way from Kent today to the roastery for a barista course. He brought his espresso machine and rather bizar looking Versalab grinder with him (pretty cool grinder though). Howard was there as well who will be working with us as a barista trainer and we must say is a very good teacher.

What a cool day!!! We tried about 4 different coffees through the espresso machines and it was quite a sight to have all that gear. A bit overkill but I think we all thought the tools looked cool!

Also brewed lots of filter coffees that we roasted throughout the day and some Aeropress coffee. One of those days where everybody consumes a lot of coffee. Wonderful day!

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Kenya Elephant Ear coffee beans

We got some interesting coffee in the other day which is fun to explain. This is coffee from Kenya that is a defect and the result is that the two beans grow around each other creating elephant looking hollow coffee beans.

Good brightness and a slightly chocolate aftertaste.

This defect happens around the world but in Kenya it is more concentrated.

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Blend & Roast – PNG

So our first Blend and Roast is pretty good actually! We roasted a blend of beans from Papua New Guinea from the Bunum Wu estate and blended it with Costa Rica and Ethiopia coffees.

Rich, quite sweet and really great depth. The first day when it was very very fresh it was really fruity and light. Now, 5 days on and it has really developed in a coffee with more depth. We are liking it more and more.

PNG Bunum Wu

okay okay, we are better at making coffee then taking pictures!

Our coffee is in Saudi Arabia!

Okay, normally we do not export coffee but our good friend Umar is an exception.

We roasted coffee and sent it to Saudi Arabia and has arrived now. What a wonderful feeling!

1000 FREE COFFEES

How to market my new coffee shop to get new customers in?

The hardest thing is to break someone’s daily routine. Most people already have their regular and are probably happy going there day in day out. They want to try some other coffee shops sometimes but it can be a risk for them so they like to stick with what they know.

You have to find a way to break in and give them a reason to give you a try. This might be a wonderful review or recommendation from someone they know. But word of mouth can take some time and you need to promote and take advantage of the fact that you have just opened.

Imagine you shop at your favourite supermarket all the time. What would make you try another new supermarket down the road?

How much do you have to spend on marketing? What is your marketing budget? Do you think you have a couple of hundred pounds available?

If you have a few hundred pounds for marketing then why not give away a 1000 coffees. 1000 FREE coffees. It won’t really cost you much. Simply go out on the street with some free vouchers that entitle people to any free coffee. Call it a celebrating of the fact that you have just opened up and you would like to invite anyone for a free coffee.

Now that person has no excuse really not to give you a try. Why wouldn’t they try it? And once they’re in you capture them with the best coffee and best service in town!

Do you need a big brand name?

We had Peter on a barista course with us today who started a few weeks ago for a re-fresher course. He joined a barista course with us a year ago and decided to open a coffee shop. Peter wanted a big brand behind him when it came to coffee and decided to go for a ‘well known’ Italian coffee. We talked a bit about this during the course and I am just wondering how you all feel about having a big brand behind you.

What is more important to your customer you think?

1) That the coffee is of the finest quality, locally roasted, extremely fresh and that you can tell where the coffee is from?

or

2) That the coffee is a well known brand?

I personally wouldn’t go with a brand name of course. For me it is all about quality and knowing where the product is from. Having a coffee that is roasted maybe months ago in another country is not the thing for me. Not having a roasted date on the bag and not even knowing what is in my blend would really bother me. And what if someone down the street uses the same coffee as me and doesn’t make the coffee very well? That might affect my reputation as well.

It is probably great to get free cups and lots of branding…. but really, it is not free at all is it. You pay for the cups every time you serve a coffee. And you are promoting another brand which you pay a lot extra for, not your own product. Wouldn’t it be better to have your own logo on the cup? Wouldn’t it be great if you could tell your customers exactly where the coffee is from and when it was roasted? And wouldn’t it be great to pay almost half the cost for the coffee and actually get a much fresher and richer coffee?

I would like to know your opinion on this. Please let me know. What is more important to you? A big brand behind you or locally roasted speciality coffee?

Good things lead to more good things

Kay who joined a barista course on Saturday with us made a really good point. Learning a new special skill and doing something ‘the right way’ leads to better things. (Not exactly how she put it but that was the idea behind it)

I think she is very correct. When you serve absolutely delicious coffees in your coffee shop than you are more likely to serve delicious food as well. If one barista makes great coffee then it will most likely affect the other baristas as well.Etc.

Just a thought…

Blend & Roast

To keep things exciting we have changed a couple of things around.

First of all, we have added a La Spaziale S1 Vivaldi II to the training room at the roastery in Sheffield. What an amazing machine!!! This is a very good one group espresso machine. Great for domestic users who want the best but mainly for very small coffee outlets who want to serve the best coffee.

Also we have a triple bottomless portafilter for the La Spaziale. Wow! We can now create some super shots, absolutely amazing. Coming on a course soon? Like coffee? Expect something amazing!

La Spaziale S1 Vivaldi II with Mahlkonig Vario

Also we have set up our brand new Blend & Roast program. Next to our house blend this will be our ‘second’ espresso blend. Constantly changing and constantly developed to improve. Each training course we will run the House Blend next to the current Blend & Roast espresso blend.

If you want to have your own espresso blend than this is it. Custom roasted for customers, however you like it – as long as we like it as well. We are very excited about this and it will keep us extremely motivated to produce outstanding espresso blends.

It’s all good!

The new training room is proving to be a BIG success. We have never been busier. And rightly so as we think it is looking very good. I know you want to see some pictures but just come and see it

Espresso is beautiful

Listening to some relaxing music. Drinking coffee after coffee and answering some emails. Life is good when you have good coffee

Just beautiful.

Crazy busy day

Wow, what a crazy day. We had Liz and Deb in for the training today and we had Howard joining us as well. Then also Peter and his family came in to try our coffee and to have a look at the equipment and what we do.

LOTS of coffee. LOTS of steaming. LOTS of silly jokes from me (those who know me are probably familiar with that). LOTS of espressos. And lots of fun.

People seem to like the new barista training room a lot and it is making life a lot easier for me as well. Finally we can demonstrate how the coffee is roasted which is just fantastic and it seems to have a great impact on people.

The work that goes into producing a fantastic cup of coffee is just amazing. From the farm to the cup is a big journey and just absolutely fascinating. It is really good to show people what we do and I just feel so great for being in this position.

Little update on the Premium Espresso as well: SWEET. That is probably the best way to describe it. It is just so sweet! And the most amazing thing is that I haven’t got a single bad coffee from it yet. It is extremely solid and easy to work with. Come over anything to Sheffield for a coffee. Appointment only but please do get in touch.

A post about us

Our beautiful K30. Pic by Sally.

Yesterday (Saturday) we did the second course at our new training room. It is going extremely well and it makes teaching even more fun and easier as well.

Except for the waste overflowing on Friday haha everything has gone perfectly. Today we are putting up about 30 pictures on the wall and we got a massive Absolute Coffee to go up. Can’t wait until next week when I am teaching again pretty much all week.

Read Sally’s blog post about the course here.