Coffee Flamingo Blog
Make your coffee sparkle with a sprinkle of cinnamon
We have been learning about making coffee for a number of years, from different ways of roasting to mixing flavour profiles. All of which have a big impact on coffee flavours. But we'd like to think we've got this covered. However we have recently learnt some different methods to elevate your coffee at home. Of course in the modern world coffee syrups are all the rage in your favourite high street coffee shops, even adding syrup to the bean roasting adjusts the flavour profile. Recently we have discovered a more purest way to enhance your coffee at home, and frankly a healthier way. Cinnamon! adding a sprinkling of cinnamon to coffee beans or grounds before brew is a fabulous way to enhance flavour. It will be a game changer. We found our Colombia bean went to new heights with the addition of cinnamon. The caramel and nutty flavours suite the sweet spice of cinnamon. Whats even better than the flavour of cinnamon is the brilliant health benefits it has. Not only does coffee taste even better but you're improving your health too. Some of my favourite benefits include: Increased antioxidants - one teaspoon has as many antioxidants as a half cup of blueberries. As per a study by Penn State university. Improve brain function - Wheeling Jesuit University reported improved visual and motor response. They actually report improvement from just smelling the spice also. Reduces the impact of fatty foods - Cinnamon reduces the triglycerides by upto 30 percent. Triglycerides is what causes arteries to become lined by fat and can lead to clots. This is Help with symptoms of colds - Drinking cinnamon in hot drinks can clear sinuses and reduce mucus production. Its also worth saying that cinnamon has a natural sweetness which reduces the need for adding sugar and I'm sure we all know the benefits of reducing our sugar intake. So in the words of the Spice Girls… spice up your life! with cinnamon. You won't be disappointed! Thanks for reading James
Learn more
How we make the perfect coffee
Ever wondered how coffee is made? Well we thought we'd give you a whistle stop tour of how we produce ours. First things first the coffee cherry is picked and sorted so only ripe cherries are processed. The next thing the farms do is dry the cherries. Most farms do this by simply laying all the coffee cherries out on racks in the sun. The racks get turned regularly to completely dry the the whole fruit. Some farms use a water and fermentation method to activate the enzymes so the pulp is removed from the cherries. They're then ready to be dried. This method takes roughly 48 hours to complete. It is used to speed up the drying process because the open air rack method can take several weeks for each coffee batch. Once dried the bean's husk is removed and ready to be shipped. It's over to us for roasting. We roast our beans for roughly 13 to 14 minutes, depending on the roast colour. Generally the beans themselves, combined with colour, determine the strength. So roasting to darker colours doesn't necessarily mean a stronger coffee because the bean has a key role to play. Of course this is influenced by the temperatures we roast at but that's our secret weapon so we'll being keeping that to ourselves. The roasted coffee beans are then cooled in cooling trays so they're ready to be transferred and packed. Ground coffee is a little different. Once ground, they are left for 24 hours to release the natural gases and to prevent our bags from blowing up. The finish product is then sent to our lovely customers to enjoy. That is it in a nutshell...or should we say coffee bean.
Learn more