Coffee Flamingo Blog
5 things to do with your used coffee grounds
Whether you use an espresso machine, a bean to cup machine, a cafetière or any other coffee brewing method, one thing you'll always have is coffee grounds to dispose of. To reduce the waste we thought we'd give you some of our favourite ways to make use of them. First up, James loves his garden so most of our coffee grounds go to good use on our plants and veg. You can also chuck them in your compost bin, if you have one. Or you can put the grounds directly on top of the soil around your plants/veg or what ever you grow. It is a brilliant fertiliser because it has lots of minerals such as phosphorous, calcium, potassium, and iron amongst others. Plus it stops slugs and nasties getting to your veg and eating it all. Odor neutraliser, yes thats right, you can use it to remove smells. Coffee grounds have nitrogen in them, and nitrogen has the ability to neutralise smells in the air. With veg and food you tend to get smells rumenating from the fridge so we have a pot of old grounds in the fridge. The smells will disappear. Cook with it, many people use fresh coffee grounds in Mexican dishes, BBQ rubs and more. But used grounds are great for meat marinades. Just re-brew the grounds, let them cool, and pour the coffee over the meat. This helps to tenderise, keep it moist, and it will bring out the natural flavour of the meat. Just get rid of the liquid before cooking. If you like a good skin routine, you can use coffee grounds to create a great skin exfoliator. Coffee grounds are naturally rough so help remove dead skin and clear pores. You can also add some to coconut oil and make a paste, giving your natural exfoliator a great texture. But we're not Jonathan Van Ness, so if you like the idea check out some recipes first. Side note, if you don't know who Jonathan Van Ness is then you don't know what you're missing. Lastly, and it's a little niche, but if you live in a area that gets lots of snow, you can use coffee grounds like you would salt. The nitrogen in it doesn't allow ice to form so the snow melts. It can also provides some friction points to walk on. So there you go 5 ways to reuse and recycle coffee grounds, helping the environment and maybe even saving you a little money, so you can buy more coffee.
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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
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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.
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Why we Celebrate Pride? Is it still necessary?
Many people ask, why do we still need Pride events? There are many reasons for why Pride is needed and so important today. Here's why we're celebrating Pride. To start, Pride isn't just 'gay people' partying. It does involve celebrations but it includes everyone from the community, whether you are lesbian, trans, bisexual, asexual, non-binary, queer, or identify as someone outside the 'traditional norms'. It's a way to come together and feel part of a strong community. It's a way to amplify those that need a voice. It's a way to educate. And it's a way to thank those who fought for the community and gave us what we have today. The message is just as important today as it was when the first Pride matches took place in the 1970s. Sill in 2021 LGBTQ+ people are discriminated against. This year we had the news of an Iranian gay man, Alireza aged 20, who was murdered by his brother after he found out he was gay. There are still 72 countries that criminalise same sex relationships, 8 of which it is punishable by death. In a 4 year period there were 1,612 trans people killed across 62 countries. You may think, 'but we're more tolerant in Britain and Europe'. True, but a Stonewall study in 2017 found that 1 in 5 LGBT people had experienced a hate crime in the previous 12 months, and that increased to 2 in 5 for trans people. 1 in 10 LGBT people experience online abuse aimed at their gender or sexual orientation. 50% of all LGBT students reported they frequently hear homophobic slurs when at school. Not to mention that when we were growing up there was not one mention of anything other than straight people during formal education. So it's important for us to set the example, show case LGBTQ+ people and normalise 'being different'. For us personally, Pride also represents the ability to be yourself and feel comfortable with who you are. Everyone is there to support and uplift each other, no matter their background or preference. Everyone is celebrated. This creates an atmosphere that is unlike any other. It's special. Dan marched in the London Pride parade with Stonewall Football Club, which he was part of for a number of years and the club still holds a special place in his heart. All of these things are why we wanted to show our appreciation for Pride month. To celebrate we are doing lots of fun and interesting things on our social media and we've even created a Limited Edition Pride Pack Remember Heather Small asking "What have you done today to make you feel proud?". Just being you is something to be proud of! Stay safe online - https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/privacyhub/lgbtq-online-security/ James & Dan
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Pandemic sparks ‘flamboyant’ dream
Based in Surrey, Dan and James decided to launched a coffee brand. Who’s name and spirit is inspired by their affection for flamingos – a group of which is a known as a flamboyance. Our coffee range focusses on our favourite coffee roasts and blends. It offers opportunity to ‘join the flamboyance’ and subscribe to receiving regular coffee deliveries, as well as one off purchases. They aimed to make it easy and simple for customers to understand what flavours they may like by removing the coffee jargon. Check out our shop. Coffee Flamingo has been an idea that we always kicked down the road and never believed we could achieve. But the pandemic really opened our eyes to the fact that you really never know what could happen tomorrow. This was the kick we needed to say, “let’s do it”, take the risk, and see what happens. We want to spread the joy we get from coffee… and flamingos. Find out more about us and how we came up with Coffee Flamingo by reading Our Story
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The Barn at Sollo Joins the Flamboyance!
Sollo London are teaming up with Coffee Flamingo to relaunch The Barn at Sollo, in the heart of Reigate. Hidden away behind Sollo London on Reigate High Street is a beautiful secret garden and café called The Barn at Sollo. The Barn is no secret to coffee shop goers in Reigate, but with disrupted service due to COVID restrictions, Sollo London owners Marlla Maranhão and Darryl Church decided to close The Barn in 2021. The Coffee Flamingo name and spirit is inspired by our affection for flamingos – a group of which is known as a flamboyance. Coffee Flamingo aims to keep coffee simple and easy to understand with a stylish vibrant brand, and most importantly delicious. We will aim to take this ethos into The Barn from 22st March 2022. We have teamed up to refresh The Barn, making it a cosy, uplifting space, while keeping it’s charm that so many locals love. It now futures a very Instagram-able vibrant flamingo mural, additional seating and beautiful artwork. Of course, Reigate’s favourite garden seating continues to be a beautiful, tranquil space that is also now heated to keep customers warm on cooler days and evenings whilst enjoying a fabulous view of the Reigate Methodist Church. The Barn will be serving our ‘Brazil’ coffee, a selection of pastries and sweet treats, plus an array of breakfast and lunch items. Regular evening events will be on offer throughout summer and into autumn, and if that wasn’t enough, they will also offer venue hire for your special occasions. When we first started discussing this idea, we knew it was too good to miss. The Barn is such a beautiful space with bags of potential and we’re so excited to be teaming up with Darryl and Marlla. The Barn powered by Coffee Flamingo really is something completely different to what you’ll find in the rest of Reigate. or the surrounding area and we aim to make it the best coffee shop in town.
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