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Author: watermark
Woodland Coffee plants 27,000 trees in Co Limerick
After 3 years of planning, we have planted out our first Woodland Coffee plantation in Pallasgreen, Co Limerick. In November, our forestry partner SWS, planted our mixed woodland of between 26,000 and 27,000 trees of Alder, Birch, Spruce, Oak and Beech trees. The idea behind Woodland Coffee is really simple, each case of coffee funds the planting of a tree in Ireland so your decision today to choose Woodland Coffee has a long term benefit in terms carbon sequestration, enhancing biodiversity and creating a more sustainable future. Please watch the video and let us know if you would like to get involved.
#sustainability #sustainablecoffee #woodlandcoffee
Optimise your espresso with the Gaggia La Reale – Dynamic Flow Control
TheDynamic Flow Control (DFC) functionality on the Gaggia La Reale allows the Barista to optimise and refine the nuance of flavour from your espresso bean, Easy to programme, this functionality brings to life the opportunity to propel your coffee to the next level of refinement. The Gaggia La Reale is the ultimate high performance coffee machine, like to take a closer look? Then drop us a line on 01 4666304 to set up a demonstration in our Citywest showroom.
What is happening in global coffee markets?
It’s been a year of turmoil on international coffee markets. The price of green bean coffee has steadily increased month on month since the start of the year pushing up prices by 43%. So what’s behind these increases?
Damage to the Brazilian coffee crop
Brazil is the largest producer of greenbean coffee amounting to 44% of the worldwide supply (and equates to 22,400 60kg bags). Rainfall in Brazil has been significantly less during the year causing drought which weakens coffee trees and reduces their productivity in terms of quantity and quality. In addition to drought, there were a series of late frosts during the summer which caused additional damage to the growing trees as temperatures were on average half what they should have been. Many farmers were left with a damaged crop as well as the need to ‘stump’ their trees or replant them altogether. Yet another timely reminder of the fragility of our ecosystem and the impact that small changes in weather can have on food production.
Pandemic supply chain bottlenecks
A global confusion in container freight is adding the difficulty in getting supply from coffee producers in Vietnam to foreign markets. Vietnam predominately produces robusta coffee which is not used for our speciality grade coffee but a shortage of supply from one market tends to push up demand for other suppliers and hence more upward price pressure. Hopefully as the global supply chain return to normal over the coming months this particular challenge will dissipate.
Coffee Consumption
In case you didn’t know it already, we’re drinking more coffee. Coffee consumption has increased year on year and this year it’s expected that demand will outstrip supply by 1.4m tonnes. The effect of steady increasing demand with the uncertainty around the Brazilian coffee crop in 2022 and 2023 its sending upward pressure on the coffee futures price
Touchless Office Coffee with Coffee APPeal
Coffee APPeal is a new user friendly, free app, which allows you to select and customise your coffee selection directly from your smartphone without touching the coffee machine.
- Simply download the App from the Apple App store or on Google Play for Android devices.
- Scan the QR code with Coffee APPeal on the Gaggia La Radios coffee machine
- Your phone connects via bluetooth with the coffee machine with no personal information being transferred
- Select and then customise your coffee on the App
- Place your cup under the pouring spout
- Enjoy!
Coffee APPeal has been developed by Gaggia Milano to ensure
- A safe and hygienic drinks selection without the need to touch the coffee machine
- No personal data or extra information is required
- It’s user friendly and intuitive to use
- Drinks are easily customised
- It works without mobile data
- Free to download and free to use!
Like to find out more? Please drop us a line or call us on 01 4666304.
The Coffee Bean Journey
Coffee is one of the World’s most traded commodities. Coffee production, farming and processing are continually advancing with a continual focus on improving the quality of the coffee green beans. The increasing sophistication in consumer demand requires that coffee bean production incorporates the nuanced flavours of their ‘terroir’ into the cup.
The coffee beans that we encounter are largely divided between two varietals, Robusta beans and Arabica beans. Robusta coffee plants are grown at lower altitude and are more resilient to frost and disease but their flavours are less complex and subtle than Arabica beans. Robusta beans have a stronger flavour with more caffeine and are typically used in instant coffee. Arabica beans are grown at higher altitudes in mountainous areas and tend to be what is used for speciality coffee and accounts for approximately 60% of the world’s production.
A coffee tree takes between 3 and 5 years for it to mature and produce coffee cherries. Like most plants, the coffee tree flowers and when pollinated, produces the cherry. The coffee cherry is allowed to ripen on the tree and picked when it turns red. The ripe cherries are processed which involves drying and sorting. Key factors influencing flavour at this stage are the drying methods used, whether natural or mechanical, humidity, stirring, airflow and the avoidance of additional water. Even the surface on which the coffee is dried can impact the final flavour.
Once dried the coffee beans (known as green beans) are graded by Q graders and packed and sent on their merry way around the world for blending and roasting. The reason why they tend not to be roasted in the country of origin is to allow for further blending to achieve a particular taste profile and also to ensure that the coffee does not unduly deteriorate during transport as a result of oxidation which greatly impacts the taste of the coffee during brewing.
All of our coffees are 100% high grade speciality Arabica coffee beans to give a range of flavours to suit your offering. We are always experimenting with new blends to give our range the extra edge, like to find out more? Drop us a line on info@watermark.ieor call us on 01 4666304.
#coffee #specialitycoffee #watermarkcoffee
Coffee and Sport
With the Olympics starting in a few weeks time, coffee is the drink of choice for many athletes; here are some of the reasons why:
Coffee burns fat and boosts energy
The high levels of caffeine in coffee significantly improve the ability to burn fat during exercise by increasing fat oxidation and metabolism. Once caffeine enters the bloodstream, the body responds in several ways. Blood pressure and heart rate increase, fat stores are broken down, and fatty acids are released into the bloodstream. As a result many people feel energised and ready for exercise.
Coffee Enhances Athletic Performance
“Caffeine is effective for enhancing various types of performance when consumed in low-to-moderate doses,” according to a position stand from the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Caffeine enables an athlete to train longer and with greater power output. Caffeine was also shown to improve endurance levels and resistance to fatigue.
Endurance athletes appear to benefit greatly from coffee. Coffee stimulates the body to burn fat instead of muscle glycogen (sugar), during long workouts. This allows for prolonged use of working muscles.
Coffee Promotes Better Concentration
Coffee and caffeine have been shown to improve mental focus. Caffeine is a natural stimulant that can improve brain function and have a positive impact on the areas of the brain responsible for memory and concentration. When thinking is sharp, workouts and exercise become more productive and effective.
Coffee Reduces Muscle Pain
Based on studies carried out in the US, drinking a cup of coffee prior to exercise may help those who suffer from ‘stitch’ caused by the build up of lactic acid in muscles. Participants who consumed coffee prior to a work out reported less muscle pain and better performance during the final set of repetitions.
Coffee Helps Fight Disease
Coffee contains powerful antioxidants shown to reduce our risk of disease. Antioxidants work by removing free radicals that cause inflammation in the body resulting in illnesses and diseases. According to research published in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, “coffee provides one of the greatest sources of antioxidants in the American diet.”
Introducing the Gaggia La Nera 2 group
Looking to supplement your food offering with coffee? The new Gaggia La Nera 2 group is a great choice, its compact in size at 45 cm in width which should make it easy to squeeze into most places. The La Nera uses a standard 13 amp plug socket, so no need to get high voltage cables run into the area. But best of all, it comes in at a really economical price of just €4,500 plus vat which includes installation and 12 months warranty.
The Gaggia La Nera comes in 1 and 2 group models and has a 5 litre internal water boiler suitable for coffee / tea volumes of around 80 per day, Equipped with a steam wand and hot water outlet with barista lights over the coffee making area to ensure full visibility of the coffee extraction. The La Nera is from the world renowned coffee machine manufacturer, Gaggia Milano, and is hand made with the precision and attention to detail that has made this iconic coffee machine brand famous the world over.
Please call or drop us a line for more information on this great machine to have a chat on how we can help you develop your coffee business to its potential!
Moving to Solar Power
We are really excited about getting solar panels installed on our building here in Citywest. We are putting in 64 panels measuring 1.5 square meters each that will generate over 23,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. This is about 70% of our yearly usage. The electricity generated from the solar panels equates to a saving of about 9.8 tonnes of CO2 per year when compared to electricity generated using fossil fuels.
For the past number of years we have been sourcing our electricity from Airtricity, which is 100% wind generated electricity; so theoretically the installation of solar panels does not reduce our carbon footprint. It does however reduce the requirement to generate electricity from fossil fuels elsewhere on our island as our lower usage from the electricity grid reduces the dependence on fossil fuel power generation, that’s a thought that makes us very happy!
At Watermark, we are continually looking at ways as to how we can make better quality decisions to reduce our impact on our environment. Be it through our Woodland Coffee initiative, lowering the impact of waste from the coffee we sell or installing solar power. Each small decision makes a difference; Would you like to make a difference with us?
Inject some summer feeling with an Iced Caramel Latte!
Variety is the spice of life, as my mother used to say when we were young; along with phrases like ‘there are more fish in the sea’ (which never really helped, sorry Mum!). But adding an extra dimension to the beverage menu is a simple and easy way to improve customer engagement at the counter as well as on social media. Iced coffee is unlikely to replace the popularity of regular Americano or Latte but it definitely appeals to the younger customer base.
We have teamed up with a New Zealand Company called Shott that produces a range of ‘super premium’ fruit and spice syrups using only natural ingredients with no added sugars, colouring or flavouring. The result is a syrup that oozes bold natural flavours and does not have that synthetic taste that other highly processed sugared syrups have.
The great news is that there is an abundance of recipe ideas that you can tailor to your own situation that suits your set up and customers. For starters, let’s look at an Iced Caramel Latte, it real simple. Just mix 20ml of Shott Caramel, 200ml of full cream milk, 30 ml of espresso coffee and ice. Garnish with some caramel and Voila!
There are hundreds of recipe ideas to choose from and each come with simple instruction in terms of the recommended serving suggestion or you can simply come up with a few of your own signature ideas. The Shott website has lots of inspiration to get you going and we can also send you some recipe booklets by email, just let us know.
A Summer Outside
Coffee from horseboxes is a new phenomenon of living with lockdown. Given the surge in demand for coffee machines going into horseboxes there is apparently plenty of demand from the public to support these local entrepreneurs that see and seize their opportunity. For those with existing businesses and premises that may be operating at reduced capacity or are currently closed, there is a great opportunity to adapt the offering and increase revenue into the business.
Coffee is a great ‘horsebox’ product because it’s easy to handle, low preparation, attractive margin and customers don’t necessarily need to take a seat or table. For existing businesses with reputation, power, water, refrigeration all close to hand an adaptation of the business model should be reasonably straight forward. Whether it’s moving an existing coffee machine and running it off a pumped water bottle system or putting in a smaller 1 or 2 group machines like the Gaggia Ruby, there are plenty of options that can boost your revenues; who knows it might become a permanent feature of your business once lockdown eases!
It’s worth checking out to see if your business qualifies for an ‘outdoor dining grant’ which is being administered through Failte Ireland to help businesses adjust to the new operating environment.
If you would like to find out more about what coffee equipment might be most suitable, please give us a call or drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you.
#outdoordining #coffeetogo #summer2021 #supportlocal
