Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, perhaps large corporate companies such as Starbucks have bought coffee to the masses and made it cool for young or old to sip coffee and to socialize. But it is the individual specialist coffee houses and cafes that are the best way to truly […]
The second part of our blog on throwing your own tea party concentrates more on what food should be served during High Tea. It is worthwhile considering that it is not supposed to be a main meal or a picnic, so forget meat pies, chicken legs and sausage rolls. Traditionally, High Tea was a very […]
There are a few plausible reasons why the meal of High Tea is thus called, and probably the most sensible is that it is because it was eaten at a table. This differentiated it from the more social occasion that is Afternoon Tea, which was normally partaken in the drawing room whilst sitting on sofas […]
The history of tea drinking in England goes past the actual imbibing of the refreshing blend of leaves, it extends also into a form of meal. Afternoon Tea or High Tea, as it is sometimes known, is a quintessential custom of the English that appeared in the mid-19th Century. Henry James once was quoted saying: […]
Coffee can be traced back to Ethiopia and its ancient coffee forests; a legend is told about a goat herder named Kaldi who first saw the potential of the now popular coffee bean. He reported his findings to a local monastery who made a drink from the berries and were surprised how it kept the […]
Time for another cup of tea, the second part of our blog about the history of tea and how it became such a popular drink around the world. We start our second serving with the rise of tea smuggling in Britain. Tea Smuggling and Taxation Tea’s popularity in Britain grew like wildfire, the British loved […]
Obviously, a good coffee house or cafe not only has to serve a respectable selection of good coffees, but their tea offerings also have to be pretty good too. There were tea shops all over the world before coffee actually was invented, but as coffee became more popular this traditional drink lost some of its […]
One of the most lovable things about popping into your favourite cafe for a cup of delicious freshly brewed coffee is the confectionery that is also served. Some foods are perfectly paired with a bitter cup of coffee and in this blog, we explore the best tastes to go with a steaming mug of the […]
What constitutes a true espresso coffee, well the Italian Espresso National Institute have strict laws and standards that govern this. But basically, a true espresso machine forces out a small quantity of just-off boiling water under pressure through ground coffee. The resulting mixture will be thicker and creamier coffee than normal regular coffee and contain […]
This is the second part of our blog into making the best coffee at home, we have already looked at storing and buying the best beans, and in this blog, we delve into the more technical aspects of making coffee such as grinding and brewing. Grinding Coffee Grinding your own beans is the perfect way […]