From our Urban Coffee HQ
Hannah spent the day with Youri topping up her Coffee skills.
Great latte art
Monthly Archive for
July 2009
Recycle Coffee
From our Urban Coffee HQ
Coffee shops generate tons of coffee waste each year and most of this ends up in landfill. So we thought this makes no sense and is not good for the environment. So our plan is to keep the coffee waste and give it away to our customers. Now you may be wondering what the hell will our customers do with the used coffee, well glad you asked that. Here are some options:
- Use it as a garden compost. The grounds should account for no more than 25 percent of the composting matter and a teaspoon of lime or wood for each 5 pounds of grounds can be added to balance out acidity levels.
- Make a liquid fertilizer: Diluting coffee grounds with water creates an excellent liquid fertilizer. Mixing one half pound can of coffee grounds into a 5-gallon container of water is recommended.
- Apply coffee grounds directly to your plants: Before watering your outdoor plants, layer your soil or target garden areas with coffee grounds. Plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, ferns, roses, gardenias, blueberries, cranberries, oaks, and spruces respond well to coffee-ground mulch. You can also sprinkle the grounds directly on the soil of potted houseplants.
- Use coffee grounds as a natural pest deterrent: Surround plants sensitive to pests, especially worms, with a mixture of coffee grounds and eggshells. This acts as a natural repellent and keeps worms well fed and happy without having to resort to chemical pesticides.
- Use steeped grounds and a cotton swab to touch up furniture scratches.
- Skin Pack – use a handful of old grounds, mixed together with a bit of water (or cream for added moisturizing) and create a messy paste of this in a small bowl. Pat this goopy mixture onto clean skin, being careful to avoid nose, mouth and eyes. Let sit for about 15 minutes and rinse off
It’s dangerous to drink coffee on Colmore Row
From our Urban Coffee HQ
We think it’s too dangerous to drink coffee on Colmore Row, you never know when the next taxi will come crashing onto the pavement and into a shop.
We suggest for your health and safety you come down Church Street for your Coffee.
Full story in the Birmingham Mail here…
We do discriminate
From our Urban Coffee HQ
We are hiring barista’s to work at our first emporium on Church Street in Birmingham. The advert went on Gumtree and the emproium window last week and to date we have had 150 applicants (wow). Now we have the difficult task of trying to find the rough diamonds amongst them.
We know that having the right staff is going to be the difference between success and failure. So the staff have to meet our requirements; be friendly, acknowledge customers, remember customer names, be polite, know loads about coffee, make a great cup of coffee. Not asking too much we hope.
Anneka Rice – All the stars visiting us
From our Urban Coffee HQ
We had just finished with the X-Factor judges when Anneka Rice of Challenge Anneka fame decided to pop over.
Much-loved TV presenter and mother of three, Soon to turn 50, Anneka was hanging around outside the Urban Coffee Company, she probably can’t wait until we open.
Coffee Republic in trouble
From our Urban Coffee HQ
Looks like Coffee Republic will go into administration this week after suffering losses. What will happen to the Newhall street outlet is unknown as its part of the group and not a franchise. The full story can be found here.
For us this is potentially good news because it’s one less competitor but we will wait and see what happens.
Build progress
From our Urban Coffee HQ
So we are two weeks into the build and the electrics and plumbing are sorted. Next job is to give the place a lick of paint and wait for the furniture to be made. The furniture is being hand made in Devon from re-claimed pine and takes 4 weeks.
Try our coffee now
From our Urban Coffee HQ
Some people can’t wait for us to open in August so we thought we would let you sample our coffee in your own homes.
Try these two out:
Kenya – AA
This coffee comes from the M’Bura Farm in Kenya. In recent years there has been an overall decline in the availability of such high quality.
We are particularly delighted with the intensity and flavour of the M’Bura Farm coffee. Everything you would hope for in a Kenya and more! Acidity, fruit, brightness; it is simply delicious!
Indian Monsooned Coffee
This coffee uses the finest dry processed Arabicas from Chikmagalur, transporting them to the Monsooning patios of the port of Mangalore and letting the warm moist air from the Indian Ocean blow through the coffee for six weeks. During this time the coffee becomes mellow, sweet with hints of caramel, the signatures of an exceptional Monsooned coffee. Once the coffee beans are ready they are dried, hulled, packing into sacks and sent direct to our roastery where we roast them slowly to perfection.
Our Coffee is supplied in 250gram sealed foil bags and can be provided as Coffee Beans, or Ground (at no extra cost) for use in either a Cafetiere or Filter.
