Glenfinlas Coffee

We realise that many of you are experiencing problems at the payment stage when ordering though Paypal. We have been aware of these issues for a while and are working hard to resolve them. We are confident that this should be done by the end of the week but until then, we will have to temporarily disable Paypal. Fear not though, you can still order with Google Checkout, through the contact form and over the phone on 0131 220 8237. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience.

It's been a long wait but they are finally here - three delicious limited edition seasonal flavours for you to try! In addition to our regular Christmas favourites, Eggnog and Gingerbread Cookie, we have a new Cinnamon Sticky Bun flavour. All three coffees start with a base of lightly roasted Breakfast Blend beans to which the delicate flavours are then added. Cinnamon Sticky Bun flavoured coffee combines popular cinnamon spiciness with a smooth, sweet vanilla icing flavour to produce a wonderful unique taste for the Christmas holidays! All three coffees as well as Pumpkin Spice are available to order now.

You will now find a fantastic range of thermal cafetieres, insulated travel mugs and French press mugs available to purchase in the shop. Produced by Planetary Design in the USA, this is a fantastic collection of innovative accessories for the coffee-lover who wants their coffee to stay hotter for longer! Brilliantly designed and manufactured from double walled 18/8 stainless steel and with scratch-resistant high gloss finishes, these robust yet stylish cafetieres and tumblers will make the ideal addition to any discerning coffee-lover's kitchen. Browse through our accessories and gifts sections for a closer look.

You'll be pleased to hear that we have now added the option of paying for your coffee through Paypal in addition to using Google Checkout. We are in the process of improving some of the features of the website and, thanks to your feedback, including additional payment options was one of the first things that we have addressed. So now as well as paying with Google Checkout you can choose to use Paypal. Now there's no excuse not to order your favourite coffee!

Originally a brewing method which arose in Italy in the 19th Century, espresso quickly spread to become the foundation for all of the most popular coffee drinks in the world; cappuccino, latte, flat white, americano, macchiato and many more.

The Machinery

Finding a good, reliable domestic espresso machine can be difficult. Unfortunately, it seems to be that the more you pay, the more reliable the machine you get. Because of the heat and the pressure involved the machinery needs to be well made and robust. Certainly be prepared to part with a few hundred pounds to get something good enough for the job. Glenfinlas Coffee sell three excellent and reliable domestic espresso machines which are the only ones to be manufactured in the United Kingdom and have served us well for many years!

The Coffee

As with most brewing methods, there are no hard and fast rules for what constitutes the best coffee with which to make an espresso but at Glenfinlas Coffee, we would recommend using a very dark roasted coffee. Because dark roast coffees are roasted longer and at higher temperatures, the natural sugars and oils that are present in the beans become caramelised producing a delicious, sweet shot of espresso. In addition, the natural fats and oils rise to the top to give you a lovely, rich crema. In our web shop, you will find two great dark roast blends: Italian Roast and Dolomiti Blend which will make fantastic shots of espresso at home.

The Method

Essentially, making or 'pulling' a shot of espresso is forcing very hot water through very finely-ground coffee for a relatively short period of time. As a brewing method, it is the shortest way to extract coffee (for more info, see our advice on grind and how to make the perfect cafetiere). The standard volume of ground coffee for one shot of espresso is 7g (though this can vary) which should then be placed in to a warm filter holder - don't worry about using exactly 7g, a heaped soup spoonful will be fine. Ensure that the ground coffee has been flattened - water will follow the path of least resistance so try and get the ground coffee as level as possible in the filter holder so that the shot pours evenly. Now the coffee needs to be pressed down or 'tamped' into the filter holder firmly. Try and do this as flatly as possible and at the end give it a little twist before you finish, just to flatten-off the coffee. It's important to tamp firmly as if the coffee isn't packed down tightly enough the water will pass through too quickly resulting in a weak, under-extracted espresso.

Now you can place the filter holder in to the machine. Before doing this, wipe any excess ground coffee from around the top of the filter holder and run a little hot water through the machine. Place the filter holder in to the machine (there should be two 'lugs' in which the two 'ears' on the filter holder will fit) and secure by turning firmly to the right. It's important to ensure that the filter holder is fastened securely as, if not, coffee grounds will be forced out over the edge and in to the cup or at worst the filter holder may be forced out of the machine entirely (and over your clothes and kitchen floor!).

The Espresso Shot

The perfect shot of espresso should take between 25 - 30 seconds to pour. Too quick and it will be limp and under-extracted, too slow and it will taste bitter and burned. It should be a steady, slow flow changing in colour from light and creamy to a dark honey giving you a delicious-looking crema at the end (Italians give an espresso three distinct parts: the heart and the body with the crema signifying the soul). Once the shot has been poured, don't let it sit for more than 30 seconds as it will become flat and tasteless. Drink it reasonably soon after pouring or if you are adding hot milk then try and have it ready and waiting and then you are all set to enjoy a delicious coffee at home!

Last month, we told you about the new Fair Trade Peru: La Florida from Alpen Sierra Coffee Roasters that arrived recently. A few days ago, we received an email from their founder and head roaster, Christian Waskiewicz which included some more information about the Co-operative and the benefits to them of Fair Trade certification. We thought we'd share it with you too!

A group of 100 small-scale family coffee farmers from Peru’s Chanchamayo region came together in 1965 to form the La Florida cooperative. Their efforts have brought vitally needed education, infrastructure, credit, and environmental restoration to their remote corner of the Peruvian jungle. Today, the cooperative has grown to include more than 1,200 farmers who work together to improve the quality of the cooperative’s coffee.

La Florida has enjoyed dramatic benefits since it began selling to the Fair Trade market. The co-op has used revenue from Fair Trade sales to fund the following initiatives:

• A technical school. The Occupational Learning Centre for Sustainable Agriculture offers in-depth training in environmentally
responsible farming techniques.
• A micro-credit programme. A portion of the Fair Trade price funds a village banking project that lends money to women who run household businesses.
• Healthcare services. La Florida finances medical training and supplies in rural areas.
• Training in crop diversification. La Florida's technical assistance teams teach farmers how to grow non-traditional fruit varieties for sustenance and extra income.
• Community infrastructure. La Florida has contributed to the completion and maintenance of five roads, three portable water systems, three schools, a bridge, and a health clinic.
• Improved coffee processing capabilities. La Florida has purchased electronic coffee-sorting equipment and additional acreage for coffee drying patios.

“Fair Trade helps all of La Florida’s members
and their families. Now our members
get a better price. With the income from
Fair Trade, we can invest in social programmes
for the development of our communities.”
César Rivas Peña,
La Florida General Manager

This great coffee should hopefully be available for the next few months so have a look in the web shop and try it for yourself.

Continuing our efforts to increase the range of  organic coffees we offer in the shop, we are pleased to say that we have added a great new coffee from the La Florida Co-operative in Peru. According to Inter-American Coffee, the La Florida co-operative was established in 1966 and does a lot of work to improve life for the local community, providing schools with new equipment, maintaining the roads and providing jobs for local people. As for the coffee, the beans are from the Norte growing region of Peru and Alpen Sierra dark roast them for an intense but sweet, malty and dark chocolate flavour. The coffee has a mild acidity, round body and a clean after taste. Why not try it with something sweet and chocolatey as an afternoon treat?!

As part of our aim to increase our range of Certified Organic coffees, we are pleased to bring in this delicious new single origin coffee from Alpen Sierra Coffee Roasting Company. Most of our coffees are blends which we feel offer more of a complex flavour in the cup but we do try to carry one or two single origins at any one time. Many Mexican coffees are certified organic, less expensive in comparison to some other South American coffees and are generally considered to be mild and lighter bodied. Consensus seems to be that the best come from the Chiapas region in the far south of Mexico, as Alpen Sierra themselves say: 'Mexico's coffees are best described as light to medium in body with delicate and sparkling characters of sweetness and fine acidity. She boasts production across twelve states, but we find the finest, sustainable speciality coffees to come from the Oaxaca Pluma and Chiapas regions.'

They describe their Mexico Chiapas as a 'medium/dark roast with delicate aromas of honey and spicy notes. Notes of honey and cedar are present in the flavour with a mild acidity and a light body and a sweet, clean after taste.'

Buy a bag today and let us know what you think. If you need the coffee ground for you, then give us a call and we can grind it to suit whatever brewing method you use. Enjoy!

Congratulations to Tania Orde who has won a year's supply of speciality coffee! Her name was pulled out of the hat (well, cardboard box actually!) this afternoon. Her first delivery of gourmet coffee will be sent out next week!

We have collected all the cards that were filled out on the two Friday sessions of Taste of Edinburgh and will be drawing a name this afternoon. We'll announce the lucky winner tomorrow (13th) afternoon on the website as well as our Facebook page and our Twitter feed! Good luck everyone!