Author: Gareth Hardy

As part of our zero waste journey, we’ve teamed up with bio bean to recycle waste coffee grounds from our customers and get these turned into compact fire logs that can be used in home woodburners and stoves.

Each log contains the grounds from around 25 cups of coffee. The logs burn more efficiently (20% hotter and longer) than wood and offer a sustainable, environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional solid fuels.

So, how are jute involved? We equip our wholesale partners with large caddies for their waste coffee grounds. Each time we deliver fresh coffee to them, we collect the caddies and load them into the van. We then take the waste coffee to bio bean HQ for recycling. This is where the magic happens and where your daily caffeine hit is given a second life.

The coffee logs are then sold for use in woodburners – they don’t smell of coffee (although wouldn’t that be wonderful?!). The packaging is recyclable, or can be used as a firelighter.

Our coffee glossary explains some key coffee terms for budding baristas.

Affogato
A dreamy scoop of ice cream ‘drowned’ in a shot of espresso. Check this affogato recipe out btw – it’s a good ‘un!

Americano
A shot or two of espresso diluted with hot water, and served with or without milk. Rumour has it Americanos get their name from WW2, when American GIs in Italy would dilute their espressos with hot water.

Barista
All round coffee expert who keeps the machine working, pulls perfect espressos and creates beautiful latte art.  Find out more about our barista training.

Cappuccino
1 part espresso, 1 part steamed milk and 1 part foam (8oz). We wrote more about cappuccinos here!

Crema
The signature 2-5mm thick caramel-coloured emulsion that sits on top of an espresso.

Cupping
One of our favourite parts of the job – a tasting method using coarsely ground coffee, steeped with hot water in shallow bowls, and slurped from a flat spoon to pull in oxygen and draw out the flavour of the coffee.

Espresso
Espresso is made by forcing hot water at the correct pressure through the correct amount of coffee grounds. Been on one of our barista courses? You’ll know the correct numbers by heart!

Extraction
Whenever you’re brewing any type of coffee, once the water hits the coffee, it starts to extract the flavour.  You might have heard people describe coffee as either over- or under-extracted. Under-extracted coffees taste sharp and over-extracted coffees taste bitter.

Flat White
A double shot ristretto with steamed latte milk. Invented in either New Zealand or Australia, depending on your source! (6oz)

Green Coffee
Unroasted coffee beans. They have a deep, grassy smell and are as hard as a nut.

Latte
A single shot espresso with steamed milk. (8oz)

Latte Art
The pattern made by pouring steamed milk onto the surface of an espresso-based drink. Some of the most popular patterns include rosettas, hearts, swans and tulips.

Macchiato
An espresso topped with microfoam. (3-4oz)

Mocha
Espresso combined with cocoa. Chocolate and coffee, what’s not to love?!

Portafilter
The handle and filter basket that contains the coffee on an espresso machine.

Puck
Spent coffee from a portafilter – so called because it looks like a hockey puck!

Red Eye
You’ll never sleep again

Ristretto
A short espresso made with the same amount of coffee, but half the amount of water for when you really need a kick start!

Single Origin
Coffee from a particular area – ours are ethically sourced from countries including Honduras, Brazil, Ethiopia and Colombia.

What is a cappuccino?

Some quick cappuccino facts:

1. A cappuccino is 1 part espresso, 1 part steamed milk and 1 part foam. Our barista courses cover how to make a perfect one, from the pour to the microfoam and everything inbetween!
2. We love its word origin: it’s probably inspired by the brown tunics and white hoods of Capuchin monks, who have also given their name to the cute capuchin monkeys.
3. Nope, its not the same as a latte – although the base is still a shot of espresso, the proportions of coffee, milk and foam vary (as does the latte art!).
4. Chocolate on top or not? Baristas who’ve taken part in our training know our thoughts on that one!

The arrival of the pumpkin spice latte heralds the start of Autumn as much as digging out your big coat and kicking through the leaves on the way to work. Inspired by the taste of a slice of pumpkin pie followed by a sip of espresso back in 2003, Starbucks went on to sell more than 200 million PSLs over the next ten years. The iconic drink now has its own Instagram account and has inspired a billion (approx.) pumpkin food trends, including pumpkin spiced fries in McDonald’s Japan!

Fancy making your own? Here’s an easy recipe – you’ll just need some coffee, some pumpkin puree, milk and a pinch of nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon.

If, like more than half the respondents in our Facebook poll, you prefer to drink your coffee clean, our Brazilian single origin coffee has notes of caramel and pecan giving your classic espresso an Autumnal vibe.