coffee – The Review Studio

Artisan Coffee Co’s. Chocolate Flight and Coffee Pairings

Birthday Gifts, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

We were very excited to learn that it’s World Chocolate Day on 7^th July, which gives us a perfect excuse to test out some chocolate, and what better than Artisan Coffee Company’s Chocolate Flight and Coffee Selection Box. Chocolate AND coffee!

If you’re not familiar with Tasting Experiences, there is a leaflet enclosed which explains it all; testing the individual coffee bags with their corresponding chocolates, each flavour of chocolate and coffee designed to bring out the richness in each other. For example, testing the coffee called The Genius (no 161) with the chocolate called Wonderously Complex, you should be able to taste the rich cocoa flavour, some pecan notes and a touch of raisin and malt.

Artisan Coffee began in 2019 after conversations about coffee between a coffee research scientist, an entrepreneur and a sommelier of coffee, known as a Q Grader in the business. It’s no wonder the company was named ‘Artisan Coffee Co’ when the team decided to concentrate on bringing the flavour of coffee to the masses and after a year of doing so, brought in Ashley Palmer-Watts; chef and coffee fanatic. He designed a range of flavoursome chocolates which harmonised flavours between the coffee and the chocolates.

The coffee in most cases on the Artisan website is in coffee bags – an ingenious way of getting a characterful cup of coffee without having to brew up beans and filter. Now that we’re all working from home, coffee bags make more sense, or even bringing in a few to the office when we have to makes better sense, but this Tasting Experience box also has coffee pods. So whether you’re working from home or commuting, there’s an option on how to enjoy your roast. The chocolates are individually wrapped and remind me of after dinner luxuries.

The tasting experience card explains exactly how to set up the coffee and what the pairing of chocolates are to the tastes. This is a great after dinner exercise, or date night fun as you try each coffee with each chocolate. I’m not a great coffee lover, so trying the coffees over a few nights, you really get a taste for the pairings and start to taste the differences. The idea of combining the coffees with gorgeous chocolates is really appealing, and makes the experience more fun.

It may be World Chocolate Day and a chance to try some top class artisan chocolate, but you’ll be forgiven if you want to use it as an excuse to taste some of the best coffees on offer too!

The Ultimate Coffee Selection Box is available from £34.99 at:

The Ultimate Coffee Selection Box

Beans Coffee Club Subscription

Birthday Gifts, Family Life, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Subscription Boxes

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

New Year and new habits form – coffee lovers everywhere will appreciate the UK’s biggest coffee subscription service from Beans Coffee Club.

Since lockdown, subscription services have been their most popular, especially subscriptions for coffee. Why not have a luxury coffee bean sent to your home to brew whilst you work? After all, you’re probably saving a fortune on all the coffees you’ve been buying at the high-end coffee shops where your office used to be! Even if you are still working in the office a few days a week, lots of people have opted to take their love of coffee to work with them, brewing up in a cafetiere to take to meetings.

The Beans Coffee Club lead the way with the UK’s largest selection of coffees, including some which are exclusive. Their subscriptions can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly and shipped straight from the roaster. Coffee lovers are well catered for with a special selection survey which matches you to the perfect blend. It takes just 30 seconds, but gets you thinking about what you’re looking for in a coffee, and probably matches you to something you’d never thought of before!

I took the survey myself, which was indeed thought provoking (do I prefer chocolate & caramel, or citrus & floral?) and was able to stipulate whether I wanted whole beans or ground beans sent to me, caffeinated or decaffeinated.

What arrived in the post is this handsome Wogan coffee (I’m presuming it’s nothing to do with the late BBC presenter!) and originates from Bristol. Back in 1970 there weren’t any local roasters in the South West, which brought coffee lover Brian Wogan to the conclusion that would open Wogan Coffee. More than 50 years later and Brian’s son Adrian, his wife and their children now run the ethically-sourced single origin coffees.

I was sent the Wogan Brazilian Mio, Lot 1930 to try. I don’t have a bean grinder so I selected to have the beans sent to me pre-ground. I have both a cafetiere and a filter, which means I can brew the ground coffee both ways. Through the filter, I only needed one heaped teaspoon of coffee to make one mug’s worth. The Wogan’s coffee is nicely smooth with a rich nutty taste to it. It’s a typical coffee lover’s dream, not like a weak instant coffee. It works well with a splash of milk to offset the bitterness but you can drink it black if you prefer.

Once you’ve enjoyed any of your Beans Coffee Club coffees, you can use the QR code on the back of the packaging to find out more about the roaster who roasted the beans, or visit your Coffee Journal online to rate your coffee to try similar ones in the future! If only everything was solved with a cup of coffee…

The Beans Coffee Subscription ranges from £11.99 for one gift, up to £139.99 for 12 coffees.

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200 Degrees Coffee

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, eco friendly, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Plastic free, Subscription Boxes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – This item was sent to us for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are our own.

Some time, several years ago, two bar owners wanted to serve the best possible cup of coffee to their customers. Thus began a search, that started a journey, which became an obsession, and lead to three men being alone in the corner of a garage (with a coffee roaster) until finally, in 2012, they created 200 Degrees Coffee and decided to show it to the world, starting with Nottingham.

That was the beginning and there are now fifteen 200 Degrees coffee shops and six barista schools in the UK as well as hundreds of happy wholesale and business customers enjoying 200 Degrees ‘beans and machines’.

So why did they call themselves 200 DEGREES? It’s because they roast their coffee a slightly lower temperature than normal of 200 degrees centigrade that yields it’s smoother, deeper taste. They then serve their coffee at around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, so it made sense to them.

I am a massive coffee fan and discovering brands I’ve not tried is a real pleasure of mine and that is how I stumbled across 200 Degrees!

I was sent a 250g bag of their Brazilian Love Affair blend (available in ground or beans) to sample and it has been a really enjoyable review!

The Brazilian Love Affair is a fruity Brazilian blend with Colombian Arabica and Vietnamese Robusta which is a slow roasted medium blend that gives the drinker decent full bodied coffee with a bite. It is utterly delicious!

I have used the Brazilian Love Affair blend in a number of ways this week, piping hot with cream and sugar, iced with crushed ice, syrup and milk and I even used it to make a scrumptious coffee and walnut cake.

200 Degrees have certainly won me over with their delicious coffee and recyclable packaging.

Brazilian Love Affair is available to buy from https://200degs.com/

RRP From £8.95

200 Degrees coffee is available to buy in single bags or as a subscription (this would make a wonderful gift for the caffeine addict in your life).

The 12 Days of Discovery Coffee Advent Calendar

Christmas, Drinks and Mixers, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this product for the purpose of this review/feature. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

The 12 Days of Discovery Advent Calendar is a specially curated collection of coffees from the Chimney Fire Coffee 2022 Discovery Coffee range.

As a coffee love the idea of a coffee advent calendar really excited me and I couldn’t wait to dive in!

I received a calendar with coarse coffee and from the moment I unwrapped the packaging I was met with the truly delightful scent of coffee!

The packaging is recyclable and each of the 12 bags the 100% roasted coffee came in are 100% compostable which is brilliant for our planet.

Each of the coffees in the advent calendar has been carefully selected by the roastery team to satisfy different tastes, and introduce a new and interesting coffee from around the world – be that a new origin or region, a new process or varietal, or something seasonal with a unique flavour profile.

Each bag is numbered from 1 to 12 in line with the 12 days of Christmas which traditionally starts on 25th December but nowadays many start the 12 days on 13th December in order to count down to Christmas but whichever date you choose you will be spoilt for choice!

Included with each bag is a card insert which gives various pieces of information about each blend including the flavour notes, profile, farm it was grown on, process involved creating it and other snippets and fun facts including the altitude and varietals.

Day 1 – Costa Rica
Day 2 – China
Day 3 – Zambia
Day 4 – Nicaragua
Day 5 – Ethiopia
Day 6 – India
Day 7 – Peru
Day 8 – Brazil
Day 9 – Malawi
Day 10 – Burundi
Day 11 – Papa New Guinea
Day 12 – Mexico

The unique sleeve illustration was created by Sïan Angharad, celebrating the contribution of each team member to their operation, with a Christmassy twist!

The information leaflet also doubles up as a map so you can see where your coffee originated from and the QR code is great for learning even more about the coffees featured in this stunning Advent Calendar. The information leaflet also has a discount code printed inside for 15% off your first subscription or next Discovery Coffee order.

From Peru to Japan to Ethiopia you will be sure to find something new and exciting this festive season, these coffees can be enjoyed hot, cold, iced or even as a delicious ingredient to bake with! The possibilities are endless.

This amazing Advent Calendar is bound to put a smile on anyone’s face with the variety of great coffee available.

It’s a coffee lovers dream!

The 12 Days of Discovery Coffee Advent Calendar contains 12 stunning bags of 70g coffee (either whole bean, or pre-ground), a gorgous khaki green tote bag and an information leaflet about the coffees.

Available at http://www.chimneyfirecoffee.com from early November 2022

RRP £45

£1 from every 12 Days of Discovery Christmas Gift Pack will be donated to the Re-Cycle charity, who have helped increase school attendance by 30% and donated over 112,000 bikes, with 98% still operational after 3 years.

Re-Cycle are a small charity who refurbish donated bicycles from the UK, working with local partners to distribute them to rural communities in Africa.

Arctic Iced Coffee

Drinks and Mixers, Food & Drink, Summer, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Coffee that’s just as cool on the inside as it is on the outside!

Arctic Iced Coffees begin their life down in dreamy Devon, all the milk is locally sourced and delivered straight to the dairy in Crediton. Arctic’s team of experts then carry out their checks to ensure the milk is of the highest quality before it goes on its journey to be turned into a delicious iced coffee.

Once in the dairy, the milk is then blended with the coffee, but it’s not just any old coffee, Arctic only use Fairtrade arabica coffee beans.

The arabica beans are roasted using a unique system that produces highly aromatic coffees with less bitterness.

Each iced coffee variant is then made up using its delicious mix of flavours that have been lovingly created by the team in Crediton before they are packed ready to hit the shelves.

Unlike other leading iced coffees, Arctic Coffees are always made using real fresh milk so need to be kept chilled – but it’s worth it, you just can’t beat an iced coffee made with real milk.

With a range of great tasting flavours to choose from, you’re sure to find one that gives you that perfect ‘pick me up’ hit that you need to get you through whatever the day throws your way.

Roasted Arabica Bean

Deliciously Sweet, Incredibly Moreish

Strength – 2

High Temperature Pasteurised

Made with 1% Fat British Milk

Extremely Refreshing

Suitable for for Vegetarians

Roasted Arabica Bean

Deliciously Rich and Creamy

Strength – 2

Made with <2% fat British milk

High Temperature Pasteurised

Suitable for Vegetarians

Smooth & Strong, Triple Shot

Strength – 5

Made with 1% Fat British Milk

High Temperature Pasteurised

Rainforest Alliance – Coffee

Suitable for Vegetarians

Under 100 Calories Per Carton

Roasted Arabica Bean

No Added Sugar

Strength – 3

Made with Fat Free British Milk

High Temperature Pasteurised

Suitable for Vegetarians

Roasted Arabica Bean

A Well Rounded, Smooth Flavour

Strength – 3

Made with <2% fat British milk

High temperature pasteurised

Suitable for Vegetarians

Arctic Iced Coffee just got BIGGER

Following the success of the 330ml iced coffee cartons, Arctic are excited to be able to bring to market 1L Arctic Coffee Cafe Latte and Arctic Coffee Caramel Latte.

The same great tasting iced coffee but now as an in-home carton meaning more coffee, less packaging and even better value.

Their consumers have been asking for a larger carton for some time now so they can enjoy their favourite iced coffee on the go and in the comfort of their own home.

Arctic Iced Coffee is available from the following retailers

SHO Calix Reusable Coffee Cup

Birthday Gifts, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Plastic free, Summer, Sustainable

Disclaimer – We received this item for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The SHO Calix is a reusable coffee cup. It has been designed to eliminate single-use coffee cups by providing a more satisfying drinking experience.

Why Choose SHO?

Keeps Tea/Coffee
Piping Hot For 6 Hours
Keeps Iced Coffee Cold
For 12 Hours
Won’t Condensate
Or Sweat
18/8 Stainless Steel & Lifetime Guarantee
BPA Free & EU Safety Tested
Over 10% SHO Profits Donated To Charity

6 Hours Hot & 12 Hours Cold

Using SHO Vacuum Technology, this coffee cup will keep your drink piping hot for hours. It can also keep iced drinks cold for half a day!

Use a reusable coffee cup in style!

The vision at SHO is that every one on planet earth uses reusable products rather than single-use items. Using a Calix will help to help eliminate single-use coffee cups.

Quality, Safe & Guaranteed

The Calix is crafted from Premium 18/8 (304) Stainless Steel and coated in tough and durable powder coated paint. It is BPA Free and has been EU Safety Tested. SHO are so confident in their coffee cups that it’s covered by their SHO Lifetime Guarantee.

Available to buy from https://shoreusable.com/

Jimmy’s Iced Coffee

Drinks and Mixers, Food & Drink, Summer, Vegan

Disclaimer – We received this item for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

What does a coffee lover drink in the summer? Iced coffee of course!

JimmysIcedCoffee are a family owned business specialising in coffee, brewed in Christchurch, Dorset. Their coffee flavours include Mocha, Oat, Extra Shot, Skinny and of course, their original coffee flavour. I was sent three flavours to try; Mocha, Original and Oat.

For anyone who is Vegan or Vegetarian, Jimmy’s Iced Coffee Oat is Dairy Free and made with single-origin Rain Forest Alliance Coffee. As with all the iced coffees, they taste better when chilled in the fridge. The oat milk is slightly richer than just milk, but doesn’t detract from the coffee taste so any #FreeFrom or vegan coffee lovers won’t be disappointed!

The Jimmy’s Iced Coffee Mocha BottleCan is essentially a chocolate milk with coffee extra, so if like me you don’t love coffee all the time, the chocolate taste gives the coffee sweeter flavour. Also served cold, it works well with ice when it’s really hot, or room temperature when you’re feeling pecking, or as an #AfternoonSnack. I’m also reliably informed it’s good as a protein pick-me-up, especially after the gym.

Jimmy’s Iced Coffee Original is what it says it is – more like the iced coffee you wish you could make at home, this is a stronger coffee, also made with Rain Forest Alliance coffee, semi-skimmed milk a little sugar to give it more of a kick. I liked this iced coffee because it was a good wake up in the morning, but I don’t think I could have it too many times in a day!

Jimmy’s Iced Coffees are available on their website via subscription: https://www.jimmysicedcoffee.com/shop/ and Tesco, Morrisons, M&S, Co Op, BP, Waitrose and Asda. Cases of 12 cans or bottles start at £20, and the BottleCan and cans can be recycled.