Mona Lisa is a coffee lover!

How fantastic is this?! Who knew that the Mona Lisa was such a HUGE fan of coffee! 

3,604 cups of coffee were used to create a giant Mona Lisa in Sydney , Australia .  Each cup of coffee was filled with different amounts of milk to create the different shades to recreate this masterpiece!

Now,  if each of the 3,604 cups of coffee was wearing a Couva Cup Cover, none of that delicious coffee would have gone to waste!

Shhh...Sneak Peak!

I don't know about you, but it feels like Summer is already a distant memory. With the welcome of Autumn, there is a slight chill in the air, and the leaves are slowly changing from the luscious green to golden yellows, sultry amber, and rich reds. 

I realise that things have been a bit quiet on the blog lately, but we've been busy behind the scenes here at Couva HQ with lots of new and exciting things that we can't wait to share with you. 

First, our snazzy new website and webshop is nearly ready! We can't wait! Now you'll be able to get your very own Couva products delivered right to your door, no matter where you live.

Second, we've started to think about Christmas (shock! horror!). 

It's only a matter of weeks until we're going to be at the Taste of London Christmas show at Tobacco Dock from the 19th to the 22nd of November.

We're going to have lots of lovely new Couvas, gorgeous accessories, and terrific gift ideas for the coffee connoisseurs on your list! Here is a sneaky little peak to tempt you... but we don't want to give too much away ;)

Watch this space for more exciting Couva news! 

www.couva.co.uk

12 ingenious new uses for coffee

It's no secret that I love coffee... I mean I LOVE coffee. 

But the longer I've been running Couva Coffee Couture, the more I'm learning about these wonderful little beans!

Did you know that coffee's not just for drinking anymore my lovely friends?! 

These magical beans have so many other wonderful uses around the house, in the garden and for beauty!

1. Exfoliating scrub

Using a few items around your kitchen, you can make some of the most wonderful exfoliating scrub. Using some used coffee grounds, some olive oil and essential oils of your choice, you can gently buff away the dead skin cells, leaving your skin soft and smooth and delicious! 

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Take 1 tbsp of used coffee grounds, 2 tsp of sugar, 2 tsp of olive or almond oil, 2-3 drops of essential oil (optional). Mix everything together and apply to the skin. Rub gently (particularly if you are using it on your face, avoiding the eye area!), and rinse well. 

2. Face mask

I know most of us start the day with a great cup of coffee to kick-start the day... But how about doing the same for your face? 

Check out this recipe for a wonderful facial treatment that your face is sure to love! 

3. Coffee Soap

And what about some soap with the wonderful benefits of black gold?! There is a wonderful recipe here that shows step-by-step how to make some fantastic coffee soap making use of used coffee grinds!

4. Flavour enhancer

I've already written about how coffee is THE perfect addition to chocolate recipes. There is just something about the intense richness of coffee that brings out the flavour in chocolate. You don't need to add much... a few tablespoons of some very strong brewed coffee or espresso, or even about a teaspoon of fine ground coffee beans really picks up the chocolate flavour, making it more rich and more chocolate-y. 

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But it's not just sweet recipes that benefit from adding the goodness of coffee. 

Adding a bit of coffee to meat also adds an incredible depth of flavour. In stews, add one cup of strong black coffee about halfway through cooking to add richness. You can also create incredible meat rubs for beef, pork or other red meat using coffee grinds. 

Check out this Coffee BBQ Rub or this Dry Coffee Rub. Deelish! 

5. Deodorizer

You can use ground coffee to get rid of stinky smells all over your home like your car, your fridge, or even your cupboard. Place a bowl of dry coffee grounds where the air isn't at its sweetest (best to put them somewhere they won't get knocked over!). Just like magic, the air will be neutralized smelling sweet once again! (This works using the same idea as sniffing coffee beans at the perfume counter to cleanse your sense of smell!)

6. Cleaning and Scouring

Place a few teaspoons of coffee grounds on a thin cleaning cloth to scour away grease and grime. The grounds provide a gentle abrasive to help lift stubborn stains and stuck on stuff. Finish up with a thorough rinse.

7. Hide scratches on wood furniture

Dip a cotton swab into steeped grounds and dab on scratches in dark wood furniture to minimize them. You may want to try it out on a less.visible spot to be sure the results are what you want!

8. Repel bugs and insects in the garden 

Build up a ring of coffee grounds to create a protective border around plants that will help deter ants and slugs.

9. Grow blue hydrangeas

Dig some coffee grounds into the soil at the base of hydrangeas to increase the acidity level of the soil. This helps the shrubs to absorb aluminum, which can also be added to the soil to keep the flowers a vibrant blue colour.

10. Fertilizer for the garden 

Coffee is high in nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, potassium and other trace minerals, which help nourish plants, especially roses or azaleas.

Spread a small amount of coffee grounds  directly to top soil, or added to your watering can. 

11. Composting

Rich in nitrogen, coffee grounds are great for composting and a firm favourite of worms. If you have a compost pile, use one part fresh  grass clippings to one part leaves to one part grounds. Coffee increases the bacteria in the compost and help both soil and compost break down faster.

12. Paint

Artists and crafters have used coffee and tea as a form of 'paint' for ages. Regular brewed coffee can be brushed onto paper and it will dry with a faded, browny, textured look. With repeated applications you can build up the depth of colour to your creation.

There are loads of other great ideas over on our Pinterest page - Why not have a look at some other great coffee-inspired ideas?! 

And don't feel that you need to use your precious beans for these wonderful new uses for coffee... Check if your favourite coffee shop will give you some of their used grounds!

Do you have any other uses for used coffee grounds? 

Please share below!

www.couva.co.uk

Cold brew coffee

With the temperatures in Britain reaching a record-breaking 36.9oC yesterday, it really was one of those days where all you wanted to do was drink ice cold drinks all day long. 

By nature, I'm not an iced cold drink kind of person - I'm more inclined to drink lovely warm drinks, regardless of the weather. 

But today, it was hot... I mean HOT! And nothing but iced cold drinks would do. 

It got me thinking about the latest trend that is cropping up all over the place - cold brew coffee. 

What is cold brew coffee you ask? 

I'm not talking about the typical iced coffees we've seen in years past. Those frothy, whipped concoctions full of cream, flavours, and sugar. 

Even "iced coffee" that you see in high-street chains is typically hot-brewed coffee chilled and then poured over ice. Generally, the coffee is brewed much stronger to account for the ice that will ultimately dilute it. What you end up with tends to be more bitter and intense because of the extraction of the beans with hot water. 

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 What I'm talking about is "cold brew" - a way to brew coffee by steeping coarse coffee grounds in room temperature or cold water for about 18-24 hours. You end up with a concentrated coffee essence, which is generally diluted and served chilled.  The lack of heat means that there isn't the same harshness and acidity that you can get with hot brewing methods. As you might imagine, the process is much gentler to the bean, meaning that you end up with a much softer and sweeter brew, allowing for the subtle flavours of the beans to really shine through. 

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There are all sorts of snazzy contraptions that you can buy designed specifically with brewing iced coffee in mind, like this very swish cold-brew coffee bottle from Hario: 

But you don't really need any special kit to give it a try. Try this recipe for super easy, and super delicious cold brew coffee:

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Cold Brew Coffee (makes 4 cups of concentrated cold coffee, which gives about 8 cups of finished cold coffee to drink)

You'll need: 

1 1/3 cups ground coffee (*you want the grind to be coarse...If it's too fine, you'll end up with powdery, grimy coffee - and that's bad!)

4 cups water (cold or room temp)

Big jar or pitcher

Fine mesh strainer (or a clean dish towel, a coffee filter, or anything to filter out the grounds)

What to do: 

1. Put your ground coffee in the jar or pitcher. Pour the water over the top.

2. Stir gently to combine.

3. Cover it and let it sit for at least 8 hours at room temperature. Ideally, you're looking to leave it for 18-24 hours to get a good, strong brew. The longer you leave it, the stronger the brew becomes. 

4. Carefully, pour the mixture over a strainer into another pitcher or a large bowl. Clean your original jar or pitcher because you'll need it again. 

5. Carefully pour the strained mixture a second time into the clean jar or pitcher.

6. There you have it - Cold brew coffee concentrate!  

To serve:

The 4 cups of cold coffee concentrate will make about 8 cups of iced coffee. This should keep in the fridge for up to a week (if it lasts that long!).

You'll want to dilute this before drinking, roughly 2 parts of water for 1 part of cold brew coffee concentrate (i.e. 2 cups of water + 1 cup of cold brew coffee). Add more or less water, depending on how strong you like yours! You can add some milk (almond, coconut, dairy) if you'd like, and something sweet to taste. You could even get really snazzy and  create some really interesting coffee cocktails... coffee martini anyone?! 

And of course, if you just can't wait 18-24 hours for an ice cold brew, there are many brands of ready-to-drink proper iced coffee now on the market. 

At the London Coffee Festival, I had the pleasure of trying a few. Personally, my fave from the show was Good Beans. 

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Another really deelish off-the-shelf brew is Jimmy's Iced Coffee. I have to be honest, I'm not entirely sure if it's a cold-brew or simply a hot brew coffee made cold...Either way, it's yummy!

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With some more hot & sweltering days on the way, why not give cold brewing a try?!

If you do, let us know how you get on! Leave us a comment, or share with us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram! We'd love to hear from you!

www.couva.co.uk

Happy mother's day!

Photo credit: Etsy

To all the mothers all over the world, I want to wish you a very happy mother's day! We wouldn't be here without you!

And a very special mention to my mum... she's really very super and has instilled in me the love of all things creative and delicious in this world! 

For many mums, hot coffee is distant memory. The moment a cup is poured, some distraction or other comes along. Mother's day, for many, is the one day of the year they can enjoy a nice HOT cup of coffee. 

But, have you heard of some pretty snazzy little cup covers that keep coffee hot for up to 60% longer? The really cute ones in great fabrics that can fit on mugs or takeaway cups? 

The ones that have the loyalty card pocket that fits a coffee shop 

gift card perfectly (*hint hint!!)? 

That's right! The Couva Cup Covers make THE perfect gift for mums all over the world... 

Why? 

1. They keep hot drinks hotter for up to 60% longer - seriously. 
2. The loyalty card pocket is a perfect place for a gift card to mum's favourite cafe! 
3. They protect fingers from hot drinks. Forget those horrible cardboard sleeves! 
4. They are better for the environment.
5. They look great!

Want to buy one? 

Our webshop is coming any day now! I'll keep you posted. 

In the meantime, why not visit one of our retailers? Check out a list on our website: 

http://www.couva.co.uk/shop.html

Coffee that is out of this world... literally!

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I loooove coffee. I really do.

But there are sometimes that I feel that my love of the bean pales in comparison to the love some others feel for their brew.

Photo credit: NanLawson

For instance, there were some people at the London Coffee Festival who were SERIOUS about their coffee... I mean "not interested in frothy milk on top because it gets into my hipster beard, the-darker-the-better, I know where the beans were harvested just by vaguely sniffing them" kind of intensity about their coffee.

But even these coffee aficionados pale in comparison to Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. 

Not only was she the first female Italian astronaut, but the astronaut to drink espresso in orbit. How out of the world is that?!

Up until now, astronauts have had to make do with instant coffee. And when you think about it, space isn't really the best place to be attempting to create the perfect brew using a high-pressure machine full of steaming hot water.

No problem thanks to the ISSpresso - a specialist coffee machine designed expclusively for use in space, and was delivered to the International Space Station last week.

Using a regular coffee pod capsule, the ISSpresso makes the coffee by circulating hot water through a system of specially designed pipes. Once brewed, the coffee ends up being contained in a pouch with a straw (much like a drinking box!), allowing the astronauts to enjoy delicious real espresso, like you would on any piazza in Florence!

 The ISSpresso was an extensive collaborative project between Italian coffee comapny Lavazza and engineering firm Argotec.

Read more about the ISSpresso machine and the cups used by the astronauts on the NASA blog.

Now, I wonder if they have any problems keeping their coffee hot up there in space?! A future collaboration between Couva and NASA in the future?!

www.couva.co.uk

London Coffee Festival 2015 - Are you going?!

This week sees the return of the London Coffee Festival, taking place at the Old Truman Brewery from April 30th to May 3rd, 2015.

Are you going?! You should! 

This year promises to be bigger and better than last year - and that's saying a lot! Last year and years previous have been fantastic!

Couva Coffee Couture were fortunate to have a space at the Festival last year, and it was an incredible show.

The buzz was indescribable... Maybe it was the caffeine (ok, probably the caffeine!). Maybe it was the impressive array of roasters from the BIG guys like Starbucks and Costa, through to the smaller guys like UE Roasters and Pact Coffee, right down to the even smaller guys like Round Square Roasters (have you tried their "Whiskey Cask Coffee"?! Seriously yum!) . Maybe it was the variety of teas available from people like The London Tea Company, and our faves, The Brew Tea Company.

And we mustn't forget to mention the wonderful music and food and the coffee-inspired cocktails and chocolate and industry people and.... You get the picture!  If you are  a coffee connoisseur, it's definitely a show that you do not want to miss!

  

  

If you want a review of the show last year, check out our review from 2014.

Although Couva won't be exhibiting this year (thanks to the new-ish arrival of the youngest member of the Couva Crew - 4-month-old Gray!), we will definitely be visiting!

Hope to see you there!

PS: Watch this space for reviews of the show!

www.couva.co.uk