Blog

Furthering our commitment to keeping our customers caffeinated (or decaffeinated) Coffee Real is gearing up to move into a new roasting facility, and would you believe it is called The Elephant House, and no we are not roasting in a zoo.

If you are a gardener that has ever used old coffee grounds to deter the pests (slugs / snails) because you do not want to resort to chemicals or just thought it a great idea then you are in contravention of EU regulations and technically face a heavy fine. Yes true…  

It is well known that caffeine in the coffee deters slugs and snails but Brussels bureaucrats have made it known that any “home-made” remedy that has not been approved by Brussels is against the law. This law is to stop people using dangerous mixtures on plants that may be eaten in future or spreading chemicals that may harm wider wildlife.

Brussels in their wisdom thought it easier for the EU to include chemicals that have been tested and approved as pesticides on a list, and impose a blanket ban on everything else, rather than produce a longer list of ingredients that are potentially dangerous. "All chemicals being used to control or deter animals are classed as pesticides in the UK and EU, and must be registered and approved for this purpose by our own government and the EU. Coffee ground is not on the list and thus can’t be used. So in theory gardeners could face heavy fines - although I guess the chances of being prosecuted for scattering coffee grounds in a garden are, I suspect, remote.”

However - you are able to compost coffe grounds and then use on the garden - so what a pile of rubbish Brussels.

With brewed coffee you are only getting half the taste you thought you were. This is down to the fact that, although we have sensors on our tongue, eighty per cent of what we think of as taste actually reaches us via smell receptors in our nose.

We get asked all the time on how best to store coffee once it has been roasted. 

Coffee Real is pleased to announce the opening of a Coffee Real branded Café at the Arora Hotel Gatwick. This new café forms part of a wider licencing agreement between Coffee Real Ltd and Excel Hospitality Limited (EHL) and is part of a £100,000 refit at the hotel within the lobby area, café and restaurant.