We’ve come over all festive – and crafty – at Pact HQ this week, so we decided to make some rather special coffee-themed Christmas decorations for you lovely lot!
Anneliese has made them from upcycled coffee bags and some beans that weren’t fresh enough to make it into your coffee cup. You can see how she made them below…
Pact Coffee DIY Christmas Decoration
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We’ve offered them up to our followers on Twitter and Facebook and winners of these wonderful-smelling little tree-adornments will be selected at random. If you’re one of the lucky ones then do pop us a picture of your decoration in situ on your tree (it’ll be nice to know they’ve gone to a loving home)!
Here at Pact we like really good coffee but we do not like coffee snobbery. That’s why we’ve decided to put together a series of no-nonsense blog posts and workshops to help you get the most from your bean. The first of these workshops will be:
Experimenting with Coffee Wednesday 18th December at Pact HQ in Bermondsey
What’s involved?
We’ll be using V60 drip filters to look at three variables in coffee; grind size, grind weight and water volume. Altering all these things can produce really different results in terms of flavour and strength, so playing with them could allow you to find your perfect cup – and have a jolly nice time while you’re at it.
During the workshop we’ll all have a go at three sets of experiments:
altering grind size – keeping grind weight and volume of water the same
altering grind weight – keeping grind size and volume of water the same
altering volume of water – keeping grind size and weight the same.
Drop the snobbery
Industry experts claim that there are correct ratios for all the above. It’s possible to go into specific formulas, cup of excellence parameters and international grading standards – but this workshop is about exploring your options. We’ll be using recommended procedures but we’ll be adding a dash of intuition as we go. After all, every individual’s taste tends to be different.
I don’t know anything about coffee, can I come?
Absolutely! The whole idea behind ‘Know Your Beans’ is making the sometimes intimidating world of gourmet coffee open to all.
Since October 2012, when I started the business out of my kitchen in Balham, SW London.
What’s your favourite brew method?
It varies a lot. I tend to make a cafetiere every morning for me and Emma to share. Then it’s v60 at work. Oh, and on weekends I make a mean flat white on my Europiccola.
What’s your favourite time of day to make a coffee, and why?
First thing in the morning. The smell and sound of the beans grinding ease me into the day almost as much as the coffee itself!
Who introduced you to coffee?
I probably had my first cup of coffee when I was 15, working in a chocolate warehouse. (It was Nescafe). I think I first discovered fresh roasted coffee at Monmouth in Soho about 10 years ago.
On what day does your coffee taste best, and why?
Sunday. I think because it’s the day I get to indulge most in the process of making it.
Yesterday at Pact HQ we were participating in our local Christmas fair. We spent the afternoon down at the Bermondsey Biscuit Factory, spreading the word about Pact. Everyone was super pleased to receive their gifts early this year, with ‘Captain Pugwash’ helping us share them with the Lolloping landlubbers.
So this guy will be delivering your coffee this year, we think Santa’s substitute is pretty dashing, according to Pugwash you can decorate your Christmas tree with Pact, so we gave it a try…
We should all have a Captain Pugwash at the bottom of our tree!
Esoteric London was very excited about making a coffee with Pact!
Birds In Hats loved that our logo was wearing a hat this Christmas.
Greekside Artists will be starting their winter mornings with a cup of the good stuff, they were happy to point out that coffee is a great work of art, well it certainly helps them to create one.
A Suit That Fits were happy to get some coffee that suited their coffee tastes, their made to measure suits would be excellent with a secret coffee pocket…
Olivier’s Bakery will be enjoying a nice cup of our Espresso blend, we hear coffee goes great with a slice of spelt bread!
We’re on a mission to get the UK drinking better coffee, by making incredible, freshly roasted coffee accessible to everyone:
Flavour: Our world-class single origin beans are bought only from the most dedicated coffee farmers. We then take these superior beans and hand-roast them in Wimbledon.
Freshness: If you like your coffee ground, we will grind it moments before it is sent to you. Alternatively, if you grind your own beans, we just ship you them whole – always within seven days of roasting.
Flexibility: Our packs are letterbox friendly, so you won’t need to wait around for the postman. You can set your delivery preferences to suit the amount you drink and cancel your subscription at any time.
If you’d like to try a bag of our delicious, fresh-roasted coffee, simply visit www.pactcoffee.com, and use the exclusive code ONEPOUND at the checkout.
Forget socks, ditch bubble bath and hang your head in shame if you’ve even considered buying someone gym membership for Christmas.
Predictable Christmas gifts are simply not to be tolerated this year, especially if the recipient has a proclivity for coffee. This selection of gifts for coffee-lovers will save you the bother of being thoughtful, while winning you some serious brownie points.
‘I own you’ Throw Pillow What says ‘Merry Christmas’ like a vaguely threatening throw pillow? This yellow cuddle-cushion features a plucky little cuppa who knows the power he holds all too well. It would brighten up any lounge or bedroom and should bring a smile to the face of your favourite coffee-addict come Christmas morning.
Specialty Coffee Maps Blue Crow Media are the clever people behind these city maps, which are populated with fine coffee emporiums for you to visit. There are maps of London, New York and Paris and can be used to put together a premium coffee crawl. It’ll be like a pub crawl but instead of crawling you’ll be skipping and jumping like a caffeine-fuelled loon.
Why not give one of these maps along with a DIY ‘voucher’ for ten cups of coffee at places of the recipient’s choosing? Then you can frame the pretty-as-a-picture map as a reminder of your coffee-filled adventure.
Damn Fine Coffee Brooch
This engraved wooden brooch would be a great stocking-filler and at £7 it won’t break the bank. ‘Twin Peaks’ fans will appreciate that this is how Agent Cooper takes his coffee but it should go down equally well with a lady who enjoys a good cup of coffee.
Hario V60
Anyone who prides themselves on making good coffee – and doesn’t have one of these already – should probably own a Hario V60. Gabi, our head of coffee, swears by this pour-over design for creating a superior cup of coffee and it’s pretty good value too.
A Pact Coffee Subscription What coffee-lovers gift selection would be complete without some shameless self-promotion?
Giving someone the gift of freshly-roasted, freshly-ground coffee delivered straight to their door is bound to go down well. And depending on how many bags you decide to treat them to, they’ll continue to enjoy your gift well into the new year. That is the kind of kudos that lasts!
Are you passionate about great coffee? Are you a fan of what we’re doing here at Pact? Do you often find yourself talking to friends and family about the merits of good, fresh coffee? Then you could be just the person we’re looking for to become one of our new Pact Ambassadors…
What’s involved?
This is a fledgeling project at the moment but we’re after engaged members of our community to help bring people better coffee. We’d love for our Ambassadors to:
- share your wealth of coffee knowledge by writing articles for our blog,
- shout about your love for Pact,
- organise educational events for local coffee fans, such as preparation classes and tastings,
- arrange social events for coffee-lovers near you, including things like coffee shop ‘crawls’ where you discover great local coffee shops,
- help shape the Ambassador programme with ideas and feedback about what works and what doesn’t.
What’s in it for you?
We will provide you with what you’ll need to run your own little coffee-appreciation society. We’ll send you some great Pact merchandise, goods and resources – and of course all the beans you’ll need to host some seriously good coffee love-ins.
You’ll also be invited to exclusive Pact Ambassador events, cuppings and get the chance to meet lots of fellow coffee-lovers near you. Plus, by being the voice of Pact community, you will have a chance to profoundly affect the future of Pact itself.
Requirements:
Be a Pact customer
Be passionate about great coffee
We think we already know a few Pact customers who will make great Ambassadors and we’ll be contacting them this week. But if you think you’re what we’re looking for and don’t hear from us do get in touch with Pete.
