Coffee Journal – Articles, Guides & News
The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Milks for Coffee: Pros and Cons
Plant-based milks have significantly grown in popularity, especially in the realm of coffee-making, presenting coffee baristas with a myriad of options to cater to diverse dietary preferences. Delving into the world of plant-based milks and coffee, it becomes...
3 tips for baristas: How to batch your drinks correctly?
Batch your drinks during service We often see in coffee shops basically training baristas who have not been trained in efficient drinks making with behaviours such as making one drink at a time or making drinks in an inefficient order. This leads to slow service...
What is speciality coffee?
What is Speciality Coffee? “Not all coffees are born equal” ‘Specialty (or speciality) coffee’ is a term often bounded around in the coffee industry, but not always accurately – and all too often, as a ‘trendy’ label. It’s easy to think that any ‘nice’ coffee,...
How do I maintain my coffee machine?
Why is coffee machine maintenance important? Your coffee machine, whether purchased or leased, is integral to the success of your business. But the quality of the machine itself won’t deliver an award winning customer experience that has queues forming around the...
What coffee for my business is best?
What coffee is best for my business? Are you an aspiring coffee shop owner? A wannabe boutique hotelier? Perhaps you’ve got a dream to open your own garden centre? You’ve no doubt created mood boards a-plenty, saved countless Pinterest images, researched your ideal...
What makes a perfect barista?
What makes a perfect barista? “Barista” – the dictionary definition will suggest that this is “a person who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks…” You can’t really argue with that, can you? You can, however, consider what else is involved and what sets...
What it Takes to Be a Barista
Unlock Your Barista Potential: A Comprehensive Guide to Excelling in the Art of Coffee Are you passionate about coffee and dreaming of a career where you can showcase your talents behind the counter? Aspiring baristas, this guide is for you! Being a barista is more...
The Ultimate Guide to Coffee Wholesale Suppliers in the UK
When delving into the world of coffee wholesale suppliers in the UK, one must navigate a landscape rich in options and opportunities. The realm of coffee wholesale suppliers is a bustling market, offering a diverse range of products and services to cater to the...
The Ultimate Guide to Buying Coffee in Bulk: Everything You Need to Know
Purchasing coffee in bulk can be a cost-effective and convenient way to ensure you never run out of your favourite brew. Whether you're a coffee shop owner, a dedicated caffeine enthusiast, or simply prefer the convenience of having a well-stocked pantry, buying...
Christmas deliveries and opening hours
As always, we are doing everything we can to ensure your orders get to you. However, as you may already know, courier companies get very busy at this time of year and so there is always the risk of potential delays. So, please remember to order plenty of stock and...
Speciality coffee roaster launches market-leading trade website
PRESS RELEASE Speciality coffee roaster launches market-leading trade website Speciality coffee roaster, Iron & Fire, which has seen its wholesale and trade business double in the past year, today unveils a new dedicated wholesale website to support its...
Speciality coffee roaster triples output following capital investment
NEWS RELEASE January 31, 2023 Speciality coffee roaster triples output following capital investment Shrewsbury-based speciality coffee roaster, Iron & Fire has made a six-figure investment in an additional bespoke roaster to meet demand across both its trade...
Return to office working brews success for specialist coffee shop with significant uplift in trade
PRESS RELEASE A Shrewsbury coffee shop has seen footfall almost double in the six weeks since the ‘work from home’ guidance was lifted in England. Iron & Fire’s coffee shop, affectionately known as ‘The Hatch’, opened next to Shrewsbury’s iconic railway station...
10 considerations for setting up a coffee shop
Setting up a coffee shop? Are you thinking of setting up a coffee shop but don't know where to start? We at Iron & Fire work with many start-up coffee businesses and are always happy to offer advice and support. We find we get asked the same sort of questions...
6 ways to minimise wastage in your coffee shop
Minimise wastage in your coffee shop There are several ways to minimise wastage in your coffee shop and are essential to the success of your business. Here are 6 of the most important. STAFF TRAINING- working with a reputable company that provides excellent...
How to cost my cafes drinks accordingly
A big question we always get asked by our brand new start up trade partners is ‘how much shall we charge for our coffees’ so we thought this blog post will help you to work out a pricing structure that will really help drive the sales in your business, whilst...
How do I batch my drinks correctly?
A few things that we see happening in coffee shops is things that ultimately lead them to slow service times, or making drinks in an order that leads to drinks starting to go cold before the guest even receives them, so in this blog post we want to help you think...