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Everything you need to know about UK Coffee Week

Drinking your cup of Joe is now much more than "me time" — you can raise money to help coffee-growing communities around the world

For a country of tea drinkers, we’ve certainly come to love our coffee. And if you needed another reason to indulge in your caffeine fix, here's one: 16-22 April has been declared UK Coffee Week. The nationwide celebration brings together passionate baristas, coffee-lovers, and anyone who enjoys a cup of Joe, to raise money for communities that grow our coffee. At the heart of good coffee is water, and at the heart of UK Coffee Week is Project Waterfall, a charity bringing clean water and sanitation to places it’s desperately needed. Coffee is one of the largest and most powerful industries in the world. Every year, globally, we drink more than 500 billion cups in so many different ways, so UK Coffee Week decided to turn some of those lattes, cappuccinos, and espresso martinis into the power to change lives.

When 663 million people around the world don't have access to safe, clean water, it’s not just about health and hydration. Research shows that having clean water leads to better access to education and higher incomes. Last year alone, UK Coffee Week raised more than £335,000, giving away 100 per cent of all donations. The money raised funded clean water and sanitation facilities for coffee-growing communities in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, allowing 5,000 people access to much-needed water resources. This April, the challenge is on to do even more, and the project has already had a head start. Kahlúa and Absolut – two of the key components of an espresso martini – will be donating £10,000 to give the fundraising a kick start. It’s a cause that hits particularly close to home, as Kahlúa is made with Arabica coffee beans, grown in Veracruz, Mexico.

To acknowledge the connection between coffee, liqueur, and clean water, Kahlúa is asking people to cocktail their coffee and donate to Project Waterfall with each espresso martini they buy. Stephen Fry is also backing the cause. He says: “We can’t live healthy lives without fresh water. It is our most precious resource, so I am very proud to be a part of any initiative which extols the virtues of coffee with friends while helping provide fresh water for those who most need it.”

Since 2011, UK Coffee Week has raised more than £800,000, changing in excess of 27,000 lives in Nicaragua, Tanzania, Rwanda, Vietnam, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia. So whether you take yours long and milky, short and black, or with the addition of vodka, make sure your drink is doubling up to do good.

To discover more about Kahlúa, visit Kahlua.com.

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What makes the perfect espresso martini?

The cocktail is enjoying a resurgence in popularity - and this is all you need to create your own.

As with all great inventions, it's the legend behind them that's often just as intriguing. And the espresso martini is no exception.

In the mid-Eighties, a supermodel asked bartender and London cocktail legend Dick Bradsell to mix her something new. Inspired to create something special, he put two shots of vodka, some sugar syrup, and a fresh espresso into a mixer, then reached for the Kahlúa, added a shot, shook it over ice, and poured it into a cold martini glass. Gradually the drink settled into the iconic black with a café au lait-coloured foam that we know as the espresso martini. At first Bradsell called it a vodka espresso. Later it appeared on the menu of Damien Hirst’s first Pharmacy restaurant in Notting Hill, under a different name. But it was the martini glass it's served in that solidified the drink’s popular name as the espresso martini.

Kahlúa might seem like a niche ingredient to have chosen for a cocktail, but in the Eighties, liqueur cocktails were all the rage, and in 1980, it became the number one-selling coffee liqueur in the world. Now, the espresso martini is enjoying a resurgence in popularity in line with our fixation with quality coffee, and the drink is one of the top 10 bestselling cocktails. Baristas and bartenders are the new craftsmen of our age, and the espresso martini is where their mutual obsessions converge.No longer will just any coffee, vodka, or liqueur do. The ingredients have to be spot on to give the drink the robustness of the coffee, the body that comes from the vodka, and the flavour reinforcement of the Kahlúa. “Coffee is now a big trend and the espresso martini is the perfect cocktail to highlight it,” says Daniele Umoette, global ambassador at Absolut Vodka. “Its roasted chestnut and bittersweet coffee aromas complement the character of Absolut vodka perfectly.”

For the connoisseur, the liqueur brings that extra level of detail. Made in Veracruz, Mexico, where it was created in 1936, Kahlúa combines the Arabica coffee beans that grow in the region with rum made from the sugarcane that grows alongside it. It takes six years to get the perfect beans – they’re grown in the shade rather than the sun – and once the coffee cherries are harvested and the beans extracted, they’re left to rest for six months before being taken to be roasted and steeped in rum at the distillery. With so much effort going into the coffee liqueur, it would be sacrilege to settle for anything other than a freshly pulled espresso shot. Stale, or heaven forbid, instant, coffee, will absolutely not do. Add good quality vodka into the mix, and it’s a combination that is rich and deceptively simple. To discover more about Kahlúa, visit Kahlua.com.

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Why the coffee bean is an essential part of your espresso martini

There's a science behind the delicious cocktail

The espresso martini is on the rise. When Drinks International asked 108 of the greatest bars in the world what their bestselling cocktails were, the espresso martini was back in the top 20. Forget the saccharine, burnt coffee versions you tried years ago – today’s espresso martini is made with meticulous dedication to perfection, starting with the very beans themselves. Like wine, coffee has terroir. For chocolate or nutty notes you’ll want a Brazilian coffee bean; for something fruitier and more acidic, Guatemala or Kenya’s where you’ll want to look; for a citrusy edge, go Columbian.

Perfect pairing

For many bartenders it’s not as simple as slinging any old shot of espresso into the shaker to make the drink any more. They want to pair the notes that are in the vodka with the notes that are in the bean, to make every espresso martini distinct – it’s a way of making a signature version of a classic. “Flavour formation is a complex process,” explains Edgaras Juska, head of coffee at Catalyst Coffee. “All the steps of preparation of the beans have an impact on their flavour before they even leave their home country for roasting.” The bean is the seed inside the coffee cherry. The cherries can either be harvested and left to dry naturally in the sun, they can have their skins pierced and be left to ferment for anywhere up to 72 hours before being washed and dried, or they can have their skins ripped off before they’re left to dry. Each process makes a difference to how the core flavours express themselves. “If I want to create an espresso martini with a range of flavours, I can choose from the origin of the beans depending on what flavour I want it to have,” says Juska.

Quality beans

In Veracruz, Mexico, the coffee beans for Kahlúa also go through a very specific process before they’re sent for distilling. The beans are dried, de-husked and aged for a half a year before they’re roasted, ground up and brewed, ready to be introduced to the alcoholic spirit. The flavour profile of the beans and the way they’re prepared in the spirit also has an impact on the final taste. “When I mix the espresso with spirits – the vodka and the Kahlúa – I can create some really interesting combinations,” explains Juska. “The quality of it all matters – the spirits and the coffee itself.” Which is why it’s appropriate that a coffee bean tops off the perfect espresso martini as a garnish – for something so small, it certainly punches above its weight.

To discover more about Kahlúa, visit Kahlua.com.

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How to bake espresso martini cupcakes

Lola’s might just have created your new favourite sweet treat – so you better learn how to make them

To celebrate UK Coffee Week, Kahlúa challenged renowned London cupcake connoisseurs Lola’s Bakery to create the ultimate espresso martini treat – and the result is a game-changer. With rich Kahlúa (a tasty blend of Arabica coffee and sugarcane rum), a zing of ground espresso, and a light and fluffy whipped icing (topped with chocolate-coated coffee beans if you’re feeling extravagant), the espresso martini cupcake will delight coffee and cocktail lovers alike.

“The espresso in the base is really light, so in the icing we’ve used double cream,” says Alice Stanley, head of product development at Lola’s Cupcakes and the recipe’s creator. “It makes it a lot lighter than just using cream cheese, which is a bit heavier. The double cream gives it a frothy feel. It’s the perfect accompaniment to tea and coffee with friends.” While undeniably a winner for coffee fans, the espresso flavour is not at all overwhelming, making it a great treat for any sweet tooth. Here’s how you can make your own.

Ingredients (makes 12 regular cupcakes)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4.
2. Make the sponge by sifting together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and ground espresso in a mixing bowl.
3. Put the sugar, oil, yoghurt, milk, eggs and Kahlúa in another bowl and mix well with a whisk.
4. Add the wet mixture to the sifted dry ingredients and fold gently using a large metal spoon. Be careful not to overmix.
5. Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases and smooth the tops with a spatula.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. They should be well risen and a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
8. While the cupcakes are cooling make the espresso whip. Place the cream, sugar and half of the ground espresso in a bowl and whisk with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Do not over-whisk otherwise the cream will split.
9. In a separate bowl put the mascarpone, Kahlúa and remaining ground espresso and whisk with a hand mixer until smooth.
10. Transfer a little of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture and fold in to loosen. Then add all the mascarpone mixture to the whipped cream and fold in gently until well mixed.
11. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm enough to pipe.
12. Spoon mixture into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe it on top of the cupcakes. Decorate the top of the cupcakes with 3 chocolate-coated coffee balls to finish.