FITCH Brew Co - Cold Brew Coffee

We are heading up to Yorkshire for The Amazing Blog this time - and happily so, for some of the best things come out of this glorious part of England AKA ‘God’s own country’, and we are never slow in jumping forward to celebrate it. But we aren’t talking ubiquitous puddings, or dales here, but coffee - deliciously smooth, and naturally sweet, cold brewed coffee to be exact! The secret of cold brewing we learn, is that it takes longer for the flavours and aromas to extract, and therefore keeps the acidity low. The Fitch Brew Co have taken this concept and added their own roasting technique and grind profiles to create a superb range of refreshing and totally delicious coffees for us all to enjoy.

Founded by young pioneers Andy and Emily who knew that there was more to soft drinks, more to flavour, more to brewing techniques and more to transparency! All coffee used in cold brew here is from using single origin, Rainforest Alliance coffee where they apply their own specific roast and grind profile. The cooler the water the slower the flavours and aromas will extract. It also has a limited acidity thus providing a naturally sweet and smooth taste. The names of each coffee are themselves a magnet for our tastebuds. Here are our favourite three: Coffee Infused With Sicilian Lemon, or perhaps the Blood Orange Infusion  will tempt you? Delve a little deeper and we find Dark Fortune Cold Brew Coffee with Amber Tonic which definitely gives a good zing! It is well worth checking out to see their full range, and to read the background story to this creative team, who also pride themselves on their sustainability through a collaboration with Bio-Bean to recycle their coffee waste into high performance products, displacing conventional fuels and chemicals.

Each coffee is brewed in-house, with all-natural ingredients, no refined sugar and all vegan friendly - giving every one of us a drop of Yorkshire magic in each can, along with the required caffeine hit to brace us for the morning. Each can is 330ml, and depending on the flavour, they range in price from £1.99 - £2.20, but let’s face it, none of us will be opting for ‘just the one’ option, so obviously there are multipacks at £8.50 for a pack of four cans. All the ranges and much more merchandise besides are available here.  

Far Side Cold Brew Coffee

Do you ever get the feeling that the very human need to enjoy some of our simple daily pleasures, is being slowly eroded away by reports that we shouldn’t be eating this or applying that because if it isn’t destroying the planet, then it is probably destroying us? Take the glorious indulgence of our routine grabbing of the 'first thing in the morning skinny latté with an extra shot’ - and judging by the desperation on some faces at The Amazing Blog we should perhaps make that ‘the glorious addiction…’ whichever noun applies here, the concept remains the same.

However, what if we were to tell you of a coffee company that could sweep away any feelings of guilt in one delicious and prolonged gulp, meet Far Side Coffee. For with every sip that is savoured, we are supporting an incredible initiative, engaging with members of The International Women’s Coffee Alliance which brings ‘every woman together in the coffee sector from Crop to Cup, by transforming their lives and wellbeing through strong relationships at regional and global levels’. However, maybe some background on Far Side Coffee would be appropriate here, as the company clearly shares their mission with this global movement of the empowerment women across the board. Founded by Kadie Regan just two years ago, Far Side Coffee began from a need to swig a really good brew … does that sound familiar? Some of us, simply pop in to grab a cup from our favourite barista, but Kadie went a whole other route further, brewing her libation from fresh, and distributing it locally throughout the South West of the UK. In order to expand to further markets, Kadie needed to prolong the coffee’s shelf life, but without compromising the cold brew process or adding any ‘nasties’. In 2018, the process was completed, giving a stable shelf life and no changes to the process or indeed flavour.

The results speak for themselves, and at our fingertips, we have a choice of two to enjoy - the Peruvian Cold Brew which offers up some intriguingly bold flavours and the Rwanda Cold Brew, which is an altogether more mellow journey with hints of maple nectar and a burst of lemon. However, the Peruvian probably nudges to the top of our chart for it’s darkly bold taste, with an unexpected top note of orange peel. For those who believe their coffee can only come hot in a cardboard cup, we urge you to give one of these two beauties a try. Despite their very different flavours, with each bottle containing the equivalent of 3 shots of espresso in caffeine content,.they are wonderfully refreshing (obviously drunk cold), which gives us the hit we need at whatever time of the day.

Priced at around the cost of our aforementioned latté, these goodies can be purchased in a pack of 12 for £36, or a pack of 4 for £13 from their online shop here where there is also an option to order a box of 12 containing a handy mix of origins. And in case the Taste Police are watching, they are all vegan, sugar, dairy AND gluten free, meaning a hit of the rich stuff comes without the pangs of guilt.