The Tibradden blend is a single origin coffee sourced from the Kirnyaga region of Kenya on the slopes of Mt Kenya.  The coffee is a high grade ’85’ Arabica coffee bean.  This coffee has been sourced ‘direct from farm’ which is located 1,600–1,700 meters above sea level.  Here the temperature is cooler allowing for a slower growth of the coffee cherries, and with less interference from pests such as coffee leaf rust and coffee berry bore makes for better quality coffee with less inherent defects.

The acidic soil in the highlands of central Kenya with just the right amount of sunlight and rainfall provide excellent conditions for growing coffee plants. Coffee from Kenya is of the ‘Colombia mild’ type, and is well known for its pleasant aroma with notes of cocoa. High grade coffee from Kenya is one of the most sought-after coffees in the world.

Sourcing the coffee ‘Direct from Farm’ bypasses the large coffee exchanges to ensure that a better price is paid to the farmer as the coffee is less commoditised.

The roast profile of the Tibradden blend is light and the tasting notes feature a good body with winey, milk chocolate and floral notes and a slight citric acidity.

We are very excited about this new blend that gives a different dimension to our range in the form of a single origin light roast coffee.  If you would like to try, let us know by dropping us a line at info@woodlandcoffee.ie

I feel really strongly about coffee AND waste coffee! Most people appreciate the benefit of composting organic waste and the divisive impact it has if it goes into landfill; 25 times more Co2 emissions than if you compost it, yikes!!!.

Lough Gur’s general manager, Kate Harrold, is similarly motivated in dealing with the waste generated from their coffee kiosk.  Lough Gur is a proposed national heritage site located in Co Limerick near the village of Bruff and has recently been accredited as a ‘Leave No Trace’ Training Centre.  It is an area of outstanding natural beauty and is historically significant for the past 6000 years!   Kate manages this truly unique experience at Lough Gur and is always seeking ways to efficiently deal with compostable waste in a manner that lowers its environmental impact; the result is that we have installed a hot bin composter behind the Coffee Kiosk in Lough Gur to break down and compost the organic and compostable waste generated from the activities.

The hot bin is a great piece of equipment, firstly there is no technology involved, just science. There is no electricity involved just internally generated heat that is controlled by the mix of materials being placed in the bin and the amount of air allowed in maintaining the fermenting process.

This is how the science works

Decomposition occurs most rapidly when the hot bin reaches a temperature of between 40-60°C, which lasts for several weeks or months (known as the thermophilic phase).  At this temperature thermosensitive pathogens are destroyed such as fly larvae, and weed seeds but compost invertebrates such as worms survive this stage by moving to the periphery of the pile or becoming dormant. This stage allows for aerobic composting that allows most species of microorganisms to continue the composting process but cannot survive at temperatures above 60-65°C,  if the bin gets too hot it (above 60-65°C) it will be necessary to reduce the temperature by aerating the system by leaving the lid open.  If the temperature cools below 40°C, turning the pile usually will result in a new temperature peak because of the replenished oxygen supply and the exposure of organic matter not yet thoroughly decomposed.

After the thermophilic phase, the compost temperature drops and is not restored by turning or mixing. At this point, decomposition is taken over by mesophilic microbes through a long process of “curing”. Although the compost temperature is close to ambient during the curing phase, chemical reactions continue to occur that make the remaining organic matter more stable and suitable for use with plants.

A little more work than throwing waste into the landfill bin but probably one of the easiest and most cost effective ways of protecting our environment.  One small change, will you make a difference with us?

The majority of coffee bags are made up of a non-recyclable plastic film that is similar to a stronger form of Cling Film and those coffee bags that are not made of this material often require specialist processing that is not commonly accessible.  It a bit like when you get a new TV, the cardboard goes in the green bin and the polystyrene goes into the black bin; very sad 🙁 .  For me, proper recyclability of an item must satisfy the condition that it is accessible and reasonably convenient for the end user, so this means that the bag can be placed in the green recyclable kerbside collection bin,

Our Woodland Coffee bags are made of No.4 LDPE recyclable film which is accepted in the kerbside green bin and its recyclability journey is something like this:

The Woodland coffee bag is collected by the kerbside collector and sorted in their facility into the different recyclable streams.  Next the LDPE film is shredded into flakes with the use of grinders. Once in flake form, the plastic is cleaned removing dirt, contaminants, and other debris. The newly cleaned bits are then dried, melted and pelletized for ease of transportation. In pellet form, the LDPE is either used on its own or combined with virgin LDPE material to produce new end-products. Many manufacturers use recycled LDPE to produce piping, sheeting and films for building and agricultural applications, composite lumber, and other products.

Making the choice to use a recyclable bag makes a significant impact in diverting waste away from landfill over time.  At Watermark, we are continually looking at ways in which we can make better quality decisions that minimise our environmental impact; a small choice today that leaves a legacy for generations to come in the form of a cleaner and healthier world for all.  Would you like to make a difference with us?

At this time of the year, I like to try and get things going in the garden and also start something new. My green project this Spring is to start composting all organic waste from our household in a new thermal composter, it will require a little bit of adjustment to how we do things but the benefits are immense.

One of my past Spring projects that I think has yielded the most amount of satisfaction and joy year after year was sowing a wild flower garden 6 years along a very ‘challenged’ section of our garden that is very dry due to the overhang of trees sucking up moisture and creating lots of shade.

The benefits of wildflowers are well understood in encouraging insects to feed, shelter and pollinate.  Apart from doing our bit to improve our garden biodiversity, the wild flower garden is incredibly pretty in summer which different varieties of flower coming into bloom throughout late Spring and Summer, it’s incredibly easy to maintain, just cut it down to about 10cm in late September and remove the cut clippings to the compost.

There are lots of indigenous seed varieties available to buy and you can select a variety based on whether your aspect is sunny, shady, dry, damp etc.  The key components in establishing the garden are:

• Match the seed choice with your site, sunny / shady etc
• Clear the area of any existing weeds by digging them out (along with the roots if you can)
• After about 2 weeks remove any weeds that might have escaped your first attempt.
• Calculate how much seed you will need based on your area – allow about 3g per square meter
• Rake the area removing stones and breaking down larger lumps of soil into to a fine consistency.
• Try and pick a day for sowing where the soil is damp or when light rain is expected.
• Disperse the seeds by hand and gently walk on the area after planting to press the seeds into the ground

In the first season, you will get an immediate result (most likely poppies and daisies) but some varieties take a season or two to get going so there is a lot more to look forward to.  Even if you have a small area of your garden where a wildflower garden is possible, give it a go and you’ll see a noticeable increase in bees and butterflies.

Woodland Coffee is a part of rain forest alliance which means that our coffee is grown and harvested in a manner that protects the rainforest by engaging in management practices that allow both coffee and rainforest to thrive in sympathy with each other.  Coffee beans start life off as a white flower which need lots of pollinators, it’s no different in Ireland.

The holly tree makes a great choice for most gardens, they grow slowly so they are very easy to maintain. They shed very little leaf litter, so less to clean up. They attract birds, particularly the thrush, who really like ripe holly berries.  They grow in shaded areas or under other larger trees which provides additional cover for birds and mammals like the hedgehog.

If you are thinking of planting a holly tree, try and get a female one, which will produce berries, and a male one which is needed to pollinate, they typically should be spaced within 20 meters of each other to allow for efficient pollination.

The holly is a versatile tree that I think punches way above its weight in terms of decoration, maintenance and biodiversity and what’s more, it’s a native Irish tree, extra sustainability kudos!!  We hope that you and yours have a very happy Christmas and we hope that you will join us for a coffee in 2021.

#biodiversity #sustainability #Christmasholly