Blog / Drinks

  • 4 Ways Drinking Coffee Can Benefit Your Mental Health

    4 Ways Drinking Coffee Can Benefit Your Mental Health

    Coffee enthusiasts will be thrilled to learn that drinking coffee not only serves as a pick-me-up before a long work day but can also provide many benefits to a person’s mental health.

    Whether you prefer brewing your coffee in the luxury of your home or getting your coffee fix from services that offer bottled cold brew coffee in Singapore, your preferred cup of joe is guaranteed to provide you with just the right amount of mental boost you need.

    Read on to learn about the different ways your liquid energy could help to improve your mental health.

    1. Coffee may enhance brain function

    Caffeine is a natural compound that stimulates the central nervous system, heart, and muscles. As coffee is consumed, the caffeine reaches your brain and acts with adenosine, stimulating the brain and boosting productivity and morale. The caffeine provides your mind with the clarity it needs to face the rest of the day and enables you to focus and be more alert to your surroundings, improving your mental health.

    2. Coffee is one of the best sources of prebiotics 

    A prebiotic is any substance that stimulates the growth of healthy microbes in the gut and stomach. In the scientific field, the gut is often referred to as “the second brain” because the improvement of gut health is directly proportional to the improvement of mental well-being. As coffee is one of the best sources of prebiotics, it not only helps us with the development of a healthy gut but a healthy mind as well.

    3. Decreased anxiety

    Contrary to popular belief, drinking coffee in moderation can help to calm your nerves and relieve your anxiety. The antioxidants in coffee help protect your cells from damage caused by external toxins and contribute to less anxiety. Drinking caffeine can help people to stay focused on their tasks and feel less uneasy about facing day-to-day duties. There’s nothing more efficient in helping you calm your nerves than a cup of coffee.

    4. Improves physical performance

    Studies have shown that consuming coffee before exercising can help to improve physical performance across a broad range of sports that involve high-intensity training, endurance and strength. These benefits also apply to people who are not used to exercising. An improvement in physical performance can lead to better mental health as the brain is stimulated from physical exercise and is aware of how physically healthy your body is, giving a person clarity of mind.

     

    Conclusion

    Although many misleading coffee myths exist, consuming caffeinated drinks in moderation can benefit your mental well-being. If you are looking for ways to improve your mental health quickly, starting your day with a cup of coffee might go a long way, 

    Additionally, if you do not have the luxury of time to make yourself a cup of coffee every day, many services provide cold brew delivery in Singapore. Wake The Crew offers a variety of ready-to-drink cold brew coffee to help you stay refreshed throughout the day.

    Continue reading
  • 4 Convincing Reasons To Provide Coffee In Your Workplace

    4 Convincing Reasons To Provide Coffee In Your Workplace

    One of the most important workplace aspects to note if you are a manager or business owner is employee morale and productivity. There are many different methods of improving employee satisfaction at work.

    Providing coffee at work can bring about many benefits to a working environment, and many offices are starting to provide coffee services for their employees. Some offices even offer weekly mobile coffee carts for their staff to enjoy.

    Here are some reasons why providing coffee in your workplace could be beneficial.

    1. Increased productivity 

    One of the most apparent reasons why providing coffee in workplaces could be beneficial is that it helps to increase employee productivity. Employees tend to be in a better mood to complete their work after having a cup of coffee in the morning. Drinking a cup of strong coffee helps your mind focus while improving your reaction time, making employees more focused and productive when completing tasks.

    2. Positive team bonding 

    Having a cup of coffee while conversing with workmates is one of the most efficient ways to increase workplace teamwork and bonding. Opinions and ideas are best shared over a casual conversation between employees. The relaxed atmosphere of having a cup of coffee together enables employees to share and discuss ideas in a comfortable environment, creating a positive team bonding experience in the workplace. A relaxed atmosphere is vital in a workplace as it makes employees feel more open to giving their honest opinions and gives them the courage to share new ideas.

    3. It shows appreciation 

    Providing the workplace with simple perks like coffee shows the staff that they are appreciated and valued. When business owners or managers make such an effort to provide coffee services to their employees, it shows warmth, compassion, and, most importantly, appreciation towards their staff. Due to the increasing popularity of cold brew coffee, some workplaces even go out of their way to reach out to provide bottled cold brew coffee in Singapore.

    4. Increased willpower and longevity 

    Work performance tends to decrease as the hours go by because most employees get tired and do less work as the day goes by. Having coffee in the morning can help to boost employee motivation which enables them to feel motivated to complete their tasks in the early hours of the day. A constant supply of coffee throughout the day can help to motivate employees and boost their productivity through the long workday.

     

    Conclusion

    Providing coffee in offices or workplaces, in general, is beneficial in more ways than one. It is almost essential in every workplace and is more than often well-received.

    Wake The Crew provides a daily dose of refreshing cold brew coffee delivery for your everyday needs. On top of that, we also offer cold brew delivery in Singapore and mobile coffee catering, providing a range of refreshing cold brew beverages to be delivered to your office or work event directly. Get in touch with us today for more queries!

    Continue reading
  • Pour-Over Brewing: Tips On Perfecting Your Technique

    Pour-Over Brewing: Tips On Perfecting Your Technique

    Pour-over is one of the popular manual brewing techniques that allows coffee lovers more control over making their coffee to achieve the flavour they want. Whether you are already a V60 expert or a first-time Bee House brewer, a handful of tips can help you brew your best coffee. Beyond that, always use fresh grounds, adjust your proportions, and grind to your tastes. Let's get into the brass tacks of perfecting your pour-over without further ado.

     1. Rinse and repeat

    Put the filter in the brewer and rinse with hot water before brewing. This removes the paper residue (responsible for the woodsy taste), seals the filter, and heats the brewer. Warming everything first helps keep the brewing temperature stable.

     2. Grind it right

    When it comes to the grind, you must consider three main elements: how, when, and what size. Making the right grind before brewing matters because fresh coffee starts to oxidize and age faster upon grinding. Grinding coffee at the correct setting is also essential – the grind particles' size influences extraction, so getting this part dialled in for your method is crucial.

    If you do not have a good grinder yet (or are having difficulty dialling in your grind properly), consider asking your local speciality coffee shop to grind it for your method. Otherwise, use this ground coffee in calibrating your grinder to match. To make it easier to compare particle size, put ground coffee on a white piece of paper first.

    Lastly, burr grinders are better than blade grinders when it comes to the type of grinder. This is because the latter chops the beans into irregular-sized pieces, which leads to uneven extraction.

    3. Perfect your pour 

    The bloom pour, also known as the initial pour, saturates all the grounds and will later help with an even extraction. Pour double the amount of water into the coffee and gently stir for about 30-45 seconds, avoiding the light spots and going for the dark ones instead. Keep things even by stirring in slow and steady spirals. Using a gooseneck kettle for this part largely helps with precision.

    4. Only use high-quality water

    Remember never to use water you would not drink when brewing your coffee. Clean water means clean coffee and no foreign contaminants that could affect the coffee's taste. Ideally, the water should be at 205°F or around 30 seconds off the boil.

     

    Conclusion

    Manually brewing coffee using pour-over and immersion brewing is ideal for making coffee the way you want it, as you are free to make adjustments. For instance, does your coffee taste slightly sour or weak to your preferences? Too bitter? Do the opposite and make it coarser. Adjust your grind to make finer coffee grounds. Hopefully, with these tips above, you can improve your pour-over technique and make better-tasting coffee at home.

    If your busy schedule keeps you from making your cold brew, worry not, as cold brew coffee delivery in Singapore is here to save the day. Our years of experience and experimentation here at Wake The Crew have led us to perfect our signature cold brewing method that guarantees you the tastiest and healthiest cold brew coffee in Singapore! Contact us today to order the best cold brew coffee or try out our subscription plans for a steady supply of cold brew, exclusive discounts, gifts, and more!

    Continue reading
  • Baking And Cooking With Coffee: 4 Recipes You Need To Try

    Baking And Cooking With Coffee: 4 Recipes You Need To Try

    You got that right. Coffee, including cold brew coffee, can be used to make mouth-watering recipes at home and share with your loved ones. From cakes to steaks, you can add coffee to elevate the taste of your favourite homemade dishes. 

    If you love a cup of coffee, you will definitely enjoy devouring dishes that are made more delectable with a bit of caffeine in them. 

    Check out these gastronomic recipes infused with cold brew coffee in Singapore and try them at home. 

    1. Coffee and brown sugar-marinated bacon

    Coffee and bacon are staples for a delicious breakfast. But have you tried coffee-flavoured bacon? Now, you can by marinating your bacon in cold brew and some brown sugar. 

    To make this mind-boggling recipe, you will need: 

    • 1 pound of thick slices of bacon
    • 1 tablespoon of ground coffee
    • 2 tablespoons of cold brew coffee 
    • ½ cup of brown sugar

    Place a flat rack on a baking pan lined with wax paper. Then, lay your bacon strips on the rack. Rub ground coffee on the strips. Combine brown sugar and cold brew and stir until you achieve a paste-like consistency. Brush half of the mixture on your bacon strips. Then, bake your bacon for 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, turning the bacon over and brushing with your sugar and coffee glaze. 

    2. Cold brew BBQ sauce

    Want an upgrade to your sauce game? Add cold brew into the mix for a mind-blowing BBQ spread at home. 

    For this caffeine-infused sauce, you need: 

    • 1 cup of ketchup
    • 1 cup of cold brew coffee
    • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • 2 tablespoons molasses
    • 2 tablespoons chilli powder
    • 2 teaspoons sea salt
    • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder 
    • ½ teaspoon cayenne powder

    In a small saucepan, mix all the ingredients and simmer for about 15-20 minutes until it becomes thicker. Let it cool, and then serve with your grilled meats and vegetables. 

    3. Coffee-brined chicken

    You can also use cold brew to make your roasted chicken smell and taste divine. With chicken that’s brined in coffee, you’ll have a pot of tender and melt-in-your-mouth dish that everyone will love. 

    The ingredients for the chicken are: 

    • 4-5 pound whole organic chicken
    • 2 ½ tablespoons brown sugar
    • 1 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 2 cups 1% milk

    For the coffee brine, you will need: 

    • ½ litre cold brew coffee
    • 3 ounces kosher salt
    • 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorn
    • 3 star anise
    • 1 teaspoon whole cloves
    • 2 navel oranges, halved
    • 15 ounces ice

    You will need to pat dry the chicken and place it in a 2-gallon-sized plastic bag. In a small pot, combine star anise, cloves, peppercorns, and salt, lightly crushing the spices. Next, squeeze the orange halves and add them to the mixture. Pour cold brew coffee and stir. Then, cover the pot and allow the brine to steep for about 10 minutes.

    In a large bowl of ice, pour the coffee brine and stir until the ice melts. Next, pour the entire mixture with the chicken into the plastic bag. Seal and let it sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Take the chicken out, pat it dry, and let it dry for 1 hour in the refrigerator. After an hour, pat dry the chicken and rub both sides with brown sugar. Brown the chicken on both sides in a preheated oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, add milk, cover, and cook for an hour with the lid. After that, remove the lid and continue to cook for about 30-40 minutes or until the temperature inside the chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. 

    4. Pumpkin spice latte cupcakes

    To end your meal incredibly, you should make pumpkin spice latte cupcakes loaded with toasty flavours that will send you to dessert heaven. 

    For the cupcakes, you will need: 

    • 1 16.25 ounces of spice cake mix 
    • 1 15 ounces can of pumpkin puree
    • 3 large eggs
    • 1/3 cup vegetable oil 
    • ¼ cup cold brew coffee

    Whisk all the ingredients together and divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners placed in a 24-cup muffin pan. Once your oven has been preheated at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, place the pan inside. Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes or until you get moist crumbs after inserting a wooden toothpick into one of the cupcakes. 

    For the frosting, you will need: 

    • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
    • 1 16 ounces powdered sugar
    • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
    • A pinch of salt
    • Pumpkin pie spice
    • Caramel sauce

    Beat the butter until fluffy and light in colour. Lower the speed of your electric mixer and slowly add the powdered sugar until the mixture becomes smooth and soft. Add salt and mix for about a minute. Pour the mixture into a piping bag and pipe it onto your cooled cupcakes. Lastly, drizzle with pumpkin pie spice and caramel sauce. 

     

    Conclusion

    Cold brew coffee can be mixed into everyday dishes, making them taste better. While you can enjoy some popular cold brew coffee pairings, you can also certainly enjoy this caffeinated drink in unique ways by using it as an ingredient that will make your all-time favourite meals much more enjoyable. 

    At Wake The Crew, you can get your daily dose of refreshing and energy-inducing cold brew coffee with our cold brew coffee delivery. On top of that, we also offer freshly brewed, ready-to-drink bottled cold brew coffee and mobile coffee cart in Singapore for events. Feel free to drop us a line today for more enquiries!

    Continue reading