tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-205717622011-07-08T00:24:40.912+01:00The b-blog of Hill & Valley Coffee, passionate suppliers of freshly roasted gourmet coffee beans online since 2000. Eventually it will all be here: history; what we do; what's new; rantings and ravings and hopefully a few comments..Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.comBlogger511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-9469437011425370892007-12-20T08:07:00.000Z2007-12-20T08:12:31.401Z

Today is our last roasting day before the Christmas and New Year close-down.We will not not be roasting any coffee or processing any online orders until after the 2nd January.The online store will not allow ordering from 8 am on 20th December until 8am on Monday 31st December.We would like to take this opportunity to thank all online customers for their support throughout 2007, in particular

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-29917409130458905942007-11-26T12:56:00.000Z2007-11-26T13:05:51.036Z

Online ordering at hvcoffee.com is once again available.Please note that the 2 kg pouch option is in fact two separate 1 kg bags in a plastic courier pouch, NOT a single bag of 2 kilos. Taking the espresso option, at £35 inc carriage it is only slightly more expensive for those customers who were used to buying 8 x 250g bags through the post, whereas a purchase of 2 x 2kgs would represent a

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-14377105195323347242007-11-05T08:10:00.000Z2007-11-05T08:34:37.945Z

Important Message to all online customers.Online orders will be suspended at midnight on Wednesday 7th November 2007 for around 17 days.All orders received before that date will be shipped on Thursday 8th November.The store will re-open on Monday 26th November with some significant changes. Most notably we will be ceasing the supply of 250 gram bags of coffee beans via the postal system.After

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-82797711331815617132007-04-26T08:43:00.000+01:002007-04-26T09:23:26.446+01:00

Typically at this time of year we allow the stocks of certain coffees to dwindle whilst we await new crop arrivals from around the world. This is particularly the case in Central America, where harvesting over the turn of the year is followed by processing and the vital 4-6 weeks of rest in pergamino form for the better coffees.We are currently stocking such a "well-rested" coffee from the 2006

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-54304523598656331032007-03-04T15:23:00.000Z2007-03-04T15:30:04.950Z

We got back late on the 28th February from our two week vacation in Costa Rica and have begun to deal with your orders, some of which have been shipped this weekend.Unfortunately we have also had to deal with two close family breavements which occurred while we were away and have tow separte funerals to attend in Lincolnshire two days apart.This in turn has meant there will be afew days further

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-32908647242276937382007-02-06T08:28:00.000Z2007-02-06T08:37:19.729Z

Debbie and I are once again taking our annual break this month and are heading off to Costa Rica on February 13th for two weeks.Some of this time will be spent lounging around on a working coffee farm - well, what else did you expect?!This means that we will suspend all online ordering at hvcoffee.com from 8 am Monday 12th February until 8 pm on Wednesday 28th February.Orders for wholesale and

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-62488004502314698032006-12-20T09:03:00.000Z2006-12-20T09:11:41.346Z

Please note that all retail orders received by 9am today - Wednesday December 20th - will be shipped today and should arrive before Christmas (first class post delays notwithstanding!).Orders received by midnight on Thursday 21st December will be shipped by Friday 22nd December, even if this means making some choice substitutions. We do not expect all these orders to arrive before Wednesday 27th

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-80527573859564592362006-12-12T10:46:00.000Z2006-12-12T11:01:24.652Z

Once again we will be continuing to roast and ship orders right through until the 23rd December, but will reduce stock availability in the online store after that as we will not roast again until January 2nd.Please do keep in mind the normal last posting dates published by Royal Mail if you want your coffee before the holidays and do leave us at least 2 working days to get your coffee roasted and

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1161853456427787282006-10-26T09:23:00.000+01:002006-10-26T12:04:49.950+01:00

FUND RAISING FOR FINAL TERM 2006The last term of the Ugandan school year started on September 18th. We are proud to announce that Hill & Valley Coffee, thanks to the support of its customers and friends, sent funds to Uganda to cover the school fees and other ancillary costs for the term for a group of 86 students to attend their various secondary schools in Iganga District.In the end we had to

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1160994989094285642006-10-16T11:14:00.000+01:002006-10-16T11:36:29.150+01:00

Apologies, all. We got sent into a bit of disarray this past two weeks and our normal online delivery service had to be suspended for while.On October 3rd yours truly went down with a mystery viral illness that resulted in me being hospitalised for 8 days from October 5th while the NHS tried to figure out what was wrong with me and how they should treat it. As I do all the roasting at Hill &

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1158599047968601792006-09-18T17:57:00.000+01:002006-09-18T18:04:07.983+01:00

**Apologies to anyone who has been waiting 5-6 days for their expected coffee.Due to an unexpected surge of demand, our main suppliers could not schedule our next delivery of green coffee until this coming tuesday 18th September. This has left us with very little green coffee in stock at the start of this week, particularly medium roasts and espresso blending coffees. As the interruption to

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1156884000323347542006-08-29T21:30:00.000+01:002006-08-29T21:40:00.343+01:00

I've given them away for :- Garden Refuse bags.- Mulching roses.- Filling with potatoes- Loft insulation.- Funky wall hangings.- Curtains (!)But I think you'll agree that this is one of the best. Credit due toAdrian Ditcham and his colleagues who build cross country fences at British Eventing Horse Trials. These were taken at Highclere Castle this bank holiday monday.Thanks also to Alastair Crook

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1156329754090005882006-08-23T11:07:00.000+01:002006-08-23T11:42:34.160+01:00

As reported a few months ago on the blog, we have launched a long term fund-raising initiative this year in order to support secondary schooling for young Ugandans whose families have been devastated by the scourge of Aids / HIV.We are pleased to say that we have achieved most of our early objectives more or less on schedule, thanks to the support of our customers both online and at our "wet"

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1156327536567422872006-08-23T10:50:00.000+01:002006-08-23T11:05:36.576+01:00

As most of you will have heard, Royal Mail have quite radically changed the way they charge for first class letters and packets this week.The effect on our own postal costs has been relatively insignificant. Unfortunately a bag of Hill & Valley beans will not fit through the guide window (although we know it often goes through your letterboxes!) and we are therefore unable to benefit from the

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1156256451725052282006-08-22T14:36:00.000+01:002006-08-22T15:20:52.500+01:00

Firstly apologies!Late post - inexcusable. we've been busy, but I still intended to update this blog more often!Anyway, moving on while I still have anyone's attention.We've again "rotated" some of the coffees and although most of the old favourites remain, there are a few significant changes.Kenya - on reflection and after quite a bit of tasting, I decided not to continue with the Gethumbwini

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1151342789207268112006-06-26T18:14:00.000+01:002006-06-26T19:07:35.346+01:00

Here are some photos of our foray to the UK's top Mountain Bike 24 hour endurance event.Panoramics of the site at Eastnor Castle in the Malvern Hills.Some views of our small espresso bar trailer and the surroundings at our pitch on the start line. Lisa and Alison were the "barista-babes" in action (and taking a well-earned break) throughout the day on saturday and sunday.Here are some shots of

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1150195911600175462006-06-13T11:22:00.000+01:002006-06-13T12:26:43.636+01:00

It needed drought orders to be imposed in the south of England for us to start getting a rash of event cancellations - yes, you've guessed it - due to waterlogged ground conditions!This means our wandering coffee bars have had a fairly quiet couple of weeks which just ended with an Iced Coffee bonanza at Great Tew Horse Trials this past weekend.At this time of the year our iced coffees surge in

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1150194029236821002006-06-13T11:16:00.000+01:002006-06-13T11:20:29.246+01:00

All the coffees mentioned in last thursday's blog entry are now available in the online store, including new crop Costa Rica Coopronaranjo Peaberries and Guatemala Huehuetenango El Paternal.For Green bean buyers we have made some slight changes. We have been obliged to increase the minimum order to 10 kgs per mixed case from 8kgs and we have now listed all available coffee in one list.

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1149774756592835962006-06-08T14:29:00.000+01:002006-06-08T16:01:19.283+01:00

No, this is not a review of coffee houses in downtown Stuttgart or even a diatribe against the giant German Roaster who will be slaking the throats of the football world as they descend upon the big cities of Germany.It is more a bit of a guide to the myriad of coffee producers whose national teams are competing in this year's FIFA World Cup that starts tomorrow. I personally absolutely love the

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1149773318140026692006-06-08T14:10:00.000+01:002006-06-08T14:28:40.056+01:00

Another update for online customers at hvcoffee.com on changes in our online catalogue.We will not have any Colombia relationship coffee for another month or so now. This gives us a few blending challenges, but two new coffees should help me to solve the riddle.We'll be receiving deliveries next week of our first 2006 Central American coffees an estate Guatemala Huehuetenango (the first huehue we

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1147700410751783782006-05-15T14:35:00.000+01:002006-05-15T14:40:10.763+01:00

As we indicated a couple of weeks ago, we have now no further stocks of coffee from Central America until new crops arrive. This means that we had to remove Nicaragua Finca Linda Vista and the popular Tico Suave blend from the catalogue for now. We have a strong focus on Indonesian coffees at the moment, with new offereings from Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi. One or other of these coffees are

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1145960120942370662006-04-25T11:13:00.000+01:002006-04-25T12:37:41.493+01:00

We quite frequently get asked questions about choice of coffees, brewing methods, choice of equipment and the like so we thought it is probably about time to launch a large part-work which we will call our “How to enjoy Hill & Valley Coffee FAQ”. First of all you should know that “coffeespeak” is full of bunkum, over sophistication and subtle commercial positioning. Coffee snobs rarely know what

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1145360629415976062006-04-18T12:21:00.000+01:002006-04-25T12:39:12.220+01:00

Some of you may have noticed that the donation facility for our school fees sponsorship in Uganda went missing for a couple of weeks.Unfortunately a rush of dubious credit card payments obliged us to take some fairly forthright action with our secure transaction handlers at Worldpay to defend ourselves against a rush of credit card faud testing emanating out of the far east. Despicable although

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1145359220858392412006-04-18T12:10:00.000+01:002006-04-18T12:20:20.876+01:00

We received a new delivery of green coffee immediately before the easter break and have some exciting new crop arrivals added to the online store.Top of the list is a prized Kenya AA Gethumbwini from the 2006 main crop. We've kept the price rise down to 20p per 250g and hope you will take advantage of this outstanding coffee at a still reasonable price.As promised we now have three Indonesian

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1144231729609231722006-04-05T10:56:00.000+01:002006-04-05T11:12:18.853+01:00

We hate doing this!Following this week's increase in postal charges (again!) and recent rises in the cost of our packing materials, we have been obliged to review upwards the cost of shipping which is added to all orders placed in our online store. The increases reduce proportionate to the amount of packs purchased and we have even managed a 20p reduction where 10 packs are purchased at one time

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1144173384751420602006-04-04T18:46:00.000+01:002006-04-04T20:18:25.586+01:00

The continual process of re-newing the coffees we stock is particularly frenetic at this time of year. New crops from most asian coffee producers are now in full sway and we have taken full advantage of this as will be seen below. We will once again have three coffees from three islands in Indonesia.In East Africa, the main crop in Kenya is in and is drought ravaged! The best lots are the subject

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1144168195425689262006-04-04T16:48:00.000+01:002006-04-04T17:29:55.503+01:00

Well, we've just finished the first month of our outdoor event season with the usual blend of frozen pipes, "desperate for coffee", customers, early morning darkness, wind, rain and mud. And then more mud, and more mud. Business as usual then.We trialled our new FDE espresso and then promptly nearly exhausted supplies in two weeks. Our Rancilio machines are being re-built one by one thanks to

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1141814020697824132006-03-08T10:06:00.000Z2006-03-08T10:36:48.693Z

We have decided to launch a long term fund raising project in 2006 and for the first time we are actively seeking the participation of our online customers and friends.Awareness of many of the issues surrounding poverty in Africa was heightened in 2005 by the Live8 concerts and the Make Poverty History campaigns. In our particularly coffee focussed area of East Africa, the crisis is deepened by

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1141809918506757672006-03-08T09:14:00.000Z2006-03-08T09:25:18.526Z

With our popular e.caffe now out of stock, we have devloped a new espresso blend based on experiences tasting coffee in Sydney, Australia. The new blend, FDE Espresso features some exciting asian coffees with a good seasoning of a Sul de Minas Brazil Pulped Natural coffee to smooth out the finish and improve the crema.We used several kilos of the new blend on our first event of the season this

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1141761819053685232006-03-07T19:16:00.000Z2006-03-10T10:06:04.013Z

Well it's Fairtrade fortnight once again - the two weeks each year when we are asked the most pointed questions about the "ethical credentials" of Hill & Valley Coffee. We usually give a long answer that refuses to over-simplify the question in the manner that a purchase of Fairtrade coffee might do. (Debbie calls it my "rant" and usually tries to hide!) But we are not Marks & Spencer,

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1141206354079172362006-03-01T09:26:00.000Z2006-03-01T09:45:54.090Z

After another tuesday morning dragging full coffee sacks around, we have another two new coffees in the online store for you to try.Firstly we have a PNG coffee back in the range for the first time in over a year. Once more it is a popular peaberry - from the Kimel Estate.The other "new" coffee is also from Asia (well, what did you expect after 3 weeks down under?) and is a very fine fresh zero

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1140884499349765432006-02-25T16:02:00.000Z2006-02-26T20:06:28.053Z

We recently spent 3 weeks on holiday in Australia and having heard so much how the coffee culture was so dynamic down there, I was interested to find out the truth behind the hype. We also had an opportunity to visit boutique coffee plantations in some mountain areas of South Eastern Queensland, my first experience of coffee growing in the "first world".Starting off our holiday with four days in

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1140688314753130812006-02-23T09:22:00.000Z2006-02-23T09:51:54.783Z

The new outdoor event season starts on the first weekend in March, with seven day weeks once again the norm for about 30 weeks. The mobile espresso bars are being cleaned and gently re-vamped and our Rancilio espresso machines are off for full services at CMC in London. Sweet espresso shots, the freshest drip-filter coffee and "to die for" cakes when "The Coffeeman" hits your farm!Once again we

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1140686372395763162006-02-23T09:04:00.000Z2006-02-23T09:19:32.406Z

By an administrative oversight we had left Deadline Blend back in the garage when we re-stored online ordering last week. It is now back in the catalalogue and remains available. Apologies to any of you who were distraught at the absence.e.caffe is now all but out for the moment, but will be returning in the spring as we've just laid our hands on some new crop Java Kayumas Estate, which will also

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1139987931224924212006-02-15T07:14:00.000Z2006-02-15T07:18:51.240Z

As we flagged before our break, we have now run out of the Java Kayumas that we have stocked continually for the last year or so and have removed it from the online store.We have retained a small stock to allow us to continue roasting e.caffe for another week or so, but this espresso blend will also be suspended when the Java runs out. However it is a busy week roasting this week (inevitably) so

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1139752513911744422006-02-12T13:51:00.000Z2006-02-12T13:55:13.920Z

Hello everyone!We are back from sunny down under to gloomy rainy UK and WE feel deprived of our Hill & Valley Coffee as well! Thanks for your patience during the past 3 weeks when we have been away.So we have re-instated online ordering on the site at hvcoffee.com and will begin roasting tomorrow. Any / all orders are welcome!Thoughts of the coffee scene in Australia to follow once we've

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1138018261552776742006-01-23T11:47:00.000Z2006-02-11T00:51:48.590Z

Greetings to all from the land of the "short back" and "flat white". H&V have started a three week mainly holiday trip to Aus this past weekend and we are currently both in an internet cafe in Sydney. Unbelievably on our first walk out of our hotel in South Sydney (Cleveland St. fo those of you who know), we found two coffee roasters operating within a block! One is called Voodoo Espresso and

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1137576246884200102006-01-18T09:16:00.000Z2006-01-18T09:24:59.413Z

Hill & Valley / Origin mountain bike team member "Frozen Snow Mocha" Mick Arms made it to the finish of the Strathpuffer 24 this weekend, completing 15 laps of the 11 mile course in the highlands of Scotland. Magnificent Mick was eighth solo rider and a highly credible fifth amongst the amateurs.Congratulations, Mick, on a magnificent achievement and well done to Mike Spence for the lonely vigil

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1137575591243103652006-01-18T09:10:00.000Z2006-01-18T09:13:11.256Z

It is our last day of roasting today until February 13th.Accordingly we can no longer accept any new wholesale / bulk orders and have suspended this part of the catalogue.Roasted beans in 250g bags are still available until 8 am Thursday January 19th.

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1137413437732032012006-01-16T12:05:00.000Z2006-01-16T12:12:20.160Z

Less than 3 days to go now before our online store closes for over 3 weeks.We realise that many of you do buy fornightly or monthly, but for those who buy weekly, our advice would be simply to buy a larger quantity and put the excess in the freezer immediately on receipt. As long as the valve bags remain sealed, it is unlikely that you will notice a truly significance deterioration in flavour

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1137256724608174862006-01-14T16:19:00.000Z2006-01-17T16:39:53.003Z

As you sat back and enjoyed your saturday morning coffee did you perhaps look out of the window? Maybe, as well as thinking how good the coffee was, you looked at that cold, grey and drizzle and wondered how you could avoid going out today. Or perhaps the dog "needed" a shorter walk than usual, or the attractions of re-alphabetising the cd collection could no longer be put off.Spare a thought

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1137086879193706362006-01-12T16:58:00.000Z2006-01-12T17:29:10.053Z

As promised I have re-blended our Espresso San Giorgio and it is once again available in the online store. I have blended around Sumatra Mandheling or Lintong for most of the life of this blend, but have always yearned to present an espresso blend using the excellent Sulawesi Kalosi that continues to find it's way into our store. A straight swap of the two coffees usually gave me "acidity

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136813811929923372006-01-09T13:27:00.000Z2006-01-09T13:38:28.593Z

A look at our green stocks this morning tells me that we are going to run out of certain coffees pretty soon.Costa Rica Coopronaranjo "El Roble" - It'll be my last roast of this coffee this week and then there will be no more :-( I expect to have some Costa Rica "Dota" Tarrazu until the end of February, subject to sales of bulk green coffee.Java "Kayumas" - We probably just have enough to last

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136728048479336932006-01-08T13:44:00.000Z2006-01-08T13:47:28.486Z

Debbie and I have decided to take one "long" holiday this year, fulfilling a joint long held ambition to travel down-under. With the trip of 3 weeks, we really have no alternative but to close our online store and ask you all to do a little stocking up! We realise that many of you do buy fornightly or monthly, but for those who buy weekly, our advice would be simply to buy a larger quantity

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136476837558840342006-01-05T15:51:00.000Z2006-01-09T19:26:48.246Z

Through our partnership with Singletrack magazine we have now developed a particular affinity with serious mountain biking enthusiasts.In August 2004 we took one of the trailers to the 24 hour endurance event called "Sleepless in the Saddle" and served espresso non-stop for 32 hours!In 2005 Hill & Valley Coffee jointly sponsored endurance teams at the Saab Salomon Mountain Mayhem event in

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136476199110103452006-01-05T15:41:00.000Z2006-01-08T13:51:01.213Z

For about eight months, March to October, Hill & Valley Coffee gets out on the road...We have two espresso bar trailers that we take to outdoor events mainly in the south central and south western region of the country.When we started in late 1999, we would turn up virtually anywhere, preaching the creed of great coffee wherever we could. With time and experience we have specialised and these

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136474694563181152006-01-05T15:12:00.000Z2006-01-08T13:51:32.216Z

New Coffee.I just had to take an hour or so off from creating this b-blog to take part in one of my favourite activities - taking in a new green coffee delivery. Anyone who knows us at all will be aware that this is one of those tasks at H&V that is all done by my own bare hands. A pallet of 12 bags of green coffee may be an insignificant drip in the global coffee ocean, but when you have to lift

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136473813119269652006-01-05T14:41:00.000Z2006-01-05T15:13:22.763Z

The State of Gourmet Coffee in the UK - how we got hereThe mid 1990s saw the speciality food boom echo across the North American continent from the West Coast and in coffee the explosion originated in Seattle, in the eclectic coffee houses and gourmet coffee shops such as the original Starbucks. Still today, the Pacific North West would lay claim to the highest standard of coffee on the North

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136471654098007102006-01-05T14:19:00.000Z2006-01-05T14:34:14.106Z

Coffee CrazyCharlie became a “coffee nut” in his teenage years at university in London and shares the passion for an excellent cup or the perfect espresso with Hill & Valley Coffee's regular online customers. Having been a devoted espresso drinker since his first trip to Italy 25 years ago, Charlie says the taste is now enriched by knowing the secrets of those blends. His one souvenir of a

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136468341755675402006-01-05T13:15:00.000Z2006-01-23T07:49:48.180Z

First Brew at the theatre of Coffee.I can remember my first encounter with “real” coffee, but can't bring it down to month or year or even remember my exact age. I can just remember my Dad coming through to the dining table with a scruffy cardboard box from which he began to take various pieces of unfamiliar glassware. I was probably the early sixties and that means I could only have been seven

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20571762.post-1136466386927553682006-01-05T12:59:00.000Z2006-01-05T13:06:26.936Z

Welcome to the new Hill & Valley Coffee b-blog.We've decided to re-vamp our corporate website this year and it will become solely a storefront for our online freshly roasted coffee sales.As we introduce new coffees to our range you will find out about them first here and hopefully we will also be able to post some interesting stories for you to pass comment on as well.

Charles Masseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14505471641137620827noreply@blogger.com0