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.

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!

Apart from the coffee beans and brewing process, the water quality can also make the difference between a mediocre batch of coffee and a great tasting one. This often overlooked factor for good-tasting coffee takes the spotlight in this blog post, as we outline why using high-quality water is paramount if you want your cold brew coffee (and any other kind of coffee, for that matter) to turn out delectable.  

As you may recall, coffee only requires two ingredients: coffee beans and water. Those passionate about their cup of joe will be careful in their selection of coffee beans, assessing their quality, origin, and whether they are organic. While all that is undoubtedly critical to brewing great coffee, the fact is that brewed coffee is still around 98% water, despite its strong and intense flavour. In short, the water quality ensures you extract just the right amount of flavour every time. Below, we outline the four key factors to keep in mind regarding the water you brew your coffee with. 

1. The water must be 100% pure

As mentioned, coffee mainly consists of water, hence the need to be conscious about your water. It should have no discernable taste and must not be distilled entirely. Despite being safe, tap water should not be used if possible as it may seriously affect the taste of your brew. Clear water should also be scrutinised even with its appearance as it could contain unwanted minerals—chlorine, magnesium, calcium, fluoride, etc.—that can also change the flavour of the coffee. 

Ideally, use natural spring water as its mineral contents have properties that enable proper extraction during the brewing process.

2. Brew temperature is important

Most automatic drip coffee equipment does not heat up enough, sending slightly cool water through the coffee grinds and typically results in a pot with a slightly sour taste. Nothing can be done to fix the issue except to invest in an SCAA-approved automatic drip pot or a manual coffee maker.

Opting for a stove-top kettle when heating your water for any manual brewing process is recommended. When the kettle starts to whistle, turn off the heat and let it sit for a minute. Doing so enables the water to reach 93-96°C, the ideal temperature for brewing coffee.

3. Water affects brewing equipment

The water used in making your favourite cold brew coffee in Singapore and other coffees affects the brewing equipment's longevity and the elbow grease needed to maintain and clean them. Water that is not pure and contains additional minerals, such as tap water, may lead to residue build-up inside brewers, kettles, and the inside of countertop espresso machines. Hence, soft water (slightly slimy with fewer minerals) or hard water (more residue and minerals) will make cleaning more difficult. 

4. Hot water is not just for brewing 

When waiting for the coffee to brew, pour some hot water into a cup and let it sit until it is finished. The result is a cup that stays warmer much longer. When using a manual brewing process (Pour over, French press, Chemex), do the same before adding the grinds. Pre-heating the vessel will maintain the coffee's temperature throughout the brewing, enabling proper extraction.

Conclusion

When brewing coffee, water is the unsung hero that gets you the perfect cup to start your mornings right. Hopefully, with the tips we've shared, you can improve your brewing process and, ultimately, the flavour of your favourite coffee.

Besides using good quality ingredients, improving your home brew recipe also entails trying out other types of coffee and expanding your taste palate. In that case, why not give our cold brew coffee a try here at Wake The Crew? We offer cold brew delivery in Singapore that gets you the best-tasting cold brew coffee on the island born from our passion and years of experimentation to bring out the full flavour of our concentrates. Don't hesitate to contact us today to learn more about our products, subscription plans, and other services!

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!