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%name water cooler

Why you and I need water to stay hydrated By Stuart Walton

In Water

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” — W. H. Auden

Many of us work long hours from home or at a workplace and fatigue – both physical and mental – can quickly set in. Modern life is demanding, but workplaces have realised in recent years that to prevent spiralling costs from short-term and long-term absence, they need to look after their employees.

In the old days of the 70s, for example, many employees stayed with a company for years and decades and were remunerated with bonuses, company cars and pay rises.

You would never walk into an office or workshop 50 years ago, or even 30 years ago, and see water-coolers for staff and visitors to use.

They’re common now though and for good reasons.

Water helps us all to:

  1. Maintain concentration
  2. Increase energy levels
  3. Suppresses snacking and helps with weight control
  4. Decreases levels of stress
  5. Helps with reducing headaches and migraines
  6. Improves mood
  7. Saves money for employees

You may be thinking, yes, yes, we know all this, but is your agenda biased because we sell water-coolers. 

Well, yes and no.

Taken from a scientific perspective, it’s worth noting (if you like stats) that adult humans are made up of 60% water and that blood is actually 90% water. Its consumption is vital for functioning of organs like kidneys and that blood carries oxygen around the body. Water aids digestion, improves skin condition and replaces the water lost when exercising and even breathing.

There’s no fixed recommendations for the amount of water we should drink daily, but according to a recent survey, water consumption is low:

  • 7 percent of adults reported no daily consumption of drinking water
  • 36 percent of adults reported drinking 1-3 cups of drinking water a day
  • 35 percent of adults reported drinking 4-7 cups of drinking water a day
  • 22 percent of adults reported drinking 8 cups or more a day

Do I need to provide drinking water?

Supplying water at work is actually enshrined too in law, by the HSE

Yes. The law requires that you provide drinking water and ensure that: it is free from contamination and is preferably from the public water supply -bottled water dispensers are acceptable as a secondary supply; it is easily accessible by all employees; there are adequate supplies taking into consideration the temperature of the working environment and types of work activity; cups or a drinking fountain are provided. Drinking water does not have to be marked unless there is a significant risk of people drinking non-drinking water.

We offer a vast range of water solutions for your business – from sophisticated coolers with large bottles that self-sanitise with ambient or cold water, to machines that are plumbed in and filter and cool water for your staff and visitors. You can choose between freestanding floor machines or counter-top ones where space is at a premium. You can even have water-coolers that supply hot water, meaning time-constrained staff can make a hot drink without queuing and waiting for a kettle to boil.

We’ve been supplying drinks to workplaces since 1998 – so if you want to know how we can hydrate your team and your visitors efficiently and cost-effectively, get in touch today!

 

 

%name espresso

A beginner’s guide to coffee at home or at work By Stuart Walton

In Coffee

Do you know how many cups of coffee are consumed across the globe daily?

  1. 500 million?
  2. 1 billion?
  3. 2 billion?

We won’t leave you in suspense – but if you picked 2 billion, well done, you’re right! Lot of coffee consumption isn’t it, when there’s 8 billion people on planet Earth.

Some of you may not drink coffee at all, but we think it’s a safe bet to argue that most do. We drink it at home, at breakfast, on breaks, after meals. It can be drunk with spirits, neat as espresso, with milk, oat milk, soya and with numerous names. Walk down any high street in Britain, or drive along any road, and you will see sellers of coffee – from giant global chains to small independents, all sating our taste for coffee.

You probably order the same thing every time – cappuccino, latte, white Americano – and perhaps from the same chain or independent. You get used to a taste and style and, as a creature of habit, probably rarely deviate.

But apart from the plethora of coffee beans, the equipment used to make it – stove-top, cafetière, coffee press, capsule or even instant – you may want to know more about what each coffee style stands for when you’re staring at a machine or menu and wondering what is the difference between a latte and a mocha, a cappuccino and a macchiato.

Well wonder no more – as we provide a “cut out and keep” guide for you to experiment with the next time you order coffee. There’s hundreds of variations of these, of course, so the for sake of brevity, we’ve specified a lucky seven only.

  1. Black coffee. This surely needs no explanation? It’s served hot from coffee beans with nothing added.
  2. Espresso. Many assume that espresso and black coffee are the same and they’re partially correct. It is indeed black coffee and often unadorned with sugar – but the beans are more finely ground and it makes for a more syrupy drink. Espresso, of course, forms the base for latte and cappuccino drinks.
  3. Latte. One of the more popular choices as the espresso base is tempered by the addition of milk. It is usually formed of three equal measures: espresso, steamed milk, frothed milk. There are of course multiple versions of lattes when flavoured syrups are added.
  4. Cappuccino. Similar to latte, but with a thicker layer of foam and often topped with chocolate sprinkles in UK chains which may please or irritate you.
  5. Macchiato. This is an espresso with a shot of milk. The word macchiato actually means stained or spotted in Italian, which should give you some idea of this coffee style.
  6. Americano. This is espresso topped up with hot water, often coming with a small pitcher of cold milk if you specify white Americano.
  7. Mocha latte. Just like the latte, but with the sweet addition of cocoa powder, melted chocolate or syrup.

These are just seven examples of hot coffee drinks – we will look at cold coffee drinks in a future post, as well as alcoholic versions like Irish coffee.

Our question to you now is a simple one – what coffee will you order the next time you’re out? Will you stick to your usual or will you work through each of the seven we’ve specified above?