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As we continue with our upwilding project at Cupsmith HQ - to attract and support more wildlife - we've turned our attention to our scraggedy-raggedy fields. Luckily, my niece is a qualified ecologist and specialises in British wildlife so she has been our constant source of knowledge and above all enthusiasm.

When I bemoaned our scruffy, sadly-ignored fields (running Cupsmith is all-consuming as you can imagine) she immediately said that far from being scruffy wasteland, they're actually the perfect habitat for the wildlife of the area. I was thrilled! The perfect excuse to worry no more, and just build on the scruff! And that's what we've been doing. So having built our Cupsmith wildlife hotel and sanctuary, we've now been sowing wildflowers in a brilliant, entertaining way.

We've been making seedballs, or seedbombs as some people call them. I spent a happy few hours making these with the children and it couldn't be easier. All you need is:

There are lots of 'recipes' on the internet, but here's our super-simple version.

1) Take a blob of air drying clay and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Small hands like doing this a lot as it's like playdough.

2) Take a generous pinch or two of compost, along with a sprinkle of wildflower seeds.

3) Squish it all together.

4) Roll it into a ball.

5) Leave the seedballs to dry overnight.

So this has all been looking rather lovely so far? And so far it was. Well just to remind us all that real life isn't always as lovely as it looks on social media feeds, the next morning we then had to go and throw the seedballs in the field. It was cold, raining and windy! Here are the children before school, with me shouting 'hurry up, throw the seedballs, it's freezing....and you'll be late for school!'

The rain is actually ideal for the seedballs because it washes away the clay and the seeds settle well in the soil. So when you make yours, do watch out for a bit of rain and get throwing! 

Happy upwilding.

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The super handy trays are by our very stylish friends Thornback & Peel. 

We spent the day yesterday starting our 'upwilding' project, making changes to improve our 5 acre site to attract more wildlife. First up was our Cupsmith wildlife hotel and sanctuary, which we built using old pallets (all our coffee is delivered on pallets, so it's great to reuse them), old bricks, rotten wood and corrugated cardboard.

We're really pleased with it and everyone loved making it! If we can all make a BIT of a difference in our gardens, we can all make a HUGE difference to wildlife across the country. 

If you live locally and fancy building a wildlife hotel in your garden, do get in touch as we have lots more pallets and we'd be so happy to donate them to you. The more wildlife hotels we can build the better! 

It was a real family affair and brilliant to get everyone outside and help our British wildlife.

More soon about the next part of our upwilding project.

George and Emma

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We've had to very slightly increase our coffee prices to £5.75 a bag. We've held prices for 3 years since we launched, but as is the way with the world, the cost of the speciality coffee we buy has gone up, along with packaging and everything else. So we've decided we have no choice but to add a little to the price. This isn't a decision we have taken lightly, but we are also reassured by the fact that other coffee roasters selling coffee of the same quality as ours have always charged significantly more, and continue to do so. So we are still bringing you a better cup of coffee for less.

We hope you understand and will continue to enjoy a really good cup of Cupsmith coffee at home every day!

George and Emma x 

We're celebrating the precious moments we can get outside into the fresh air, walk dogs and make the most of the natural world around us - so important during the winter months. So we've teamed up with our lovely friends at The Little Soap Company to giveaway a bundle of goodies for you and your four-legged friend. Hop on over to our instagram page for your chance to win!

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As a small, two-man business, launching on Ocado is very exciting! You'll find a range of our coffees and teas on there, and we'd be thrilled if you'd support our growing business by poppping some in your basket next time you're on there. You'll find us on Ocado here.

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Hello lovely customers,

This gorgeously hot weather has got us making milkshakes, and without boasting (when someone says that you always know they're about to boast their socks off, right?!) we think we've come up with the most delicious one.

Only 3 ingredients needed:

1) Full fat milk - we always use Yeo Valley's milk because it's delicious, they're our friends and we love what they stand for  

2) Vanilla ice cream - again we use Yeo Valley Vanilla Ice Cream and always their double cream ice cream as it's the real thing and not full of nonsense

3) our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate 

Method:

Gently warm about 100ml of milk in a pan. Add 1-1.5 tablespoons of hot chocolate flakes ot the milk and whisk until it's melted. Take off the heat and leave to cool. 

Pour into a glass, top up with cold milk and finally add a large dollop on top (the Cupsmith definition of 'dollop' is 'as much as you can cram onto your icecream scoop and more'!). Enjoy!

Pop into your nearest Waitrose for our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate and Yeo Valley's Whole Milk and Vanilla Ice Cream.

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