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This weekend saw the launch by David Attenborough (our hero!) of the annual Big Butterfly Count run by the charity Butterfly Conservation.

This important annual count is a nationwide survey aimed at helping us assess the health of our environment. It was launched in 2010 and has rapidly become the world's biggest survey of butterflies. Over 60,000 people took part in 2017, submitting 62,500 counts of butterflies and day-flying moths from across the UK. 

All you need to do to take part is sit somewhere in your garden for 15 minutes and count butterflies. The best conditions are when it's bright and sunny - and we've got plenty of that at the moment so it's the perfect time to do it! 

If you are counting from a fixed position in your garden, count the maximum number of each species that you can see at a single time. For example, if you see three Red Admirals together on a buddleia bush then record it as 3, but if you only see one at a time then record it as 1 (even if you saw one on several occasions) – this is so that you don’t count the same butterfly more than once . If you are doing your count on a walk, then simply total up the number of each butterfly species that you see during the 15 minutes. Then just go on to Big Butterfly Count website and submit your numbers!

We love butterflies at Cupsmith and we think this is a brilliant inititiave and one we're going to do as a family. We also think it's the perfect moment to sit down with a cup of tea while you count. Sitting in nature is good for the soul, helps you relax and take time out, and this is something we value very highly indeed. So each day this week we'll be giving away free bags of tea on our Facebook and instagram pages to celebrate our fabulous butterflies and taking time out to enjoy nature with the very best cup of tea!

Cupsmith x

#butterflycount

We're giving away a bundle of our finest leaf teas - many of which make delicious iced tea - and some gorgeous Cornishware mugs. Perfect for summer days in the garden. Hop on over to our instagram page for your chance to win. Good luck! 

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It won't surprise you to know that because we have a chocolate business, there's always a lot of very good chocolate in our house! With this hot weather we've been looking for a delicious iced chocolate pudding for a weekend treat. And after lots of experimenting we've come up with the perfect recipe using just 3 ingredients...yes that's just three ingredients (Jamie Oliver and his five ingredients has got nothing on us!). Our Frozen Chocolate and Meringue Parfait is super simple to make and totally delicious.

Pop to your local Waitrose and pick up a bag of our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate, double cream and a packet of Waitrose meringue nests. 

Method:

- Line a small loaf tin with cling film, making sure you leave plenty overhanging the sides so you can wrap this over the top at the end.

- Put 100 ml of double cream in a small pan and add 60g Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate flakes. Heat gently until the chocolate has melted. Leave to cool a little.

- Whip 200ml of double cream until ripples appear in the bowl. Fold in your cooled chocolate.

- Break up 8 meringue nests making sure you have a mixture of small pieces and dust! Fold gently into the chocolate cream mixture.

- Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin, pressing down to ensure there are no air pockets. Smooth the top and cover with the overhanging cling film. Pop it in the freezer overnight.

- Lick the spoon. Essential.

- To serve, take the parfait out of the freezer and slice. We enjoyed a few raspberries with ours. 

Enjoy!

Haven't got a Waitrose near you? Pop a packet of our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate in your basket here, and if you quote 'CHOCOLATEPUDDING' at the checkout we'll give you free delivery!

Next up we'll be posting a recipe for the easiest, most delicious chocolate ice cream, so just one packet of Cupsmith hot chocolate will be enough for both these puddings with plenty left over! 

Imagine our excitement when The Conran Shop asked for sample of our range of freshly roasted coffees, and imagine our even greater excitement when they loved them and placed an order!

The Conran Shop is the iconic home of true style and design, a meticulous edit of the very best of the very best - and we're deemed by them to be one of those 'best of the best'! We are beyond thrilled to be there.

Cupsmith x

We're thrilled to announce that our full range of freshly roasted coffees and our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate are now available to buy in Selfridges!

We were up in London last week doing at tasting at Selfridges and our Breakfast Coffee had completely sold out by the time we got there! But we've roasted more and sent it off to them. 

For a small, family-run business like ours, being in a store like Selfridges and its famous Food Hall is a real honour and very exciting indeed. It makes us think we must be doing something right...! So we'll be doing lots more of the same, and even better. As an old colleague of mine used to say 'good never stops', and we certainly won't.

Cupsmith

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We're delighted to announce that the Cupsmith Roastery is back open for visitors every Friday morning from March 2nd 2018.

Pop in and see us for a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or tea any time between 10am and 12.30pm. All our hot drinks will be available to buy, and if you want to help us with our committment to use less packaging, bring your own containers and we'll fill those direct and knock a little bit of money off too!

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Cupsmith

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When we first set up Cupsmith, with a mission to bring people the very best quality coffee, tea and hot chocolate for drinking at home every day, we always said the place our products would be really at home is Waitrose. 18 months later we are delighted to see our hot chocolate sitting very happily just there!

We've always been loyal Waitrose shoppers ourselves but it was with some trepidation and a good deal of nerves that we visited their head office to show them our new range of Cupsmith hot chocolate. But we needn't have worried, our experience at head office was just as lovely as it is in store. The people we met couldn't have been nicer or more enthusiastic, and over the next six months led us through the process that put us on the shelves at the beginning of December.

Waitrose now stocks both our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate and our Truly Magnificent White Hot Chocolate.

Have you spotted us in the aisles yet? If you see us, post a pic on instagram, facebook or twitter with the hashtag #cupsmithinwaitrose and we'll send you a voucher for a free bag of Cupsmith freshly roasted coffee worth £5.50! 

Cupsmith

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