International Coffee Day

Every day is an international day of some sort, but the international coffee day seems one worth raising a glass, or mug, to, and today's the day! Being made from a grown source, the coffee bean, it is obviously difficult to tell when coffee drinking was first discovered. The first evidence appears to show coffee drinking starting in the mid 15th century in Yemen. Coffee became popular in England due to the British East India Company, and Oxford's Queen's Lane Coffee House started up in 1654.

Over the years coffee has become a much loved commodity across the world, and nowadays is the source of many social and business meetings, with coffee shops becoming increasingly popular year by year. The phrase 'going for a coffee' is used even by those who never drink coffee, it's become something of a modern day term for going for a drink, whether that be tea, coffee, juice or pretty much anything that's not an alcoholic beverage. Despite the big chains such as Starbucks and Costa having coffee shops left right and centre, the local and unique coffee shops are still popular, and are often even more popular than the big guns due to being a bit different and being supported because they are a locally owned and run business.

Why not take the opportunity of it being 'international coffee day' to visit some of the locally owned coffee (or tea) shops in the Olney area?! There are lots- Beans, Cafe Tosco, Teapots and Much Ado, to name but a few!

BOFF is here!

The highly anticipated event is finally HERE!! (well, almost, it will be by tomorrow!) Due to the great success of previous years, the festival this year has been extended to two days, and it's a weekend full to the brim with various events. Saturday sees the BOFF kick off at midday, the bar opens and the local foodies will be cooking up a storm to provide you with a variety of different tastes. The weekend includes the usual entertainment for all the family, music, food and more... The 'Great Gappo' children's entertainer will be making the crowd laugh at 2pm, and The Great Olney Bake Off competition will be underway at 3pm. There will be music from a variety of acts between 1pm and 10pm, including Alan Houghton, Bolivian Sunshine Dogs, Mad Mods and Englishman and more!

This year Sunday will incorporate the Olney Farmers market, where stallholders will be cooking up some tasty treats for you to try from 9am. The bar will open at 11am, and then from 12 midday the highly anticipated finals of 'Rock with BOFF' will be held. The heats have been going on since July, so from 12-5.30pm you'll be able to see the eight finalists and vote on who should be crowned the winner!

We're hoping the sun will be shining for a great, relaxed and enjoyable weekend enjoying local talent and great foods and drink with friends and family. Don't miss out on this yearly event, it's getting bigger and better every year!

What is 'bubble tea'?

'Bubble tea' has existed since the 1980's in Taiwan, but has only been introduced in the last few years to the UK. It first came to London, and in the last couple of months the phenomenon has arrived here in Milton Keynes.

What is Bubble Tea?

Basically, it's a cold, flavoured, tea drink with chewy bits in the bottom. That description a bit vague for you? Let's try the long one...

The flavoured tea bit is the same, the bit which may need a bit of explaining are the squishy, edible balls at the bottom of the drink! These are tapioca balls (sometimes referred to as 'pearls' or 'boba') and they come in a variety of flavours, sit at the bottom of your drink and are sucked up through a big fat straw. The tea is shaken when made, creating thousands of tiny bubbles on the top, hence the name.

The drinks come in milky or fruity varieties, with many flavours to choose from of both the drink and tapioca/boba balls, making a huge number of possible variations. The balls are small enough to be sucked through a thick straw, but big enough to contain a good amount of flavouring; so that when you bite into it you get a shot of flavour in your mouth! They've got the texture of bath pearls, but don't let that put you off, the taste is great!

These drinks are something of a novelty at the moment, and as result are quite pricey, but are definitely worth a try. There's a lot of natural goodness in these (and a whole load of sugar too I expect) such as tapioca, taro, jelly made from coconut, aloe vera and more!

The new 'bubble heaven' stand has opened in centre:mk and is situated just outside bhs and blue inc. Why not give it a try?!

Saint Patrick's day

So yesterday was Saint Patrick's day- did you celebrate it?! I always find it a bit bizarre how the day has become such a big thing in the UK, understandably it will be so for the Irish, as Saint Patrick's day is their cultural and religious holiday, but why do so many others seem to celebrate it? Do we really know what the day is about or just want an excuse to drink Guinness?! I'm not too sure but am leaning toward the latter so decided to refresh my memory on what it really is about...

The 17th March is the death date of the the most commonly recognised patron saint of Ireland; Saint Patrick. Back in the 17th century, Saint Patrick's day started as a Christian feast day, celebrating the introduction of Christianity to Ireland, as well as Irish culture and heritage in general. The tradition of drinking alcohol to celebrate began with lifting the lenten ban on alcohol for the day, and with Guinness being the Irish drink of choice it has become something of a tradition. Another tradition for the day is wearing shamrocks and green clothing/accessories.

What did you get up to yesterday? Are you nursing a sore head from consuming one too many drinks in celebrating the day? Did you attend one of the many Saint Patrick's day events or parades?- There were a few here around Milton Keynes, clearly you don't have to be Irish to enjoy the holiday! Whether you celebrated or not, we hope you had a good one!