Snap Before You Sip With Ground Espresso & Win a Holiday to New York!

Your next cup of coffee could be your ticket to the holiday of a lifetime in the city that never sleeps. 

Northern Ireland's home grown, quickly expanding coffee chain Ground Espresso has launched an initiative that will invite their fans to submit themed stills for inclusion in a beautifully bound coffee table book, which will be sold and all proceeds given to The Ground Honduras Project.

Ground coffees are pretty as a picture

The aim of this campaign is to capture shots that range from favourite Ground drinks, to a precious memory shared at Ground, and even quirky snaps of Ground’s coffees and signature tray bakes out and about at NI’s famous landmarks. The initiative welcomes participants at all levels of photography from smartphone users to professional shutterbugs.

Snap quickly before the Nutella cake disappears!0

Ground also provide free tap water in every store- a great help for families

The initiative will shortlist 12 runners-ups who will be announced in August 2016.

Each runner up will receive a premium prize package of Ground treats including a £100 Ground gift card, brew-at-home coffeekits, and some bespoke branded products. In addition to this, the overall winner will receive a complimentary weekend break in New York City with flights and accommodation courtesy of Ground Espresso Bars.

All winners will also have their submissions included in Ground’s first coffee table book, which will be available for sale to the public at the end of year.

For further information and to join the campaign visit www.groundcoffee.net.

Spot Ground, top right

Smix & I finally visited the new Ground Espresso Bar that opened as part of the big, new Next store at Bloomfields in Bangor. It's the town's second branch, with the first cafe along the ring road always a hive of activity, and this concession set to thrive also. 

Previously the space was a department store, where you could get a light lunch, and Ground is the perfect replacement, with lots of good choices on offer from light bites to bagels, to toasties, to traybakes. 

The salted caramel brownie is the stuff of legends

Manager Chris was on hand on a hot Friday afternoon to show us the sparkly new store.  

Just as with the other Bangor branch, the Bloomfield cafe offers the whole  Brew Bar experience, which I covered in this blog post which is a must for coffee connoisseurs.

There's also a fabulous selection of Suki Teas, another local hero product, made in Belfast.

Because it was so hot I didn't fancy a big mug of steaming hot coffee, so Chris made me a double espresso with a little foamed milk.  

Michael's favourite and what he has religiously every time we go to Ground, is the Nutella cake. It's as heavenly as you'd imagine. 

Coupled with a babycino

I tried their bacon & cream cheese bagel. I'd had their bacon bap before in their Sprucefield cafe, but the bagel is a total belly buster! So much delicious bacon. I needed a lie down after eating that! But it was worth it! 

As with the other stores, this Ground also has a range of expert coffee paraphernalia to use at home. 

Dont forget to sign up for the Ground reward scheme if you are a frequent visitor, and there are also gift vouchers available if you know someone who loves their coffee & would be interested in the brew bar experience they can't get elsewhere. 

So thanks to Chris & the team, we had a fun first visit to our second local Ground. They sent us off with one of their special fruit & veg smoothies, as I was curious to taste the Kale Kick. It's an authentic superfood drink, icy cold in this hot weather, but a bit too healthy for me. The Oreo flavoured icecream milkshake is more my thing! 

You can connect with Ground on social networks with the username @GroundEspresso

Love It Local, Try Some Belfast-Blended Suki Tea at Your Nearest Ground Espresso Bar.

 Ground Espresso bars are scattered far and wide through out Northern Ireland, with new branches opening all the time. We visited the new Bangor branch again, it's located on the ring road beside Pure Gym. There will also be a second Bangor Ground concession inside the new Next that's being built at Bloomfield Shopping Centre.

The easiest way to see if there is a Ground branch coming to your town is to  join their Facebook page.

Last month we visited the new Bangor store and tried their special coffee brew bar experience. This time around I chose from their selection of Suki loose leaf teas, picking Apple Loves Mint.

Suki Tea is blended in Belfast and Ground are proud to source local products when available. If you are unsure which loose leaf tea to go for, ask a barista can you smell the different aromas on offer.  

Your tea will be served in a classic Suki Tea Pot, which are also available to buy in store, or on their website. 

£30

£22.50

The food choice at Ground are also sourced locally, and hand finished in store. 

Today my choice was a big, soft, lemon & blueberry muffin. Smix had his favourite, Nutella Cake.

So why not support a local coffee shop and visit a Ground Espresso Bar this weekend? 

Ground Espresso Opens Its First Bangor Store- The Coffee Shop For Connoisseurs

You may have spotted the new  Ground Coffee Shop which almost sprung up overnight on the Bangor ring road beside Pure Gym. The first Bangor branch of the super successful Northern Irish chain is now open, ahead of their second store in the new Next at Bloomfields launching later in 2016.

Smix subscribes to the little boy rule of 'it's 3 degrees but no I definitely don't need my coat, mum'. 

So what sets Ground Espresso apart from all the other coffee shops our seaside town already has? For coffee connoisseurs it has to be their exclusive 'Brew Bar', using expert brewing methods for the ultimate taste experience from their beans. 

Hannah from Ground talked me through the three methods you can choose from, which take a little longer than usual coffee preparation, but which are most definitely worth the few minutes wait- I can confirm the difference in taste was huge. 

The Kalita Wave method gives the 'cleanest' coffee I've ever tasted. The resulting coffee is recommended to be tasted without milk or sugar, to experience the true, full taste of the beans. 

The Chemex is another expert barista method giving a strong, true taste from the beans used.

It brews enough coffee for two people, or two cups if you really love your java. Even after the little tester cups I could feel the caffeine, which must be a result of the more efficient brewing methods.

The final method was the Aeropress. I'd heard people talk about purchasing these for home use for Christmas, and Ground have them in stock to buy yourself. 

In fact they have a selection of expert brewing accessories available to purchase. 

So if you love your coffee you'll definitely want to try those methods at Ground and taste the difference. So what else is in store? Lots of local tea from Suki, Elderflower, Red Berries and Pink Grapefruit varieties.

For kids there are milkshakes. Smix had an Oreo one and you can also choose from strawberry, banana, chocolate and salted caramel brownie milkshakes. 

Ground also have a selection of healthy smoothies on offer. 

After our coffee tasting I was feeling a little too buzzed to drink more, I would have been up all night, so I tried their Mumbai Railway Chai- mostly because I've never known what it was, and was too scared to ask before. I always assumed it was some sort of milky tea, but it's not! It's neither tea or coffee but it's delicious. That's me hooked.

I also got to try one of their winter drinks, the orange hot chocolate, which is equally delicious. 

Food wise they have healthy lunches, and terribly wonderfully majestically unhealthy traybakes!

Smix rated this the best Nutella cake he has ever tasted. All the food choices are hand finished in store. 

Ground are famous for their salted caramel brownie, with portions that are definitely not skimpy. 

Snickers Cake, Mars Bar Krispies and Golden Honeycomb bars are also on the menu. 

The new Bangor store is a little different from the Waterstones or Next located Ground stores you may have been in. It's a stand alone branch with a bright and airy feel, lots of seating including work stations along the windows with plug sockets galore for your laptops. There is a very cute toddler area too. 

So now I know what a chai latte is, and that I love it, we will be round at Ground often! Frequent visits mean it's good sense to pick up one of their reusable cups- your drink will be 10p less if you bring it with you.  

 Finally for offers, competitions and news you can like Ground Espresso Bangor on Facebook.

We Do Summer at Ground Espresso

Last night we were invited along to the launch of Ground Espresso's summer menu, at their Waterstone's branch in Belfast city centre. With branches in Coleraine, Ballymena, Lisburn, Portrush, Bushmills, Cookstown & Dublin, Ground are one of Northern Ireland's fastest growing local businesses. It's the originality of their menu and the crafting & care each new product receives that sets Ground Espresso apart from other coffee shops. 

They have three new drinks for the summer menu, a coffee based salted caramel frappé, a fruit juice lover's choice Tutti Fruitti, and a coffee-free, kids' dream drink of chocolate vanilla frappè. 

I tried the tutti frutti which was a delicious peachy, poolside type adult slushie. My son tried the whipped cream & mini-Smarties topped frappé which I managed to sneak a sip of too, comparing it to Milky Bars and vanilla icecream.  

Call into any of the Ground Espresso stores to try their summer drinks now, and follow them on all social media @groundespresso  

My First Time: Ground Espresso Bar, Belfast

My friend and fellow blogger, Sera McDaid, always tweets about her favourite coffee spot, Ground Espresso Bar. She lives up North Coast way, where the family owned business first sprouted, and until now I hadn't had a chance to taste the delights she always raved about.

Manager Dermott invited me up to their Next branch in Belfastcity centre to see what makes Ground different to the chains of coffee places elsewhere in our towns. 

The second floor cafe is spacious, bright and even has a little play section for kids who need a break from being dragged round shops. I had a white mocha & little Michael chose a strawberry milkshake & Aero muffin.

Crazy face

The coffee is proper coffee. Not the sickly sweet, sugar-laden stuff you'd get in certain places. Their new exclusive Purple Dragon blend is selling very well, and after one mocha I felt like I was buzzing on caffeine- something that never happens usually! It was smooth and delicious.

The tea that Ground Espresso serve is another local product, Suki Tea, made here in Belfast. They pride themselves on ethical, local sourcing of food, drinks and even the wood used for the interior design.

The traybakes are hefty and rich. Dermott kindly gave us some to nibble on our train journey home too. They launch their Christmas drinks soon, which includes a Snowball- a white hot chocolate with coconut- which sounds like my dream drink. So why not mark Ground Espresso as your shopping break spot when you are in the city for Christmas shopping?

Chasing Ground's Purple Dragon

To celebrate the re-launch of Ground Espresso Bars’ two Belfast stores and the recent unveiling of their newest coffee blend, ‘Purple Dragon’, Ground will be hosting a family fun day in each Belfast store on Saturday 11October from 2pm – 4pm th.

Join the Ground team for a number of FREE activities including face painting, balloon modelling and Ground’s famous hot chocolate complete with whipped cream and marshmallows for the kids.

Mum and Dad can recharge over two speciality coffees for the price of one, prepared using Ground’s newest coffee blend, Purple Dragon – a unique blend of beans from Sumatra, Honduras and Ethiopia which promises to take your taste buds on a magical journey.

For more information on the Ground Espresso Bars Family Fun Day, visit www.facebook.com/groundespresso or www.twitter.com/groundespresso