Win a £100 gift card to spend at Black Insomnia Coffee Company

The Black Insomnia Coffee Company produces the world’s strongest coffee, packing a minimum of 1105mg of caffeine in each 12 fl oz cup. That’s over four times the average strength of other typical high-street brands.

Are you curious to sample it? Well you’re in luck! We’ve teamed up with them for this month’s competition to offer one of our buzz-loving readers a £100 gift card to spend in their web-shop.

You can choose bags of roasted beans or tins of ready ground. If you prefer your coffee to come in capsules, Insomnia does those too. Their pods work with Nespresso© machines and are completely compostible – being made from 100% cornstarch. When they’ve been used, simply dispose of them on your compost heap or put them in your food waste recycling caddy.

In business since 1932, Black Insomnia small-batch roast their beans using a traditional Italian method. They describe their coffee – a blend of the finest Robusta and Arabica beans – as having:

Caramel, hazelnut, and macadamia aromas, on top of a luxurious dark chocolate flavour.

They’ve recently added drip bag coffee to their range; all the rage in China and Japan, pour-over coffee is gaining in popularity over here. Because of their eco-ethos, their bags are made from paper, so are biodegradable and easy to recycle.

As well as fine, real coffee in all its forms, Black Insomnia sells giftware including branded coffee mugs, hoodies and t-shirts for super-strong coffee fanatics.

To win the £100 gift card, tell us in the comments section below how you like your coffee best. Me, it’s a soya flat white alongside a fresh, buttery croissant. Good luck!

£100 gift card to spend at Black Insomnia Coffee Company

A platform to improve your mental, physical and social well-being

For over a decade, we’ve been small business owners, working from home. Sometimes we feel blessed to be in this position – we spend the whole day together, we answer to no one, there’s no stressful daily commute and we can choose when and where we work.

Often, this freedom can have the opposite effect; we work 7 days per week, we don’t work a traditional 9 to 5 and feel like we’re always ‘on call’. We can’t phone in sick or have a ‘duvet day’ – it can be difficult to achieve a healthy work life balance.

Therefore, we see it as timely that this month to be teaming up with Smart Home Need, a platform that aims to help you develop positive lifestyle habits through making your home a more supportive environment. Their mission in their own words…

Smart Home Need is a start up with social vocation. We believe in a well-being centric lifestyle, where the satisfaction of human Needs is the first step towards a more sustainable and healthy society.

Exploring the Smart Home Need website has given me pause to reflect on my work and lifestyle habits. It points to many places where there’s room for improvement to my mental, physical and social well-being. For instance, having a designated place from which to work – bed or sofa should only be for rest & relaxation. In addition, being propped up on either of these do nothing for my neck, shoulders or spine health! Taking regular breaks away from the computer is another habit I need to nurture. Ditto downing tools at mealtimes – I’m a terrible one for eating and working simultaneously. One of my worst traits, however, is that I’m a real night owl and need telling when it’s bedtime!

In addition, Smart Home Need recommends a number of mobile phone apps and smart home technology solutions (which they call ‘pathfinders’) to help you develop and improve your lifestyle.

Smart Home Need is providing two of our readers with a one-year full ‘Flourish’ subscription (worth 49,99€ each). To enter, tell us in the comments section below what you do to achieve a healthy work life balance or improve your daily routine.

A one-year Smart Home Need ‘Flourish’ subscription

Win a £50 e-voucher for ARRAN Sense of Scotland

Welcome to our June giveaway; we’re half-way through 2020, who’d have predicted that we in the UK and the rest of the world would be where we are now? It’s been such a stressful few months for us all – so we’re really pleased to be able to offer you something to help make you feel relaxed & pampered.

ARRAN Sense of Scotland has generously provided an e-gift voucher to the value of £50 – to spend as you wish. They have such gorgeous product range, you’ll find it difficult to choose!

Their indulgent bathroom selection includes bath salts & scrubs, soaps and shower gels in various scents.

On the other hand, a practical choice for the current times would be their alcohol hand rub; a fragrance-free spray that’s 80% alcohol, kills 99% of bacteria and comes in a neat plastic bottle that easily pops into your handbag or your car’s glove box.

Their ‘After the Rain’ collection reminds me of the lovely word ‘Petrichor’. It’s Greek for the smell you get when rain falls on warm, dry soil. ARRAN describes their popular scent as:

Warm and inviting, captivate your senses with our elegant floral and citrus blend. Refreshing lime and rose fuse effortlessly with a smooth sandalwood fragrance to create an alluring scent…

There are products for use on the body such as this handy roll-on scent; also hand, eye and body moisturisers. ARRAN also have an extensive men’s range, including shaving and after-shave products and eaux de cologne.

Their home section encompasses, reed diffusers, scented candles and room sprays in a variety of fragrances.

This month’s giveaway is open to UK-based readers only. To enter, please tell us which ARRAN fragrance or products appeal to you.

A £50 e-voucher for ARRAN Sense of Scotland

Win a Manchester Candles bundle

Life has been stressful and tense for all of us over the past month – but we must remind ourselves that the current situation will eventually improve. Unbelievably, there have been a few upsides. People are looking out for each other more – becoming more community-minded and charitable. Being in lock-down means we’re being more creative in the things we do – on our own and with our families.

We have a lovely collection of goodies from Manchester Candles that will definitely improve your stay-at-home experience. Sarah makes all of her candles and melts by hand; in small batches using quality vegan soy and rapeseed wax from sustainable sources and the finest cruelty-free fragrance oils.

The choice of mood-enhancing fragrances are:

Breathe – Sandalwood & Musk
Awaken – Citrus & Herb
Grounded – Frankincense & Myrrh
Sleep – Lavender & Chamomile
Stretch – Lemongrass & Ginger

The Manchester Candles bundle we have on offer consists of a candle, a diffuser, a room spray, a pack of wax melts and a burner. Choose a single scent or a mix.

To enter, simply tell us what you do to help you keep calm and relaxed. Me, it’s a hot, deep bubble bath with the lights switched off and a scented candle flickering… maybe with a glass of wine in hand as well!

A Manchester Candles bundle

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: competition

Win a £100 gift card to spend at Black Insomnia Coffee Company

A platform to improve your mental, physical and social well-being

Win a £50 e-voucher for ARRAN Sense of Scotland

Win a Manchester Candles bundle