Harrogate man invents 'world’s cleverest coffee’ to boost performance and recovery

A Harrogate sports therapist more accustomed to working with football legends than coming up with inventions is causing a stir after creating what he says is the “cleverest cup of coffee in the world”.
Harrogate elite sports therapist Mark Holmes, founder of  Amunra high performance coffee. Picture Gerard BinksHarrogate elite sports therapist Mark Holmes, founder of  Amunra high performance coffee. Picture Gerard Binks
Harrogate elite sports therapist Mark Holmes, founder of Amunra high performance coffee. Picture Gerard Binks

Working from a small office in Harrogate, Mark Holmes invented brand-new performance coffee Amunra after 18 years’ experience of working in elite sports, including with Premier League players, England U-21 footballers and Real Madrid legends Roberto Carlos and Michel Salgado.

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The new coffee has been tested at Sheffield Hallam University leading to Mark’s boast that Amunra is the “only scientifically-designed coffee, containing the optimal dosages of caffeine and polyphenols.”

That may seem a bit of a mouthful but Mark says the end result helps sports people of all types and abilities and is easily incorporated into everyone’s daily routine.

The Amunra founder said: “Caffeine helps you exercise harder for longer and reduces your perceived difficulty of exercise.

“The problem with coffee is that caffeine levels can vary hugely between cups.

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“With Amunra you can be sure you’re getting an exact dose of caffeine, so whether you’re an athlete, fitness enthusiast or gym-goer, or even an office worker, you know exactly how much you’re getting.”

Although a newcomer to the world of inventing performance coffees, it’s a project Mark first began stewing over during his day job at the highest level of different sports.

He said: My job often involves ensuring that athletes are at the top of their game from a performance and recovery perspective.

“I had been thinking for a while wouldn’t it be great if there was a coffee which really ticked all the boxes properly for anyone recovering from exercise, so I took my ideas to leading sports scientists and performance nutritionists.”

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While Mark continues his sports therapy business at his office at 55 Grove Road in Harrogate, his coffee is already attracting major endorsements and national media interest.

Mark said: “The idea came to me originally two years ago when I was batch testing supplements which need to contain 150 to 200 milligrammes of caffeine to be effective

“I suddenly thought it would be easier if sports people just drunk coffee which, unlike supplements, doesn’t need anything added to it to do the job.

“I realised I needed to get 180mgs in each coffee everytime to make Amunra special.

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“It was a bit of a Sliding Doors moment but I didn’t think a roasterie would let me play about with it or that a university would test it properly.

“I was very lucky that I had clients who had good contacts willing to help me.”

The science behind Amunra coffee

The signature blend of hybrid Arabica and Canephora coffee beans from Costa Rica and Columbia may have been carefully selected and slowly roasted by Harrogate’s Mark Holmes for his Amunra coffee but it’s the science which matters, he says.

Tested at Sheffield Hallam University, Amunra is crafted to deliver the optimal clean caffeine hit (180mg+- 10mg) for maximum performance. It also contains an average 160mg of recovery enhancing polyphenols which means you should feel fewer aches and pains after exercise.

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Found in plant compounds, polyphenols are regarded as organic tools to help to reduce inflammation and stress caused by exercise, improving blood flow and recovery time.

For more information, visit www.amunrauk.com

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