Just had a really interesting tasting at Longueville Manor for an article we're doing with Eat magazine. Usually tastings are all about the coffee which is not unreasonable, however also in attendance on this occasion was Martin Flageul of Victor Hugo wines. The interviewer wanted to hear his comments on the taste and then make suggestions as to which desert to pair it with. The following observations were made:
Monsooned Malabar from southern India - This coffee is lightly roasted and thus has a very delicate flavour. It is notably smooth which is the result of the process that takes place at origin where the beans are slightly dessicated prior to bagging into 50 kilo sacks. Martin concluded that this would go well with Madeira cake or light biscuit something that won't overwhelm the taste buds.
Old Brown Java from Indonesia - This coffee is darker roasted creating a darker aroma, yet still achieving real smoothness in the cup. The taste is much more lingering than the Malabar coffee. Martin suggested dried fruits to go with this coffee - Dried Apricots was his suggestion, personally I think fresh fig would also be quite interesting.
Costa Rica Tarrazu - A medium roasted classic central American washed Arabica coffee. Right now this coffee is superbly aromatic and is a favourite with us at Cooper's. The caramel notes really come through in the coffee. For Martin this coffee was the classic coffee to have with a croissant or light puff pastry. Truly glugable!
Ethiopian Harrar - This again is medium roasted however is noted for its fruitiness. Martin immediately picked up on this coffee's complexity, it plays havoc with your taste buds due to the sun dried process that takes place at origin which locks in the fruit of the outer skin. After some deliberation this turned out to be Martin's favourite coffee which probably reflects a sophisticated palate which has tasted more than its fair share of blandness over the years. Martin's pairing suggestion was dark chocolate. The fruit and chocolate flavours complimenting each other.
This was a really interesting session and once again we end up with coffee being spoken about in the same terms as wine. Coffee has a lot of catching up to do in educational terms though.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday, June 05, 2009
Barista Coffee training course at Highlands
At last it's about to happen the first Barista training course at Highlands college will take place on the last Monday in June.
If Starbucks, Costa, Coffe Republic etc all have their own internal training progammes isn't it time that you made sure that you were up to date with the latest coffee making techniques.
The market is moving on so fast right now that a fundamental understanding of making great espresso based drinks is vital.
Can you afford to miss this course?
If Starbucks, Costa, Coffe Republic etc all have their own internal training progammes isn't it time that you made sure that you were up to date with the latest coffee making techniques.
The market is moving on so fast right now that a fundamental understanding of making great espresso based drinks is vital.
Can you afford to miss this course?
Friday, May 15, 2009
Paranoid about great coffee!
Ever since I've been back from the Atlanta SCAA coffee show where I made coffee alongside the finest Baristas in the world I've concluded that this whole coffee business can drive you totally nuts!
There are so many variables in delivering the ultimate cup of coffee, no wonder so many places sell truly average drinks; yet if they're buying from us we're talking about some of the finest coffee on the market.
Water quality, machinery set up, cleanliness, the right equipment, even the weather! the list seems endless - the answer I guess is to simply educate as best you can which is why I'm putting a lot of effort into the design of the latest and first Barista coffee course at Highlands college.
I figure that if you can frighten enough people into the knowledge of what can go wrong you might actually end up raising everyone's standard. A bit of reverse psychology!
One day we'll deliver the coffee that all those people who sweat blood put into this product truly deserve.
There are so many variables in delivering the ultimate cup of coffee, no wonder so many places sell truly average drinks; yet if they're buying from us we're talking about some of the finest coffee on the market.
Water quality, machinery set up, cleanliness, the right equipment, even the weather! the list seems endless - the answer I guess is to simply educate as best you can which is why I'm putting a lot of effort into the design of the latest and first Barista coffee course at Highlands college.
I figure that if you can frighten enough people into the knowledge of what can go wrong you might actually end up raising everyone's standard. A bit of reverse psychology!
One day we'll deliver the coffee that all those people who sweat blood put into this product truly deserve.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Are you doing Good Deeds in your community?
Global warming, pandemics, third world poverty – issues of such magnitude that it’s no wonder an immediate reaction might be to pull the duvet up over our collective heads and let some much larger body such as Government grapple with the apparently untenable.
The coffee industry in which I work is a bit like that. The 2nd biggest traded commodity in the world after oil employs millions of people yet the distribution of wealth within the industry is hugely disproportionate to the physical effort expended. How then is it possible for a small business like mine to ever hope to materially change anything? The Fairtrade foundation alongside charities like Oxfam have both endeavoured to educate we the consumer whilst at the same time redistributing some of the wealth; big organisations dealing with big issues.
As a consumer though I’ve always felt that it’s a bit like being at Church and putting money in the collection plate; my conscience has been assuaged, and now I leave it to a large organisation to do good on my behalf whilst I get on with my life. Good deed by proxy.
I hadn’t really thought about the subject too hard until earlier this year when I visited Colombia with some fellow coffee professionals. Colombia is an amazing country and grows some of the finest coffee in the world. Most of the farms are small holdings and due to the steepness of the slopes on which the coffee is grown every kilo of beans is picked by hand. It’s a huge logistical effort for which the pay in western terms is paltry.
As we toured the country I found myself increasingly questioning how we value things. “How much Gold for a Rain Forest? How many Diamonds for the gnarled hands gained in a lifetime spent in coffee? and so on. Everything seems inevitably to be reduced to its monetary unit whilst our own humanity is neglected like so much loose change. One coffee farmer made us all reflect on this point. Living in a very humble farmhouse in a picture postcard setting he came out with the line, “I’m not just selling coffee, I’m selling life!”. It may sound a little corny as you read this article, but this simple line stopped us all in our tracks. Here was someone living a very uncomplicated life with all that he needed to survive around him telling us from our cosseted western perspective that it doesn’t actually get much better than this. At that moment I had to agree with him, surrounded as he was by his family.
I now move the clock forward to Atlanta, Georgia this April and the largest gathering of coffee professionals in the world – they called it “the event” – Americans never underestimating the power of hyperbole! For anyone in the coffee business though this annual event is truly inspiring.
The keynote speech is always highly anticipated and for the first time in at least a decade a true coffee insider took the stage; a man by the name of Ted Lingle, a legend in the speciality coffee industry and said by many to have been the reason behind why people talk about coffee like wine today.
His speech was a very personal one as he talked about what drove him on in the early days when faced with the huge hurdles put in place by much larger organisations not willing to change; not willing to be inclusive, but wanting to be exclusive ensuring that their slice of the economic cake continued to grow at the expense of others; blind to the fact that what they were doing was totally unsustainable.
What he found was that he started asking himself some very fundamental questions such as “why am I here?”, “what is my purpose?”, and that ultimately we can’t live our life by proxy. As he said “talk is cheap, but deeds are precious”
He took a long hard look at his own core values – what standards he found acceptable; the importance of educating people and finally what he believed was acceptable ethically. By looking deep inside himself he found the strength to combat what on the face of it were insurmountable odds.
He concluded his speech with a story about “good deeds”. How when being called to meet his maker this individual was asked if he would like to bring anyone with them to say goodbye; he asked Fame, but fame declined; he asked Fortune, but fortune too declined; he asked his friends, but they too declined; finally he asked Good deeds, and good deeds said yes. The moral of the story, that the only thing any of us will ever be remembered for is our “good deeds” all else is superfluous.
In conclusion what my journeys have shown me is that it is so easy to pull up that duvet and let someone else act on our behalf; to value that which doesn’t matter. Jersey I believe finds herself at that point right now. How do we hold on to our heritage in the face of unprecedented change? How do we hold on to community when the experiences of young and old are so different? More importantly how do we hold on to our humanity?
What is vital though is that we one and all engage with each other – it’s those “good deeds” for which we’ll all be remembered both in our community and in our world. That’s worth getting out of bed for!
The coffee industry in which I work is a bit like that. The 2nd biggest traded commodity in the world after oil employs millions of people yet the distribution of wealth within the industry is hugely disproportionate to the physical effort expended. How then is it possible for a small business like mine to ever hope to materially change anything? The Fairtrade foundation alongside charities like Oxfam have both endeavoured to educate we the consumer whilst at the same time redistributing some of the wealth; big organisations dealing with big issues.
As a consumer though I’ve always felt that it’s a bit like being at Church and putting money in the collection plate; my conscience has been assuaged, and now I leave it to a large organisation to do good on my behalf whilst I get on with my life. Good deed by proxy.
I hadn’t really thought about the subject too hard until earlier this year when I visited Colombia with some fellow coffee professionals. Colombia is an amazing country and grows some of the finest coffee in the world. Most of the farms are small holdings and due to the steepness of the slopes on which the coffee is grown every kilo of beans is picked by hand. It’s a huge logistical effort for which the pay in western terms is paltry.
As we toured the country I found myself increasingly questioning how we value things. “How much Gold for a Rain Forest? How many Diamonds for the gnarled hands gained in a lifetime spent in coffee? and so on. Everything seems inevitably to be reduced to its monetary unit whilst our own humanity is neglected like so much loose change. One coffee farmer made us all reflect on this point. Living in a very humble farmhouse in a picture postcard setting he came out with the line, “I’m not just selling coffee, I’m selling life!”. It may sound a little corny as you read this article, but this simple line stopped us all in our tracks. Here was someone living a very uncomplicated life with all that he needed to survive around him telling us from our cosseted western perspective that it doesn’t actually get much better than this. At that moment I had to agree with him, surrounded as he was by his family.
I now move the clock forward to Atlanta, Georgia this April and the largest gathering of coffee professionals in the world – they called it “the event” – Americans never underestimating the power of hyperbole! For anyone in the coffee business though this annual event is truly inspiring.
The keynote speech is always highly anticipated and for the first time in at least a decade a true coffee insider took the stage; a man by the name of Ted Lingle, a legend in the speciality coffee industry and said by many to have been the reason behind why people talk about coffee like wine today.
His speech was a very personal one as he talked about what drove him on in the early days when faced with the huge hurdles put in place by much larger organisations not willing to change; not willing to be inclusive, but wanting to be exclusive ensuring that their slice of the economic cake continued to grow at the expense of others; blind to the fact that what they were doing was totally unsustainable.
What he found was that he started asking himself some very fundamental questions such as “why am I here?”, “what is my purpose?”, and that ultimately we can’t live our life by proxy. As he said “talk is cheap, but deeds are precious”
He took a long hard look at his own core values – what standards he found acceptable; the importance of educating people and finally what he believed was acceptable ethically. By looking deep inside himself he found the strength to combat what on the face of it were insurmountable odds.
He concluded his speech with a story about “good deeds”. How when being called to meet his maker this individual was asked if he would like to bring anyone with them to say goodbye; he asked Fame, but fame declined; he asked Fortune, but fortune too declined; he asked his friends, but they too declined; finally he asked Good deeds, and good deeds said yes. The moral of the story, that the only thing any of us will ever be remembered for is our “good deeds” all else is superfluous.
In conclusion what my journeys have shown me is that it is so easy to pull up that duvet and let someone else act on our behalf; to value that which doesn’t matter. Jersey I believe finds herself at that point right now. How do we hold on to our heritage in the face of unprecedented change? How do we hold on to community when the experiences of young and old are so different? More importantly how do we hold on to our humanity?
What is vital though is that we one and all engage with each other – it’s those “good deeds” for which we’ll all be remembered both in our community and in our world. That’s worth getting out of bed for!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Milk handling and wastage
A combination of the SCAA exposition training sessions in Atlanta and a training session yesterday with a customer has really highlighted the importance of proper milk handling procedures.
Careful use of appropriately sized pitchers will make a huge difference to the quality of your cappuccinos and lattes as well as cutting down levels of milk wastage.
From my experience most food service outlets tend to encourage larger than necessary pitchers and here I'm talking about pitchers of 1 litre or larger. I reckon that the largest pitcher necessary is 1 litre and in fact there should be an increasing focus on using 0.6 litre pitchers or smaller with a real sensitivity as to exactly how much milk is needed to make just one cup of coffee.
Reheating milk or re-charging milk does not deliver consistent quality as the milk flavour will change dramatically from coffee to coffee. Best every time to start with fresh milk.
The message review the pitcher sizes you use.
Careful use of appropriately sized pitchers will make a huge difference to the quality of your cappuccinos and lattes as well as cutting down levels of milk wastage.
From my experience most food service outlets tend to encourage larger than necessary pitchers and here I'm talking about pitchers of 1 litre or larger. I reckon that the largest pitcher necessary is 1 litre and in fact there should be an increasing focus on using 0.6 litre pitchers or smaller with a real sensitivity as to exactly how much milk is needed to make just one cup of coffee.
Reheating milk or re-charging milk does not deliver consistent quality as the milk flavour will change dramatically from coffee to coffee. Best every time to start with fresh milk.
The message review the pitcher sizes you use.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Espresso machine cleaning
An issue that has arisen over the last couple of months has been the clogging up of the valves found behind the group head of espresso machines. When engineers have attempted to establish why the water flow is being restricted they have found undisolved crystals of cleaning powder. The immediate reaction is that the crytals are not disolving as they should during the cleaing process. This it turns out is not the case. The actual problem is overdosing the cleaning powder.
Other products such as liquid cleaners are available as an alternative to powder, but are not as effective as the slower release of powder cleaners. Liquid cleaners tend to be flushed away after the very first cleaning cycle and thus there isn't a prolonged cleaning action taking place.
The message therefore is to closely follow the manufacturers instructions and not overdose the cleaning powder when cleaning; not only will you save money on cleaning product, but you'll also have a clean operational machine which shouldn't require the attention of an engineer for some time.
Other products such as liquid cleaners are available as an alternative to powder, but are not as effective as the slower release of powder cleaners. Liquid cleaners tend to be flushed away after the very first cleaning cycle and thus there isn't a prolonged cleaning action taking place.
The message therefore is to closely follow the manufacturers instructions and not overdose the cleaning powder when cleaning; not only will you save money on cleaning product, but you'll also have a clean operational machine which shouldn't require the attention of an engineer for some time.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Top down for great milk foaming
Making great foam for cappuccinos isn't rocket science, although you might think that when you see the varying quality dispensed at various food service outlets. A little understanding of what makes milk foam helps at this point.
Cows milk is full of fat and protein and it is this combination that allows the Barista to foam the milk. The problem is that if you don't make any attempt to foam the milk prior to simply heating it, the fats and protein will all melt away and it is impossible to foam anything.
Knowing the above now leads to an understanding as to why milk should always first be "stretched" to create foam prior to heating the milk. Then then leads me on to the top down theory. That is, when wanting to foam milk, the steam wand should be placed at the surface of the milk to ensure that steam and air are driven into the milk. Tilting the milk pitcher and angling the steam wand should ensure that you get a vortex effect in you milk.
Once you've created sufficient foam, you can if necessary heat the milk further by lowering the wand into the liquid. Take care not to overdo it.
So top down it is
Cows milk is full of fat and protein and it is this combination that allows the Barista to foam the milk. The problem is that if you don't make any attempt to foam the milk prior to simply heating it, the fats and protein will all melt away and it is impossible to foam anything.
Knowing the above now leads to an understanding as to why milk should always first be "stretched" to create foam prior to heating the milk. Then then leads me on to the top down theory. That is, when wanting to foam milk, the steam wand should be placed at the surface of the milk to ensure that steam and air are driven into the milk. Tilting the milk pitcher and angling the steam wand should ensure that you get a vortex effect in you milk.
Once you've created sufficient foam, you can if necessary heat the milk further by lowering the wand into the liquid. Take care not to overdo it.
So top down it is
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