Flavour stability of filter coffee

We've all been there, sat in a pub, had a great lunch / dinner and then ordered a filter coffee only to find that it tastes as bitter as hell and smells burnt.

Who's at fault here, the pub or the coffee roaster?

Well we've put our filter coffee to the test, we brewed 60g of Kenya and Colombian coffee with about 1.5 litres of water in a Bravilor Mondo 2 filter coffee machine. We then tasted the coffee every 15 minutes to see how the flavour of the beverage held up.

1. Freshly brewed - Pleasant light taste, the brightness of the Kenya shining through

2. After 15 minutes - No discernible change in the coffee flavour

3. After 30 minutes - Some of the bright notes starting to get lost. A slightly heavier coffee taste is coming through. Still quite drinkable

4. After 45 minutes - The darker notes are starting to become more prominent, however still drinkable and a good colour when milk is added.

5. After 60 minutes - Hint of a smoky flavour coming through, the lightness of the original brew has now gone, however still an acceptable beverage and retaining a good colour when milk is added.

6. After 85 minutes - Smoky taste becoming more pronounced, still drinkable and still looking fine when milk is added.

7. After 100 minutes - A very discernible burnt taste is now coming through to back up the aromatic change. Surprisingly the colour when milk is added remains good, and the milk (particularly Jersey Yellow) masks and lot of the damage.

8. After 115 minutes - Not much change to the last commentary

9. After 175 minutes - A caramel burnt flavour has now appeared.

The time-scale we used for our test would be typical for an outlet on a quiet day and highlights how important it is to be aware of demand in a food service environment. It's very easy to get a reputation for inconsistent drinks and drive customers away.

My final comment would be a pat on the back to Bravilor whose machine we used. The hot plate although gradually stewing the coffee was doing so at a much slower rate than I thought it might. The engineers have clearly got their holding temperatures set about right which is pleasing to us roasters.

Party Time!

So who would you invite to a fictitious dinner party, if you could choose from both the living and the dead? I was recently asked this question by the local Jersey Evening Post and the following are my thoughts. I fear it does date me though!

Bjorn Borg – A boyhood tennis hero of mine. When he eventually lost to John McEnroe I was devastated. He never returned to Wimbledon and retired a year or two later. Only as I’ve grown older have I appreciated the fleeting nature of success and how when opportunity comes you have to grab it with both hands. The famous poem by Rudyard Kipling found at Wimbledon …. “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same….you’ll be a man my son” should be taught to every child.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta – I always remember reading her obituary and in particular the fact that all she left was the dress she wore and the bowl from which she ate. She was someone who gave her life to those who have nothing, was known by world leaders and did everything she could to help the helpless. What drives such a person?

Margaret Thatcher – She single-handedly put the “Great” back into Great Britain after the decline and decay of the 1970’s. In Jersey we have been fortunate never to have had queues outside the job centre, the ubiquitous UB40 form. We do well as a society to remember such times and that success isn’t guaranteed Yet by the end of her time the electorate couldn’t wait to get rid of her. Maggie, Maggie, Maggie….gone, gone, gone still ring in my disbelieving ears.

Sir John Harvey-Jones – A man who presided over the now crumbling ICI. In charge of a company that was the first at the time to make £1 billion in profit. Yet it’s his help to small business in his subsequent television career that brought him to my attention. His common sense approach and sense of humour always impressed me.

Shirley Bassey – I’ve always liked her as an entertainer, however it was her recent appearance at Glastonbury that got her on my list. Real star quality, what a gift it is to light up peoples lives even if for only an hour. You don’t see “Star quality” written on too many CV’s!

Bob Dylan – An amazing song writer who caught the mood of a generation. My younger son has just started playing the guitar, and one of the songs he is learning to play is “Blowin in the wind”. He loves it, surely the sign of a great song writer when you can transcend generations with your music.

There are so many it seems almost unfair to choose just six.