Local heroes

Not quite sure that we justify such an awesome tag "local hero", but great to see a local restaurant highlighting the quality of all things Jersey. We are truly fortunate on the Island of Jersey to have such a wonderful heritage of small businesses doing outstanding things. Thank-you for the public acknowledgement Boathouse, a great idea and may it bring a lot of benefit to all those passionate about food and drink here on Jersey.

Costa Rica - Dota Tarrazu

Traditionally we've always stocked the classic "San Marcos" Tarrazu coffee, however we've decided to give Coope Dota a try and I must say haven't been disappointed.

As you can see from the title the coffee still comes from the Tarrazu region which is near San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica and is grown at altitudes between 1,100 and 1,800 metres.

This coffee is certified by the Speciality Coffee Association of Costa Rica and rightly so,
we love the sweet aroma and caramel notes that come with this coffee particularly when made through an espresso machine.

Another coffee for the connoisseur. The following link will take you to the product on our website

Costa Rica Dota Tarrazu

Papua New Guinea Fair Trade Organic Coffee

Yet another great new coffee for us. It comes from the Eastern Highlands Province and is grown at between 4,800' and 6000'.

We've put it through a Cafetiere (French press) and got wonderful nutty and citrus notes.

For the techies amongst you it's 100% Arabica with a combination of varietals that include typica, arusha and bourbon.

It's a great looking coffee, carefully processed by the "wet" method with no discernible defects. We've roasted it to a full medium colour to accentuate those wonderful flavours.

You can find it on our website by following this short cut

http://www.cooper.co.je/product/productinfo.aspx?id=368&cid=3

Steam wand issues in domestic espresso machines

Two of the most common problems in the steam department of home espresso machines are:
1. Lack of cleaning
2. Air locks

This blog is based on the assumption that the machine is actually producing steam

Today most modern espresso machine steam wands come pre-fitted with an "auto-frothing" device, whilst being a very clever idea, guaranteeing foam when working properly, they can also be very frustrating to use. The main problem is one of cleanliness.

If the holes which let in the air within the frothing device become blocked you will end up with some very hot milk but no foam. For foam to be created air has to be driven into the milk by the steam. What I have found on many occasions is that the user is unaware that the frothing device can be taken apart and washed, as a result the foam mysteriously disappears and the machine gets blamed for its inability to create vast quantities of foam.

Foaming devices can be easily pulled apart - once inside you will find lumps of dried milk - give each part a good clean, reassemble and hopefully frothy cappuccinos can once again be yours.

If this doesn't cure the problem then issue two as mentioned above, an airlock is likely to be the cause of your problems.

Airlocks can be created if the machine runs out of water and can usually only be removed by driving water through the steam wand and group head of the machine. This is done by opening fully the knob that controls the steam and then switching on the pump that is usually used to drive water through the coffee.

Place a receptacle under the steam wand to catch any water that comes out - When you have a good flow of water, turn off the pump, and shut down the steam wand using the controlling knob. Allow the machine to heat up again and hopefully steam pressure will have returned.

As I experienced the other day, this proceedure may need to be carried out two or three times to remove all airlocks, do persevere because unless there is a more major problem such as an element failure in the machine (which would mean that no steam was being generated) it should be perfectly possible to achieve a good steam pressure once again.

Enjoy your cappuccino!

Population growth - Politics versus Reality

Why is it possible for a brand new Hotel on the Waterfront to get 10’s if not a 100 licences for unqualified staff, yet many existing small businesses on Jersey struggle to get given one un-qualified licence?

Why is it that there are youngsters in our society who struggle to find a job yet many small businesses complain that they can’t find qualified staff to fill critical vacancies?

It all stems from the thorny political problem of wanting economic growth without excessive population growth – So on the one hand we encourage a new Hotel development as a welcome addition to our tourism offer, however sweep quietly under the carpet the reality that there are insufficient locally qualified individuals to staff the Hotel, hence the liberal sprinkling of unqualified licences. What population growth problem?

So why then instead of surreptitiously handing out licences on a case by case basis doesn’t the minister put his cards on the table and openly state what the policy is? Surely if a small business knew they could automatically have at least one unqualified licence then a lot of the heartache, ill will and suspicion that many businesses have towards the Regulations of Undertakings department would evaporate as at a stroke a small sliver of red tape was removed.

But of course if we are going to make any attempt to control population growth long term we have to ensure that we maximize the use of our existing Human resources. To this end an initiative has been put forward to bring the many disparate areas namely Social security, Careers advisory services etc. under one banner called the “Skills executive”.

A commendable idea, but I fear it doesn’t tackle the core problem, that of the right data being in the hands of the right people. It’s a huge challenge particularly when the obvious source, namely Regulations of Undertakings could well be restricted by the Data Protection act. Yet another hurdle, but then what’s new!

If students don’t know about the opportunities, and businesses can’t tell them how can Govt. know what training is required? I know there are careers advisors in schools but they are fewer than 10 versus the 2,500 businesses on the Island who employ 10 or fewer. They are only going to put forward industry sectors, and small business is not an industry sector.

I have been talking with Andrew Gibbs at the Highlands careers advisory service to see if there is a way to set up a central database that can be used by both students and businesses alike.

A relevant, reliable and flexible system; get this in place first, then and only then will in my view a skills executive succeed in delivering its intended benefits.

David Warr