Talk to the Jersey Methodist Womens Luncheon Club

I was ask by the club to give a talk - I gave this one, a variation on the concept of Fair Trade. Enjoy!

I’ve been running Cooper’s for the past 20 years – our core business has always been to supply tea, coffee and associated products to the catering industry. It seems that there has never been a period without some form of dramatic change to which we have had to adapt.
When I took over at the end of the 1980’s tourism on Jersey was at its peak – we didn’t know it at the time, but the introduction of low cost airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair combined with the launch of the Internet were all going to change the face of European air travel and tourism as we had known it on Jersey forever and as with all cataclysmic changes our tourism industry found it very hard to adapt to this brave new world; where one minute you’ve had a very successful business and the next you’re out of business. Obsolete; deleted by the march of technology and a world waking up to globalisation. However in business where one door shuts another opens and for Coopers that door was opened by Starbucks, originally a small coffee business that started life with around 5 stores in Seattle some 6,000 miles away from this Island. Before we knew it the word speciality coffee came into our lexicon. A whole new language was born and at the same time a huge new interest in coffee was ignited. Coopers in the mid 1990’s found themselves in a hugely fashionable business; a business that allowed us to really differentiate ourselves by becoming a one-stop shop for all things coffee. In the mean time Starbucks has developed into a global behemoth of around 13,000 stores worldwide.
And so the brave new world of the global village had been born. Food that once upon a time was only available seasonally is now available all year round. Clothing once made in the British Isles is now made in places like India or the Philippines for a tenth of the price it once was. Technology improvements have also meant that today we have more choice than ever before. As a comparison the average household just after the 2nd world war spent 30% of their income on food, today that average has dropped to just 10%. So why then today do we have organisation such as the Fair Trade foundation? Why do we talk about sustainability and how unsustainable our current way of life is? Why does extreme wealth seem to fall into fewer and fewer hands? Surely the result of global trade is that everyone gets a piece of the economic action? The answer is yes they do, but the proverbial global playing field isn’t quite as flat as we’d like to think and globalisation has made some organisations extraordinarily powerful whilst at the same time millions of individuals powerless as they lose control of the very resources upon which they rely for their day to day existence. In my industry coffee, the world is dominated by 4 major roasters. Nestle, Kraft, Proctor & Gamble and ........ As documented in their 2003 publication Mugged; poverty in your coffee cup Oxfam for the first time highlighted how these organisations are able to play countries off against each other in the global equivalent of a Dutch auction – that is buying from the lowest bidder.
When millions of pounds are at stake many countries have little choice but to take part in a race to the bottom and all the economic consequences that come with that non-choice. At last we in the west through the media have begun to understand the consequences of continually wanting more and cheaper stuff. As Fair Trade fortnight comes to an end I believe it’s thrown yet another dilemma at our own society, particularly in light of recent events, namely the global meltdown of the financial markets.
After all what is the concept behind Fair Trade? Well it’s about rebuilding communities – the premium you or I pay for say Fair trade certified bananas is intended to go towards a project that is of benefit to the whole community where that product is grown. I’ve seen with my own eyes a computer room that has been kitted out with the proceeds of the “social premium” in Brazil. The intention is to give that community a long term future; something we thought only we in the west ever considered. The point I make is that we are doing something tangible. What a contrast then with the huge wealth that is supposedly created by our own financial institutions. To use a term coined by David Korten an American academic; the Phantom wealth of the finance markets. Without doing anything stock markets seemed to rise inexorably. Without doing anything the price of houses on Jersey continually increase. Without seemingly doing anything those who have, have more whilst the rest increasingly struggle. But as we have just seen so much of what we once thought was true now appears to be like so much smoke and mirrors. It hasn’t been real wealth that has resulted in the average family house in Jersey now costing around £500,000, it’s debt. In order to lend more Banks have simply created debt; debt that we now know was based upon what is now described as “toxic assets”, the now infamous NINJA loans sliced and diced until our leading institutions thought they were worth something.
This is why shares in such great institutions as the Royal Bank of Scotland once valued at £6.00 in 2007 today languish at 20p? That’s how an organisation can lose £24 billion, £24 billion! in one year; the biggest corporate loss in history thus wiping out all the profits that organisation has made in over 3 years and destroy the value of hard saved for pension schemes? A money for nothing economy generates only phantom wealth and envy, what we need is an agenda for a new economy. An economy built on community interest, collective interest, the wealth of our own relationships, not monetary relationships. I believe as Peggy Noonan, a columnist for the New York Times does that we are approaching a time where “everything will be local”. I don’t mean that we’ll start building cars locally; what I do mean though is that we’ll start to look at our own resources and naturally question how we can incorporate them in our community for the benefit of our community.
This summer 1,000 youngsters will leave education in search of employment. We’ve given them a great education yet they will struggle to get employment; many will leave the Island, many more will remain at home playing computer games; some will simply go out looking for trouble; the most undervalued, bored, Police time wasters in the world. What could they be doing for our community whilst waiting for that first job opportunity? How much more valued would they feel if they knew that they were adding to the wealth of our community and that their effort was valued. So how you may well ask does all of this relate to you? How can you make a difference? It reminds me of a quote by John F Kennedy which I paraphrase here “ask not what your Island can do for you — ask what you can do for your Island”.
The other day I was with a very frustrated senior civil servant talking about the latest States strategic report and he said to me – “why is it the first thing people turn to when there is a problem is the State?” That’s a very good question, we don’t want a nanny state, yet we expect Government to solve our economy – supply the magic pill; yet in reality the economy, society, community is a problem for all of us to solve not just a handful of elected officials.
As I look around this room today, how much collective knowledge and wisdom is there stored in your heads? Real wealth not phantom wealth; ask yourself what am I doing with that resource my personal wealth of knowledge and wisdom to help my community? The problem is that so many people simply don’t appreciate the wealth of knowledge and experience that they possess – As an example a couple of weeks ago I stood next to a retired farmer as we watched half a dozen tractors from temps passé plough a small field. As I stood there chatting I realised just how much knowledge this man had to do with local food production; surely this knowledge can’t simply go with him to the grave? What if we were no longer able to cost effectively import food? Oil after all isn’t going to be around forever; where will we look for the knowledge that has been passed down to previous generations and stopped at ours because we now rely on someone else to grow our food?
Your generation still retains this knowledge – you owe it to the next generation to ensure that that knowledge is not lost whatever it is. Isn’t it time that Jersey had its own Wikipedia – an equivalent to that world famous on-line encyclopaedia?
We’re living in a fast changing society; a society whose changing demographics will mean that in the not too dim and distant future those in work will be significantly outnumbered by those who have retired. We have already reached the point where the number of people over the age of 60 outnumbers those under the age of 16. That has huge economic implications if we measure things in purely monetary terms, but it is also a huge opportunity to create the real wealth of which I have spoken. The wealth of community; thinking up better ways to harness the energy of our society for the benefit of all. What opportunities do you think that you could suggest; how could this be brought together in a new community manifesto? We urgently need diversity in our economy – diversity will create opportunity for our young people; but the ideas for what exactly that diversity is, or looks like comes from all of us. We all have a part to play. But the reality right now is summed up by the building of a new incinerator. Nothing highlights for me more the total bankruptcy of ideas that currently pervades society than the building of this monstrous new £106 million incinerator. How any sustainable society can think that burning more waste than ever before is the way to make that paradigm shift is completely beyond me. But how many people realistically took part in the debate; a tiny percentage, the rest just shrugged their shoulders; lost in the concerns of a me first society rather than the interests of our wider community. Ultimately we get what we deserve. We all need to re-engage; re-organise and realise that real wealth comes from inside and that we each have a part to play in the agenda for a new economy.

Jura's new helping hand website

Jura I'm pleased to say have started to recognise that when you're selling a premium product like theirs it's not just about selling a box. As a result those of us with "bricks and mortar" outlets are asked to provide trained staff and the possibility of demonstrating their machines prior to purchase. At last someone has realised that it's the after sales service that matters as much as the sale of a machine.

Jura have therefore recently set up a new website that I believe is helpful in a) locating your nearest dealership, and b) gives some tips as to how to get more out of your cup of coffee. The link is www.juradealers.co.uk
Have fun!

La Pavoni - Eurobar series - group head issue

A customer came into our shop today who had a problem with their machine when he used a pod. Despite the flow of water appearing to be fine out of the group head, he was finding that when he used a pod, water pours out from around the top of the group handle despite it being properly located.

Now for those of you who know this machine, the group handle on this machine is in my opinion overly complicated. It's virtually impossible to pull apart and for most people who have tried, it has usually resulted in a new group handle being required. When they work (which is most of the time) they do a great job, but I digress!

In my opinion the issue here is one of a warn group head seal. Water will always try to find the easiest way out of the group head particularly when it is under 8 - 10 bar pressure. Any hint of weakness in the seal and you'll have water everywhere.

Again as is the the wont of La Pavoni changing the seal is anything but easy and will require the use of a qualified engineer, however it's perfectly possible, will put you back at most Sterling 50 pounds (labour and parts), and you should end up with a perfectly functional machine.

I will just qualify the above commentary with one caveat - I have assumed that the grind of the coffee being used is correct. To test this point, have your local coffee merchant change the grind setting the next time you purchase your espresso coffee to a coarser grind. If everything functions properly, your coffee merchant owes you a free pack of coffee!

Colombia coffee safari January 2009

I have just returned from Colombia where I and a group of independent roasters visited a variety of coffee farms from independent farms to co-ops both Fair Trade and Rain Forest Alliance certified. What an amazing country in terms of variety of landscapes, the climate and of course the people.

Like many people I went with a little trepidation as so much has been reported in the world press on the activities of those who grow illegal crops and FARC guerillas. Whilst everything isn't perfect, the country is a far safer and more stable place even than it was just 5 years ago.

This stability has led to a thriving economy based around coal, palm oil, flowers and coffee. Quite a range of diverse products.

Colombia is the third largest coffee growing country in the world after Brazil and Vietnam. This year though the crop has struggled due to unpresidented amounts of rain. Usually there is a dry and wet season, however the dry season has failed to materialise in recent times and as a result the crop will be down around 1 million bags this year. This is putting huge pressure on the price, with the interenal differential currently around 25c per pound ahead of the New York c market.

This is in turn causing issues for certified organic farmers and Fair Trade certified co-ops. The premiums required by these growers is such that it is making them uncompetitive in world markets. As recently as November 2008 one organic farmer has abandoned their organic certification as the costs are proving to be overwhelming in current market conditions.

We also heard from one Fair Trade certified group who are unable to sell all of their coffee as Fair Trade certified as there is insufficient demand. The result is that they are having to sell a significant proportion of their crop on the open market whilst still paying the Fair trade certifiers, but are unable to gain the social premium. Clearly questions need to be asked of the the Fair Trade programme as it is currently structured.

The Colombian coffee federation (FNC) also came in for some stick as despite the fact that they take 6c on ever pound of coffee produced, their distribution of these funds to help all coffee farmers is to say the least uneven. The FNC also appear to be competing against other private organisations when it comes to buying coffee from the farmers which seems quite extrardinary. Another organisation that is in need of major reform.

All in all it was an incredibly enlightening trip. They always say that when you travel you come back a changed person. I certainly feel that to be the case as I reflect on this trip.

As I unpack my pictures and video footage I hope to share more of what I have learned on this trip with you. In the mean time a big thank-you to those who made this such an amazing trip.

Whittard of Chelsea - why the inevitable happened

I have watched Whittard's for many years as I have seen them as very much a direct competitior to my business as tea and coffee specialists. In the early days they were a tight outfit with a well presented quality product line.

Over the years though the focus has increasingly been on presentation and not enough time I believe spent on content. Surely if you are a specialist in this market you should be recognised for being outstanding at what you do. There should be no comparison between what you offer and what is on offer at the local supermarket; sadly for Whittard great packaging is now everywhere, which means that the contents needs to be outstanding - it isn't and so their customers voted with their feet. In our line of business a one off purchase isn't good enough, you need repeat business to survive.

The person I feel sadest for is Giles Hilton, Mr. Whittard if you like. He is a great individual with an unparalleled knowledge in the tea business. But even Giles couldn't stop Whittard's losing its soul. Even Howard Schultz of Starbuck's fame has higlighted the problems of losing your soul. People become dispassionate about your business and move on.

I believe there is room for a Whittard type business but it has to be driven by someone with a passion for the products they sell, and people who are in it for the long run. Can that ever be achieved by a bunch of private equity types? I doubt it - when all your focus is on the bottom line, and maximizing your cash flow to the detriment of others, you forget what this business is all about. It's about people and relationships around the globe. It's about doing something that benefits all, not just a handful of financiers.

Will anyone work that one out ? We'll see

Christmas sales 2008

As I write this blog we're down to a couple of days before Christmas and it's gone mad here! I say mad now, however we've had a couple of truly crazy weeks, and it begs the question, recession what recession? Talking to some of my colleagues here in Jersey they too are having a bumper time; we're not sure if it's the last hurrah before 2009 and deep gloom or whether actually the press have really overblown the situation.

I believe the key is to be niche. Know your stuff and offer great quality, great value and great customer service. The people being hit appear to be the generalists, the stores who try to sell everything from waste bins to DVD's. Stuff that everybody and their auntie is selling and is found in every department store and internet site. You have to be different, you have to be original, you have to pay attention, it doesn't happen overnight and it can take years of doing the right thing.

It will be in my view those businesses who "stick to the knitting" who I believe will ride out this recession stronger and fitter and better placed than many of their over borrowed, over leveraged competitors.

So what's selling?, well right now Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is doing well at a cool £105.00 per kilo! A special gift for the ultimate coffee lover. Stove top espresso machines have also been flying out in far greater quantities than in previous years. The demand for upmarket chocolate has also been good. The Chocolate Alchemist has come good this year.

With regard to the higher priced machines, the traditional espresso machine has struggled in the £150 - £300 price bracket. The Jura bean to cup coffee machines after an initial flurry in early December have slowed; interestingly the the only Jura machine we are being asked for is the ENA5 which has become a real star in the home.

Nespresso has come in for real criticism in our store, having found them initially very convenient a number of people have given up on them because they find it a pain to keep having to order off the internet - they forget and then can't use the machine with anything else. The price of the capsules is high, and the waste factor to some is unacceptable. But hayho I'm sure Nespresso are still selling capsules in their millions.

What is also interesting is people's interest in trying different coffees. A few years ago there was little appetite to try something different, now if you offer great quality, customers are really up for experimenting. Again I think being a specialist coffee roaster really helps here, and in particular staff knowledge of the product. It must be a real challenge to sell Ethiopian Harrar off the supermarket shelf on the strength of what it says on the packet.

It's interesting that in an age where you can find everything out on the internet or on a shelf talker, people still prefer dealing with people, that's why truly great customer service will always win.

Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year

Frozen Coffee Beans

This one's a first for me and it's always interesting to hear what "real coffee drinkers" do with our coffee!

I had a conversation some months ago with this customer who was regularly travelling backwards and forwards to Spain (we'll call him Chris). He was telling me that he couldn't find any coffee locally that tasted as good as this Spanish coffee which was dark roasted to the point of being carbonised. He felt that it made great coffee and wondered why we didn't sell such a coffee.

My reaction was not quite of horror, but "mild" surprise that he could enjoy a coffee that had all it's individuality roasted out of it. For all I knew it could be the cheapest coffee in the world, nobody would know. Being a business that only stocks speciality coffee I tried to explain the intricacies of what we offered. Anyway he went away and I didn't see him for a number of months.

A week ago I happened to be in our shop and there he was buying our Bologne Espresso coffee. I jokingly said have you run out of your Spanish coffee? To which he replied that since our conversation he had been buying our coffee non stop. Having given him my views on dark roasted Spanish coffee he had decided to change to us.

The secret though to our coffee tasting great for him though is that he brews the coffee from frozen. Apparently he takes our beans home and immediately puts them in the freezer. When he goes to make his coffee in a stove top espresso maker, he grinds the frozen beans and then brews the coffee immediately. He tells me that this gives the best coffee taste ever. He's tried not freezing the beans but says that the flavour isn't nearly as good.

It just goes to show you, even after 20 years in the business you can still learn from your customers idiosyncrasies!

Espresso ground coffee - a challenge

It's not until you handle espresso coffee on a daily basis that you appreciate how many reasons there are as to why it might not extract the flavour as well as you might expect. For the purposes of this blog I'm assuming water temperature, the pressure of the machine and the freshness of the coffee are all perfect (big assumption I know!). Here I want to focus on the grind of the coffee.

1. Different origins due to different processing methods will affect the fineness of the grind.

2. Different roast colours will affect the fineness of the grind.

3. The atmospheric conditions on the day you use the coffee will affect the grind.

4. The conditions around the grinder will affect the grind.

5. The sharpness of the grinder blades will affect the grind.

6. The cleanliness of the grinding blades will affect the grind.

So you can see when a coffee brand states on the side of its packet "this coffee is suitable for all coffee makers" what a load of rubbish that is if you have any desire to achieve a decent flavour.

Even the flow of liquid through specialist espresso ground coffee bought off the Supermarket shelf can be problematic for different machines.

The point I make in this Blog is that if you use a local speciality coffee roaster for your coffee supplies, pay attention to the grind setting the use. Every store will have its own setting which works for their machine, however bear in mind it might not necessarily work for you. Don't be frightened to ask your supplier to change the grind for your specific requirements, that's what specialists are for.

H.R.H. Princess Anne drinking a cup of Cooper's

Couldn't resist showing you this. H.R.H. Princess Anne is a regular visitor to the Island of Jersey. Here she's meeting with people from the Poppy appeal at a place called Sunset Nurseries. She's been captured drinking a cup of Cooper's finest coffee! Well it would make me smile as well!

The consequences of over stretching coffee

Coffee culture like so many things is inate - somehow over the centuries a nation intuitively knows how best to capture the flavour of a particular product that they have consumed for generations.

For instance the British understand tea and can't understand why such an apparanetly simple product can be destroyed by so many of her European neighbours. Our European neighbours would I suggest in turn wonder how the average British person struggles so much to make a decent cup of coffee and 8 times out of 10 resorts to instant coffee.

I put it down to cultural differences, the different routes our histories took. So what am I getting at in the blog?

Well there is a tradition in the British Isles to make Cappuccinos in 12 oz cups, a reflection of the influence of the US. Which in itself isn't a problem, however what isn't understood is that to make large drinks like these, you need to use a decent amount of coffee. So why do so many places try to stretch the ground coffee to try and get an acceptable strength?

7g of coffee is simply not enough coffee, you can run all the water you like through it and you still won't achieve anything that remotely resembles a decent cup of coffee. The interesting thing is that if you go over to continental Europe and ask for a cappuccino you'll struggle to find a cup that's larger than 7 ozs. Why? because they inately know that any more volume of liquid will dillute the fine flavour of the coffee.

So if you are a coffee shop owner or making cappuccinos for fun at home please remember the following rules of thumb.

A 12oz cup needs a double shot of espresso coffee - that is around 14g of ground coffee. You should only run a maximum of 2 flozs (60ml) of water through the coffee. After this the rough proportions of milk are a 1/3rd milk, and 1/3rd foam. Personally I prefer to "free pour" my milk onto the coffee following the steaming/foaming process as I believe that this will give you the most consistent strength.

If you really do want to weaken the drink just add some hot water, or if you really can only cope with one shot of coffee (7g grounds), still only run 1 floz of liquid through the coffee and then add some hot water. But please never run water through your coffee for much longer, you will destroy what may well have once been outstanding coffee.

If you're from continental Europe please ignore this blog as you're probably already doing the above without even thinking about it!

Jura bean to cup message "empty drawer" which is empty

We've recently encountered the message "empty drawer" on a couple of Z5 machines. Seems fairly straight forward until you find that emptying the waste drawer has no impact whatsoever.

What's going on?

Well through a little trial and error we've discovered that the messages are the result of water getting on the "contacts" at the back of the waste drawer.

We're not quite sure why so much moisture should be getting into this area, however it could be the result of the user washing the drawer and not drying it throughly. Although on further conversation with Jura it could also be the result of the machine not sitting on an even surface.

Solution - Ensure machine is disconnected from any electrical connection, remove drawer, and dry all contacts. Apparently a hairdryer is very effective. The main thing is to ensure that all contacts are dry.

We're not done quite yet, the drawer now needs to be left out for a few hours, preferably over-night, and the machine kept switched off.

The theory is that the following morning the message will have cleared and you will have a normally functioning machine.

Lesson of the story, when removing the waste drawer and cleaning, ensure that all parts are totally dry before replacing said drawer.

Pod problems

Those of you who use coffee pods to make your espresso based drinks will find them clean and convenient to use, and in low volume food service accounts we find that they work very well in ensuring a consistent standard of drink. I know that may upset the purists by my saying this, however sometimes it is a case of "horses for courses"

A problem that has been brought to my attention in the last few weeks is the apparent slowing down of the flow of water through the coffee pod. Instead of the usuals 20 seconds or so, one individual found that it was taking up to a minute to extract an espresso. What was going on?

The immediate reaction is to believe that the grinding of the coffee has changed, not an unreasonable thought. However becuase of the tight tollerances needed by the pod packing machine to make pods this is almost certainly the least likely problem.

Clearly the next areas to check are things like pump pressure and if the spray plate is clean. Both of these issues can be checked easily with the group handle removed. If the spray plate appears blocked it will be a case of taking it out and cleaning. Once clean you'll get a better idea if the coffee pump is functioning properly. If the pump isn't functioning properly, then it could be time for a new machine, it's difficult to replace this part cost effectively.

However the solution to the problem that I expreienced is not in the group head, but in the group handle. Although the insert that the pod sits in can appear clean I have found that the holes can become blocked with micro particles of coffee which are particularly difficult to remove. This fact was clearly demonstrated when we removed what looked like a perfectly clean insert and replaced it with a brand new insert. Hey presto! everything started to work correctly again.

Replacement inserts for domestic machines are not supplied as standard, so you will either need to talk to your local store, or hopefully go on-line and get the part that way.

Enjoy that espresso!

Panama - Hacienda La Esmeralda Coffee

This farm keeps winning accolades year in year out. They won the award for best Rainforest Certified coffee at the SCAA meeting in Minneapolis earlier this year, and have been named as the number 2 coffee of the year 2008, so I guess I had to try and get some and find out what all the fuss is about.

The first thing of interest is the varietal that they grow. At the basic level we have robusta and arabica, however when you get past this you discover a whole new list of coffee types. The most popular are Catuai and Typica, however this estate uses a varietal that goes by the intriguing name of Geisha.

What does all of this mean to the roaster and to the final taste in the cup?

Well our impression of the bean is that it is slightly softer than other typical central American coffees, so we dropped the coffee into a slightly cooler drum than normal, and then roasted the coffee as we normally do, this technique we hoped would allow the flavours to develop at a slower rate. Finally as we went past the first crack of the bean, we watched the development carefully and pulled the coffee out of the roasting drum just as the second crack started.

The result is a wonderful coffee. I had an Americano and the sweetness and flavour resulted in one of the most memorable coffee drinks I have ever had.

The judges were right this is a truly great coffee and I hope it's here to stay in Europe.

Handle with care!

Bialetti Stove top espresso - keeping it simple

I had the pleasure of testing a Bialetti Mukka stove top machine the other day on behalf of a customer. For those of you who don't know these machines, it's Bialetti's attempt to replicate a Cappuccino coffee, and I guess if I'm cynical their attempt to add value to their basic machines.

My conclusion - don't bother. What has always been a simple machine to operate, namely water in bottom, coffee in middle, screw together, place on stove and wait for coffee to brew has now been overly complicated by this additional gizmo.

My experience with the foaming of the milk was the equivalent of a badly made cappuccino. Everything was too milky, the foam wasn't particularly great, and generally the whole coffee experience was quite forgettable.

Like so many businesses Bialetti have tried to complicate a very simple concept because someone in marketing has forgotten about what the machine is all about and instead persuaded R&D that cappuccino is the way forward - wrong.

What I think Research and Development should be thinking about is how do we stop the rapid deterioration of the metal in the event of the machine not be dried properly before being put away. Surely there's a coating out there that would eliminate this problem which doesn't in turn taint the great coffee taste.

These are great machines because they are so simple. Lets improve on the simplicity and not believe that improvement comes through complexity.

JURA FROTHING DEVICES - THE BEST OPTION FOR YOU

As someone who believes that incorrectly foamed milk destroys great coffee in much the same way as poorly prepared coffee does the latest domestic auto-frothing devices I have to say are a real mixed bag.

Whilst it's impossible to replicate the steam pressure on a domestic machine that is achieved on a commercial machine, there have been many approaches by manufacturers to overcome dodgy foamed milk, you know that little bit of foam floating on the top that disguises the superheated liquid below.

Well Jura now offer three options on their bean to cup machines:

1. Professional cappuccino frother
2. Easy cappuccino frother
3. 2-stage frothing nozzle

As standard Jura sell the Easy cappuccino frother with their latest ENA 5 machine. Kept clean and fitted properly it does a good job if all you want is foamed milk. The bubbles can be a little coarse, but the overall result is very acceptable.

However should you wish to just heat the milk for a latte you will need to choose one of the two other options, namely the professional cappuccino frother or the 2-stage frothing nozzle which are extras to the basic package.

I'll start with the 2- stage frothing nozzle. This has two positions, when closed in the upper position, the result is good steam pressure that will heat milk to your heart's content. If instead you want foam, you place the nozzle in the lower position. The idea is that whilst heating the milk, air is also let in to create foam.

My experience is that you get foam after a fashion, but not nearly of the quality
of the easy-cappuccino frother. For a part that costs around £15 sterling I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with the results that I've seen. The mouth feel of the milk is at best ordinary.

The best system however by a country mile is the professional cappuccino maker, and it begs the question why this isn't fitted as standard on all ENA5 models.

The quality of the foam outstrips both of the other options, it's ability to deliver quality froth or steamed milk for either your favourite Cappuccino or Latte is outstanding. I love the mouth feel of the milk for cappuccinos in particular.

Is it a price point issue? Surely Jura who lead the market in domestic bean to cup machines haven't felt the need to cut a corner here? The rest of the technology is outstanding, the new design is phenomenal, so surely the easiest thing in the world is to make sure that you fit the best device out there for heating milk on to your machine - isn't it?

Jura - Ena Coffee machine reviewed

The ENA is the latest offering from Jura, being launched into the UK market this summer.

The first thing you notice about the ENA is the considerable thought that has gone into the whole design concept. From the way the machine is packed to its sleek lines and compact nature, every detail has been considered which makes it a very impressive addition to the Jura range.

So how did it perform when we tested it out in our shop?

The initial set up is almost intuitive, in fact although I haven't actually used this machine before I found that I didn't need to refer to the manual once, ok, so I'm used to their previous models, but it does reflect how Jura have made great efforts to be consistent throughout their range.

To reduce the footprint of the machine, inevitably something has to give, and that something is the size of the water tank, however on a positive note none of the functionality has been compromised.

As already mentioned it's some of the details that really impress. The pre-ground coffee option has a sleek sliding lid which when open automatically activates the programme. What I think is a particularly good idea is the twisting front nozzle that allows you to have either a single pour, or a double pour, for 1 or 2 cups.

Increasingly clever use is being made of the main control button on the top of the machine, not only as with the J5, Z5 etc. is it used to adjust the strength of the coffee, but also here is is used to activate the steam wand. Very neat.

The cappuccino option has now been standardized and matches the J5 technology, which saw a simpler system with fewer parts to loose. I also like the fact that this system can be completely pulled apart and cleaned without the sense of dread one had in the past over where each part went when reconstructing the frothing unit.

The other great idea is the changing of the colour of the operation screen. When everything is fine, the screen is green, however if the machine needs you to do something, e.g. add more coffee beans the screen turns to red. So without even knowing what the message is you know you must do something prior to making a cup of coffee. I love that simplicity.

The rest of the technology we've seen before on other models, once again great to see how the best ideas from previous models have been used to inform this one. An example that comes to mind is the programming of the pour length of the coffee. Rather than going into programme mode, simply keeping your finger on the button will automatically ask you when you would like to stop the pour. A great idea from the Z5 machine.

All in all a great new addition and it does beg the question as to where this puts the J5, which again whilst being a sleek design led machine has been superseded here by a smaller footprint machine and a much more competitive price structure.

The ENA starts at £534, whilst the J5 comes in at £795. I know which one I'd buy!

Coffee recommendations - Monsooned Malabar Coffee

We are constantly asked in our store to recommend a coffee for a particular coffee maker or "something special" for a dinner party. It's a tricky thing to do as each individual has a taste that he or she prefers and trying to second guess that is a bit like looking in the proverbial crystal ball.

However on this occasion I'm going to stick my neck out. We've recently been carrying out a review of how we roast our coffees to optimise their individual characteristics; a coffee in our store has to earn its place!

I was particularly interested in our Indian Monsooned Malabar coffee as I felt that we weren't getting the "nuttiness" that I usually associate with this coffee. A coffee that is processed at origin in a unique way using the Monsooned winds to "desiccate" the beans which results in a green coffee that is bloated and bleached.

I looked at our target temperature and the timing of the first and second cracks and decided to do what for us is a light roast. The effect was to end up with a coffee that looked as if it had been not particularly well roasted. There was a lot of difference in the colour of the final roasted beans, the homogeneity that one gets with other washed arabicas simply didn't apply here. So what was the impact in the cup?

I shouldn't have worried, using a French press (Cafetiere) it brewed the most wonderful nutty coffee to savour. It reminded me of bed and breakfast establishments that I've stayed in in Paris where the the first thing the proprietor does is to deliver this wonderful heady brew of fresh coffee. On this occasion instead of croissants I enjoyed the coffee with toast and the most fabulous home made marmalade.

I couldn't let the experience pass without sharing it with someone! So next time you pass our store and want something a little special, try Monsooned Malabar you'll certainly have tongues wagging!

More and Better

This is a speech I gave prior to the showing of a film based on the activities of Wal Mart, entitled "Wal Mart, the high cost of low price". My thanks go to Bill McKibben, whose book "Deep economy" was its inspiration.

MORE & BETTER

For generations now the idea that increasing efficiency, usually by increasing scale, is the key to increasing wealth has undisputedly produced MORE. This in turn has meant that we today enjoy a BETTER standard of living than any generation before us.

At the time of the 2^nd world war on average we spent 30% of our income on food; today that average is just 10%. Cheap oil has resulted in ever greater mechanisation, and allowed cheap synthetic fertilizers to be created; the result ever bigger and more efficient farms. So although you actually get MORE food per acre on a small farm; you get MORE food per £ with big ones.

The scale and numbers today are staggering

Today 4 Supermarkets control 80% of the food consumed in the UK. In my industry, Coffee, 4 firms control 85% of global coffee roasting; and finally without wishing to overdo the stats, one Ohio farm in the US produces 3 billion eggs per year.

But today for the first time in a generation we’re starting to wake up to the fact that MORE doesn’t necessarily mean BETTER.

The specialisation and consolidation in some areas in the US has been so intense that sociologists now designate many parts of rural America as “food deserts” totally dependent on convenience stores and without access to fresh produce.

One farm in Utah, with 1.5 million pigs has a sewage problem larger than that of the city of Los Angeles – Intensive farming being the only way to compete in the low cost arena. Is MORE therefore still BETTER?

The industrialisation of poultry has resulted in increasing cases of Avian flu, and cases of Salmonella have doubled since the 1970’s. When reflecting on the increasing centralisation of food production, one American senator said “For the life of me, I cannot understand why terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do”. There’s food for thought.

World events are now having a massive impact on the price we now pay for food. Oil prices have more than doubled in a year and are now higher in real terms than they were in the 1970’s. Water tables around the world are falling as nations like India and China play catch up on our western economies. The key resources we’ve relied on for centuries are starting to run out and oil which replaced manual labour to bring us cheap food is no longer delivering the huge savings once enjoyed. But still we continue to pursue those two simple objectives of MORE and BETTER.

The problem is, as has been highlighted by the introduction of that wonderful tax GST is how disconnected the average man or woman on the street has become from the realities of the costs of doing business on Jersey. We currently have food inflation running at between 5 and 6% and together with GST this has seen some establishments having to increase their prices by up to 10%, just to stand still. Yet the result has been screams of “profiteering” and cries of “we need a 3^rd multiple” – knee jerk reactions in a fragmented society where MORE clearly doesn’t mean BETTER.

What I hope tonight’s film will do, is to allow you time to reflect upon what factors are really important to ensure the future sustainability of our community. How as a community we need to reconnect. Food security alone will become an increasingly big issue and our Government should be taking a long hard look at where the gaps are and what can be practically done to encourage local entrepreneurs to fill those gaps.

It has now been calculated in what is known as the multiplier effect that every £10 spent in a local food initiative is worth £25 to the local economy. The same £10 spent in non-local business produces just £14 worth of benefits to the local economy.

Today in a global world our spending habits don’t benefit only the local community; there is significant economic leakage as we purchase goods on the internet. By 2010 non-locally owned businesses will pay no tax to the local economy, this will result in the loss of a significant amount of taxable earnings for the Jersey economy; so considering bringing in a 3^rd multiple under the auspices of competition has far wider consequences than simply pushing down the price of a can of baked beans.

Ultimately, the MORE we do for ourselves the BETTER it will be for everyone in our community. There really is no alternative.

Aid for Maringo Community Resource Centre

As the result of a promotion by locally owned Jersey Pottery to help displaced people in Kenya, I decided that we too should get involved. With the help of Omondi Kasidhi from the Clinton Foundation we sent a proportion of the sale value of the coffee to the Maringo Community Resource Centre. They are located in Maringo estate, Makadara constituency, Nairobi.
With a relatively small sum of money we were able to help 23 families to purchase such items as Flour (Maize), Suar, Sanitary pads, Tea leaves, Milk powder, Soap, Blankets, Beans, Green grain, Rice etc. Basics, that where I come from are so readily available.
We can never hope to match the long term work of the Red Cross, however something is better than nothing, and as the message sent back to me from Maringo said, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".
Once again my thanks to Omondi for making this possible.

The Elusiveness of great coffee

I was on holiday last week at Centre Parcs in Normandy. They provide these wonderful cottages, but most importantly they also provide a filter coffee machine in the kitchenette. Knowing this I took my own coffee, some Guatamalan from the Nueva Granada Estate.

Now my first mistake was not to have the coffee ground specifically for a filter coffee machine. Because I have a Cafetiere (French Press) at home I broke one of my cardinal rules, I "multi-ground" the coffee, i.e. it should work in both a Filter coffee machine, and a Cafetiere. But of course as with all compromises that doesn't really work. What it means is that you have to load more coffee in the filter coffee machine than would be ideal in order to get the level of extraction you would get if the coffee had been correctly ground. So first pot of coffee based around my usual measures turned out to be disappointingly weak.

Day 2 - Loaded coffee machine with adjusted quantities of coffee, and hey presto! those wonderful Caramel notes started to surface.

Day 3 - Aaaaaaaagh! Coffee's ok, but not nearly as good as day two, despite being stored in the fridge and a barrier bag. What happened? Has the staling process of the coffee resulted in the finer qualities of the coffee disappearing, is it me?

Day 4 - Different again

I'm not sure what to conclude, clearly the coffee will be staling as oxygen from the atmosphere is absorbed by the grounds - interestingly also Centre Parcs put up a notice to say that the tap water had become unsafe to drink (there had been a lot of rain). Or finally was it me? Like all things we consume there are some days when we can't get enough of a particular food or drink, whilst on others when we really aren't bothered and in fact want something completly different.

As a coffee roaster it highlights just how diificult it is to achieve perfection when so many factors are at play. I guess consistency is the key - keep shooting at perfection and just maybe the coffee will be great more often than not.