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
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Another grinder sick note
April seems to have got off to a challenging coffee grinder month. This morning I got a call to check out the setting on a coffee grinder which had been installed as a temporary measure.
Everything looked ok, however the coffee was taking an age to grind any volume. The problem - blunt grinder blades. The impact on the coffee taste profound!
The problem with blunt grinder blades is that rather than cut the coffee bean they tend to crush them. This results in the average particle size of the coffee to be all over the place. Anything from powder fine to quite gritty. It makes it impossible to set the grinder accurately for the espresso coffee machine. It also has the effect of putting a lot of excessive heat into the bean which in turn can result in the coffee tasting burnt.
Moral of the story - make sure you have a programme in place that ensures that the grinder blades are changed every so many kilos. A number I have seen used is 300 kilos of coffee per set of blades, but it will vary.
One of the easiest ways to remember to change the grinding blades is to change them when you have a major service on the coffee machine. There again, if you are in a high volume site the discs may need to be changed more often.
Grinders are always in my experience the last piece of kit that coffee shops consider when they experience problems with their coffee, it should in fact be one of the first places to look.
Tell tale signs of blunt blades - coffee appears quite powdery, the coffee appears to be taking an excessive amount of time to grind and finally the noise level of the grinder appears excessively loud.
Everything looked ok, however the coffee was taking an age to grind any volume. The problem - blunt grinder blades. The impact on the coffee taste profound!
The problem with blunt grinder blades is that rather than cut the coffee bean they tend to crush them. This results in the average particle size of the coffee to be all over the place. Anything from powder fine to quite gritty. It makes it impossible to set the grinder accurately for the espresso coffee machine. It also has the effect of putting a lot of excessive heat into the bean which in turn can result in the coffee tasting burnt.
Moral of the story - make sure you have a programme in place that ensures that the grinder blades are changed every so many kilos. A number I have seen used is 300 kilos of coffee per set of blades, but it will vary.
One of the easiest ways to remember to change the grinding blades is to change them when you have a major service on the coffee machine. There again, if you are in a high volume site the discs may need to be changed more often.
Grinders are always in my experience the last piece of kit that coffee shops consider when they experience problems with their coffee, it should in fact be one of the first places to look.
Tell tale signs of blunt blades - coffee appears quite powdery, the coffee appears to be taking an excessive amount of time to grind and finally the noise level of the grinder appears excessively loud.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Re-grinding coffee - just don't!
Had an experience today which if you are a coffee roaster tends to send shivers down your spine. We had a call from a customer who was experiencing problems with their coffee grinder. For some reason the coffee was coming out extremely coarse.
When I got on site I found to my horror a coffee hopper full of a mixture of bits of coffee beans and coarsely ground coffee. When I asked what had happened the member of staff said that to try and reduce the size of the grounds they had decided to re-grind the coffee. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Re-grinding coffee that has not been correctly ground in the first place is an absolute no no. To get a bit technical, the spread of the particle sizes will be so great as to make it impossible to get any consistency of flow of liquid through the coffee. On top of that all that re-grinding will result in so much heat getting into the coffee that it will materially affect the taste of the coffee in a very unpleasant and burnt way. Finally you'll end up jamming the blades, the hopper entry point and restricting the flow of beans. Not bad!
If you find yourself in this unfortunate position there is nothing to do but throw away the incorrectly ground coffee and then gradually reset the grinding blades. As a rule of thumb the coffee needs to have the consistency of fine sand to produce anything like a decent espresso.
If you do find yourself trying to unravel the above scenario, ensure that the hopper gets a good wash and is thoroughly dry and that the entry point into the grinding discs is also clear.
When I got on site I found to my horror a coffee hopper full of a mixture of bits of coffee beans and coarsely ground coffee. When I asked what had happened the member of staff said that to try and reduce the size of the grounds they had decided to re-grind the coffee. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Re-grinding coffee that has not been correctly ground in the first place is an absolute no no. To get a bit technical, the spread of the particle sizes will be so great as to make it impossible to get any consistency of flow of liquid through the coffee. On top of that all that re-grinding will result in so much heat getting into the coffee that it will materially affect the taste of the coffee in a very unpleasant and burnt way. Finally you'll end up jamming the blades, the hopper entry point and restricting the flow of beans. Not bad!
If you find yourself in this unfortunate position there is nothing to do but throw away the incorrectly ground coffee and then gradually reset the grinding blades. As a rule of thumb the coffee needs to have the consistency of fine sand to produce anything like a decent espresso.
If you do find yourself trying to unravel the above scenario, ensure that the hopper gets a good wash and is thoroughly dry and that the entry point into the grinding discs is also clear.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Bodum cafetieres - where spare parts come as standard
In the last couple of weeks we've had customers come into our store and purchase brand new Bodum cafetieres in the belief that if they had broken the glass insert that it couldn't be replaced. Wrong! In fact it's one of the main reasons we stock this product. Unlike so many cheaper reproductions virtually every part on a Bodum cafetiere can be replaced saving you a fortune.
We currently carry glass liners and metal filters as standard. That means that after your first Cafetiere purchase you probably won't ever need to buy a complete new Bodum cafetiere again unless you want to downsize or upsize.
That's why we stock Bodum
We currently carry glass liners and metal filters as standard. That means that after your first Cafetiere purchase you probably won't ever need to buy a complete new Bodum cafetiere again unless you want to downsize or upsize.
That's why we stock Bodum
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Old Brown Java - challenging but outstanding espresso
Yesterday I was on-site at a new restuarant in Alderney trying out various combinations of espresso coffee. From experience I find that you never know what is going to work until you run the coffee through the clients espresso machine on-site. What tastes great in Jersey can taste awful elsewhere.
I experimented with Old Brown Java and what a coffee it is; however the challenge is setting the grinder up correctly. If you're thinking of using this great coffee place close attention to the speed at which the coffee is flowing through the ground coffee. The grinder settings are completely different to any other coffee I know.
Once right the extraction is almost syrupy in appearance and delivers a really smooth espresso. I was actually most impressed with the Macchiato that I made.
Why is OBJ such a challenge? - good question. It's an "aged coffee" that is it's left in a warehouse to "mature" for a couple of years before being shipped. As a result we roast this quite dark without making it oily to kill off the "sacky" smell which I believe to be undesirable. Something though of this process clearly impacts on the ability of the water to get through the coffee. Anybody have any suggestions?
I experimented with Old Brown Java and what a coffee it is; however the challenge is setting the grinder up correctly. If you're thinking of using this great coffee place close attention to the speed at which the coffee is flowing through the ground coffee. The grinder settings are completely different to any other coffee I know.
Once right the extraction is almost syrupy in appearance and delivers a really smooth espresso. I was actually most impressed with the Macchiato that I made.
Why is OBJ such a challenge? - good question. It's an "aged coffee" that is it's left in a warehouse to "mature" for a couple of years before being shipped. As a result we roast this quite dark without making it oily to kill off the "sacky" smell which I believe to be undesirable. Something though of this process clearly impacts on the ability of the water to get through the coffee. Anybody have any suggestions?
Monday, March 30, 2009
you've got to read what it says on the screen!
On site today with a customer who had a Jura Z5 - Gen2 recently installed by us. The complaint was that there was no milk coming through the frothing unit.
When I arrived I tested the steam production - working fine. Then I took apart the auto-milk frothing unit and gave it a wash. Put it all back together and Hey presto! it all worked again.
(I didn't like to tell them that the cleaning button light was flashing on the top of the machine and a message saying "clean autofroth" was flashing on the screen)
Not sure if Jura could do anymore - well maybe a loud alarm and a voice shouting clean the auto-frothing device before you all die of a congealed milk bug might work!
When I arrived I tested the steam production - working fine. Then I took apart the auto-milk frothing unit and gave it a wash. Put it all back together and Hey presto! it all worked again.
(I didn't like to tell them that the cleaning button light was flashing on the top of the machine and a message saying "clean autofroth" was flashing on the screen)
Not sure if Jura could do anymore - well maybe a loud alarm and a voice shouting clean the auto-frothing device before you all die of a congealed milk bug might work!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
What's happened to Gaggia?
As a stockist of Gaggia coffee machines because I believe them to be one of the better makes I'm completely baffled by our lack of ability to get any of their coffee machines. There appears to be a great wall of silence emanating from Italy since January this year.
We had the same situation around Christmas 2007 and suddenly stocks reappeared. Are Gaggia having financial difficulties or is the problem much simpler than that?
Please don't keep us in the dark Gaggia!
We had the same situation around Christmas 2007 and suddenly stocks reappeared. Are Gaggia having financial difficulties or is the problem much simpler than that?
Please don't keep us in the dark Gaggia!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Descaling Jura coffee machines
A bit like London buses, nothing for ages, then 2 come along at once. This has been our recent experience with a couple of Jura bean to cup coffee machines brought into us recently. An F90 and an S70 (think that's right). The point is that in both instances there were no messages saying "descale me" but instead the machines had become blocked in such a way that no liquid was appearing out of the front nozzles.
Following a conversation with Jura Products in the UK we were advised to place 3 (yes 3!) descaling tablets in the water tank and then start the descale procedure.
The challenge though is working out how to start the descale procedure. The one thing I find Jura are particularly good at is making it obvious to users what the next step should be. This however is not the case with the descale option. Now I know it's not something you want to do accidentally as the whole process takes around 30 minutes, but at least give us a visual hint!
The great thing though was that the Jura engineer was right, in both instances blockages had been caused by a scaling up of the delivery pipes. Both machines are now back with their happy owners.
Following a conversation with Jura Products in the UK we were advised to place 3 (yes 3!) descaling tablets in the water tank and then start the descale procedure.
The challenge though is working out how to start the descale procedure. The one thing I find Jura are particularly good at is making it obvious to users what the next step should be. This however is not the case with the descale option. Now I know it's not something you want to do accidentally as the whole process takes around 30 minutes, but at least give us a visual hint!
The great thing though was that the Jura engineer was right, in both instances blockages had been caused by a scaling up of the delivery pipes. Both machines are now back with their happy owners.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The problem with milk auto-frothing devices on espresso machines
I was copied in on a email today about a complaint made by a customer over the quality of a cappuccino that he had been served at a particular food-service outlet. His complaint was that the drink that he had requested had just a small covering of foamed milk, and was not thick and creamy as he had expected.
The particular outlet uses an "auto-frothing" device that is attached to the steam wand of the espresso machine. The reason they and now many domestic machines use such devices is to make the production of foamed milk quicker and easier to deliver. Dare I use the word "de-skilling" the job.
Now auto-frothing devices are fine if they are kept immaculately clean. The reason I put this caveat in is because Jersey Milk with its higher than average fat content has a habit of clogging up the minute holes that enable the steam to combine with air to create the foam. Once one of these holes has become blocked rather than creating foam you end up with hot steamed milk.
The discussion went on about how different types of milk foam better than others. That may be the case, but the difference is not as significant as some people might think. I've always found that full fat and half fat milk both produce equally good quality foam if heated correctly.
No the real problem lies in the on-going maintenance of the auto-frothing device. In a commercial environment this means setting in place procedures to ensure that the device is either replaced with a clean unit or stripped down regularly depending upon volume. More often than not problems occur just after a busy period when there is an opportunity for the milk to slightly congeal.
As far as domestic devices are concerned these should be stripped down and cleaned after usage. This will not only ensure that the frothing device continues to work properly, but also eliminates any hygiene problems.
The particular outlet uses an "auto-frothing" device that is attached to the steam wand of the espresso machine. The reason they and now many domestic machines use such devices is to make the production of foamed milk quicker and easier to deliver. Dare I use the word "de-skilling" the job.
Now auto-frothing devices are fine if they are kept immaculately clean. The reason I put this caveat in is because Jersey Milk with its higher than average fat content has a habit of clogging up the minute holes that enable the steam to combine with air to create the foam. Once one of these holes has become blocked rather than creating foam you end up with hot steamed milk.
The discussion went on about how different types of milk foam better than others. That may be the case, but the difference is not as significant as some people might think. I've always found that full fat and half fat milk both produce equally good quality foam if heated correctly.
No the real problem lies in the on-going maintenance of the auto-frothing device. In a commercial environment this means setting in place procedures to ensure that the device is either replaced with a clean unit or stripped down regularly depending upon volume. More often than not problems occur just after a busy period when there is an opportunity for the milk to slightly congeal.
As far as domestic devices are concerned these should be stripped down and cleaned after usage. This will not only ensure that the frothing device continues to work properly, but also eliminates any hygiene problems.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Cappuccino at home - the key to success!
Had a customer come into our store on Friday buying Coffee for a dinner party over the week-end. As the conversation developed it became apparent that despite having a fancy built in espresso machine in his kitchen he'd never really been that happy with quality of drink he was achieving - this had been going on for 2 years! I then proceeded to give him the following advice which hopefully will mean that his guests got something special (waiting on a report!)
1. Ensure machine has heated up properly - once temperature reached run at least a cup full of water through the group head with the group handle in place, but no coffee. This will hopefully get everything up to temperature and correct extraction will occur.
2. His machine had its own built in grinder. Assuming coffee is fresh (absolutely in this case) monitor the speed at which the water is passing through the coffee. Should be looking at 20 seconds minimum for an espresso quantity - 1 fl.oz. Much faster and the flavour won't be picked up which in turn means that the grinder will need adjusting. Manufacturers hand book comes into play.
3. Keep the "shots" of coffee short. Try not to run an excessive amount of water through the coffee. After around 1 fl.oz. all the best flavours have been extracted. In my view if you want a longer drink, just add water. You'll retain the sweetness of the coffee this way. So ask yourself how big the cup is, how strong do I like my coffee and finally do I therefore put in 1 shot or 2?
Now assuming you want to make a cappuccino, just as much care needs to be taken over the foaming of the milk.
4. Start with fresh cold milk and a good quality pitcher appropriate to the amount of milk you wish to foam. Fill to about 1/3rd; you'll need the additional space for the foam.
5. Get rid of any excess moisture in the steam wand by venting it prior to placing in the milk.
6. Position steam wand in milk and open up steam vent. Immediately raise steam wand to just 1mm above the surface of the milk. Tilt the pitcher so that you create a "whirlpool" effect in the milk. The milk should start to "stretch" and the foam you create should have "micro" bubbles - appears very creamy.
7. To help you monitor the temperature of the milk place your hand on the base of the pitcher. Once you can only just touch the metal surface the milk is ready. You may need to drop the steam wand into the foamed milk for a bit to raise its temperature.
8. Try "free pouring" the milk onto the espresso coffee moving from a high pour to a low pour as you fill the cup. This will help lift the "crema" of the coffee and allow you to achieve the classic cappuccino appearance.
The key to great cappuccino - keep everything short!
1. Ensure machine has heated up properly - once temperature reached run at least a cup full of water through the group head with the group handle in place, but no coffee. This will hopefully get everything up to temperature and correct extraction will occur.
2. His machine had its own built in grinder. Assuming coffee is fresh (absolutely in this case) monitor the speed at which the water is passing through the coffee. Should be looking at 20 seconds minimum for an espresso quantity - 1 fl.oz. Much faster and the flavour won't be picked up which in turn means that the grinder will need adjusting. Manufacturers hand book comes into play.
3. Keep the "shots" of coffee short. Try not to run an excessive amount of water through the coffee. After around 1 fl.oz. all the best flavours have been extracted. In my view if you want a longer drink, just add water. You'll retain the sweetness of the coffee this way. So ask yourself how big the cup is, how strong do I like my coffee and finally do I therefore put in 1 shot or 2?
Now assuming you want to make a cappuccino, just as much care needs to be taken over the foaming of the milk.
4. Start with fresh cold milk and a good quality pitcher appropriate to the amount of milk you wish to foam. Fill to about 1/3rd; you'll need the additional space for the foam.
5. Get rid of any excess moisture in the steam wand by venting it prior to placing in the milk.
6. Position steam wand in milk and open up steam vent. Immediately raise steam wand to just 1mm above the surface of the milk. Tilt the pitcher so that you create a "whirlpool" effect in the milk. The milk should start to "stretch" and the foam you create should have "micro" bubbles - appears very creamy.
7. To help you monitor the temperature of the milk place your hand on the base of the pitcher. Once you can only just touch the metal surface the milk is ready. You may need to drop the steam wand into the foamed milk for a bit to raise its temperature.
8. Try "free pouring" the milk onto the espresso coffee moving from a high pour to a low pour as you fill the cup. This will help lift the "crema" of the coffee and allow you to achieve the classic cappuccino appearance.
The key to great cappuccino - keep everything short!
Friday, March 20, 2009
The re-engagement of community is the only option
I wrote this article for the Jersey Evening Post in June 2008. I've put it on my blog because a customer of ours Ad-Lib Restaurant were quoted in the JEP yesterday stating that they would like to grow the food for their restaurant but were struggling to do so because of the lack of allotments in St. Helier. You'll see from this article it was one of my suggestions for the Town Park.
In his book “The audacity of hope”, Barack Obama possibly the next US president acknowledges how sceptical people have become of the modern political process; “nourished by a generation of broken promises”, but he points out historically politics was “based on the simple idea that we have a stake in one another, and that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart. That if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done”
From the debates that have taken place in our own States Chambers over the last couple of weeks it is clear that there is a major problem with the level of political engagement the Council of Ministers have even with States members. A recent Chamber survey came back with the extraordinary statistic that 72% of the respondents felt that Government saw no value in small business, yet Economic Development would argue they’ve never tried harder to help.
The problem is that Government has become to be seen as the proverbial Super- tanker in a sea of small boats; the challenge for us all is to find a way of connecting that flotilla of small boats so that the Super-tanker can be better directed or better still down-sized. For me the Incinerator typifies how disconnected we have become as a society when it comes to real debate and discussion.
I don’t have a particular axe to grind with T&TS per se, however there seems to be an obsession with spending £100 million plus of public money, a massive sum but where is the public debate? Even when there is a suggestion that the project will be paid for with cash from a reserve fund, that’s the equivalent of over 2 years worth of GST! There’s still no debate!
It’s that Super-tanker problem again – “what can I do that will change anything?” Well in the case of the Incinerator debate I would suggest that a copy of the Juniper report was sent to every household and school and made compulsory reading in the same way TTS sent a flyer via the JEP backing their view. It takes two sides to debate, yet only one side is entering the discussion.
As a result I’ve decided to come up with a “wish list” – a list whose sole intent is to re-engage the community, to get people to feel that they can be a force for change to the benefit of all:
1. The Town park; why not instead of making it into a park consider the idea of turning it into a series of allotments? A place where people who have no garden of their own can re-engage with the land, understand once again where their food comes from.
2. The burnt out shell of the Wesley Street Methodist Church be turned into a unit for small manufacturing businesses, operated in such a way that the types of businesses installed would also have to have a tourism content whereby visitors could come and see the operations in progress and be exposed to the talent that resides in Jersey
3. Liberty Wharf is given over to local retail businesses so that we end up with a unique offering for both visitors and locals alike, rather than as I’ve just experienced on Wimbledon high street “clone town” Britain, with all the usual national suspects, but absolutely no soul.
4. A Green agenda that encourages local entrepreneurs to take over and make money out of re-cycling opportunities, with Government input being in a more advisory / watchdog capacity thereby saving tax payers money.
5. I would like to see the Chamber of commerce develop the equivalent of a business “face book”. For the price of their annual membership fee, a business would have a profile, could openly blog about issues that are directly impacting them, and which in turn could be used as a tool by Government to inform future strategies, from Regulations of Undertakings to Planning.
6. All Parish Hall meetings should have an Internet connection so that if you are unable to attend the meeting physically you could follow the debate from home and in turn take part in the voting process. Too often major decisions are voted on by just a handful of people
My plea is for people to re-engage, and my suggestion list will I hope spark some debate. Never before has there been so much change and yet so little discussion by the vast majority of people. We all lead hectic lives and there’s always a reason why we can’t participate. If we want to protect our community, and have a community to protect in the long term it requires us all to take part in what I call the big conversation. After all ………
If not now when? – If not you who?
In his book “The audacity of hope”, Barack Obama possibly the next US president acknowledges how sceptical people have become of the modern political process; “nourished by a generation of broken promises”, but he points out historically politics was “based on the simple idea that we have a stake in one another, and that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart. That if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done”
From the debates that have taken place in our own States Chambers over the last couple of weeks it is clear that there is a major problem with the level of political engagement the Council of Ministers have even with States members. A recent Chamber survey came back with the extraordinary statistic that 72% of the respondents felt that Government saw no value in small business, yet Economic Development would argue they’ve never tried harder to help.
The problem is that Government has become to be seen as the proverbial Super- tanker in a sea of small boats; the challenge for us all is to find a way of connecting that flotilla of small boats so that the Super-tanker can be better directed or better still down-sized. For me the Incinerator typifies how disconnected we have become as a society when it comes to real debate and discussion.
I don’t have a particular axe to grind with T&TS per se, however there seems to be an obsession with spending £100 million plus of public money, a massive sum but where is the public debate? Even when there is a suggestion that the project will be paid for with cash from a reserve fund, that’s the equivalent of over 2 years worth of GST! There’s still no debate!
It’s that Super-tanker problem again – “what can I do that will change anything?” Well in the case of the Incinerator debate I would suggest that a copy of the Juniper report was sent to every household and school and made compulsory reading in the same way TTS sent a flyer via the JEP backing their view. It takes two sides to debate, yet only one side is entering the discussion.
As a result I’ve decided to come up with a “wish list” – a list whose sole intent is to re-engage the community, to get people to feel that they can be a force for change to the benefit of all:
1. The Town park; why not instead of making it into a park consider the idea of turning it into a series of allotments? A place where people who have no garden of their own can re-engage with the land, understand once again where their food comes from.
2. The burnt out shell of the Wesley Street Methodist Church be turned into a unit for small manufacturing businesses, operated in such a way that the types of businesses installed would also have to have a tourism content whereby visitors could come and see the operations in progress and be exposed to the talent that resides in Jersey
3. Liberty Wharf is given over to local retail businesses so that we end up with a unique offering for both visitors and locals alike, rather than as I’ve just experienced on Wimbledon high street “clone town” Britain, with all the usual national suspects, but absolutely no soul.
4. A Green agenda that encourages local entrepreneurs to take over and make money out of re-cycling opportunities, with Government input being in a more advisory / watchdog capacity thereby saving tax payers money.
5. I would like to see the Chamber of commerce develop the equivalent of a business “face book”. For the price of their annual membership fee, a business would have a profile, could openly blog about issues that are directly impacting them, and which in turn could be used as a tool by Government to inform future strategies, from Regulations of Undertakings to Planning.
6. All Parish Hall meetings should have an Internet connection so that if you are unable to attend the meeting physically you could follow the debate from home and in turn take part in the voting process. Too often major decisions are voted on by just a handful of people
My plea is for people to re-engage, and my suggestion list will I hope spark some debate. Never before has there been so much change and yet so little discussion by the vast majority of people. We all lead hectic lives and there’s always a reason why we can’t participate. If we want to protect our community, and have a community to protect in the long term it requires us all to take part in what I call the big conversation. After all ………
If not now when? – If not you who?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Orange Coffee from Peru
My thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Payn for bringing back some roasted coffee beans from their trip to Peru.Interestingly and a first for me the coffee had been roasted with Orange peel.
Having experienced some home roasted coffee in Colombia recently it came as no surprise when I saw that the beans were very black and oily. Rather than the even roast we get on commercial roasters, domestic roasting tends to roast dark on the outside, whilst the core of the coffee remains relatively light.
From a taste perspective I was surprised at how strongly the citrus orange flavour came through and how highly aromatic it was. The coffee itself was quite drinkable, we made it in a "French press" or Cafetiere.
For those of you interested in some more facts about the coffee it came from a small farm in the Sacred Valley county of Cuzco, Peru.
Having experienced some home roasted coffee in Colombia recently it came as no surprise when I saw that the beans were very black and oily. Rather than the even roast we get on commercial roasters, domestic roasting tends to roast dark on the outside, whilst the core of the coffee remains relatively light.
From a taste perspective I was surprised at how strongly the citrus orange flavour came through and how highly aromatic it was. The coffee itself was quite drinkable, we made it in a "French press" or Cafetiere.
For those of you interested in some more facts about the coffee it came from a small farm in the Sacred Valley county of Cuzco, Peru.
Speciality coffee stores giving the industry a bad name
Marta, who looks after our store has just returned from a holiday in Italy and as a gift brought me back some coffee. Now I'm always fascinated about how other speciality businesses present their coffee.
Here we had the "natural" kraft bag, with a simple label stapled to the outside with the words "Momenti Romantici" - Caffe aromaatizzato al gusto di: MALT WISKY. I think the wording is fairly easy to translate.
I opened the bag intrigued, however what I found inside was truly disappointing. A small plastic bag containing 20g of ground coffee. No attempt had been made to keep the coffee fresh through any barrier packaging. I revisited the label to check the "sell by" date to find that this product should be "consomarsi" by 10/01/10 - 10th January 2010! As it was, this coffee wasn't going to survive longer than 24 hours after grinding.
No wonder the world is dominated by global players when some of those who claim to be "specialists" let the small guys down. If you're going to charge a premium and want your reputation to remain intact, spend some money on the internal packaging. Reminds me of the old adage "you can't judge a book by its cover"!
Here we had the "natural" kraft bag, with a simple label stapled to the outside with the words "Momenti Romantici" - Caffe aromaatizzato al gusto di: MALT WISKY. I think the wording is fairly easy to translate.
I opened the bag intrigued, however what I found inside was truly disappointing. A small plastic bag containing 20g of ground coffee. No attempt had been made to keep the coffee fresh through any barrier packaging. I revisited the label to check the "sell by" date to find that this product should be "consomarsi" by 10/01/10 - 10th January 2010! As it was, this coffee wasn't going to survive longer than 24 hours after grinding.
No wonder the world is dominated by global players when some of those who claim to be "specialists" let the small guys down. If you're going to charge a premium and want your reputation to remain intact, spend some money on the internal packaging. Reminds me of the old adage "you can't judge a book by its cover"!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monetising excellence
It's be bugging me the last few days, well ever since I saw the work of the boys from Victoria College in the Design and Technology department the other evening.
All this brilliance, all these resources but what opportunity? It got me thinking about how Apple get new applications for their Ipod touch / Iphone. Apparently anyone can submit an idea and then it is evaluated by Apple and if considered good enough will be available for anyone to put on their Ipod for a fee. This is amazing use of what is known as the long tail; using the tallent of everyone to develop some of the cleverest apps.
So lets translate this to Victoria College DT department. Why not connect them with the leading furniture manufacturers of the world and should there be something created by one of the boys that is a brilliant design, that design could then be evaluated by a furniture manufacturer and if appropriate turned into production.
Everyone wins; Furniture company doesn't have overhead of full time designers; they have access to a massive pool of creativity. Great design gets rewarded - school gets recoginition; boy gets recognition; the economy gets a boost.
Can it really be that easy?
All this brilliance, all these resources but what opportunity? It got me thinking about how Apple get new applications for their Ipod touch / Iphone. Apparently anyone can submit an idea and then it is evaluated by Apple and if considered good enough will be available for anyone to put on their Ipod for a fee. This is amazing use of what is known as the long tail; using the tallent of everyone to develop some of the cleverest apps.
So lets translate this to Victoria College DT department. Why not connect them with the leading furniture manufacturers of the world and should there be something created by one of the boys that is a brilliant design, that design could then be evaluated by a furniture manufacturer and if appropriate turned into production.
Everyone wins; Furniture company doesn't have overhead of full time designers; they have access to a massive pool of creativity. Great design gets rewarded - school gets recoginition; boy gets recognition; the economy gets a boost.
Can it really be that easy?
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