Healthy Food & Snacks

Some time ago I was invited to a coffee roasting business in a mid west state of the USA, to partake as instructor in a coffee ‘Jam’ session for baristas, cafe owners and any one interested in coffee.

My role during this event was to focus on the basics of extraction whilst others would train in other aspects of espresso coffee making. What began as a basic exercise soon turned out to be a very different affair for the recipients (who were predominantly cafe owners) because what they really needed was re-training in their mental outlook on what constitutes good business sense.

You see, it is very easy to be trained in the A to Z of coffee making. There are thousands of ex-baristas out there plying their skills in the area of espresso training, and whilst some subtle cultural and quality differences exist, in general, it is not difficult for a prospective cafe owner to find a course or two on the subject. Unfortunately, what cafe owners require is training in a way of thinking which will allow them to create simple procedures designed to maximise the profitability of their business. Training in how to make espresso coffees is but one very small part of the equation, not the equation itself.

What do I mean by this?

cafe owners are NOT baristas. Whilst the both groups certainly need to know the most they can learn about the product which lends its name to the type of business, for the latter it stops there, and for the former it is just the beginning.

Running/owning a business requires owners to go far beyond the basics in order to create a business with a noticeable point of difference to the end consumer. And it is not one thing which will get you there, but rather a combination of many small points of differences which combine to create a huge point of difference in the mind of the end consumer. All too often in my consultancy work I come across cafe owners obsessed with the coffee making but not the institution they operate. For example, out of over 500 businesses I have personally coached, less than 10 revealed that they bothered to put together a business plan. Fewer than a dozen had a regular training plan in place for staff, and only half a dozen could tell me their financial position immediately, at the push of a button. Yet, well over 200 knew their coffee better than they knew their business. read more »

For years I have enjoyed the pleasure of Blue Mountain Coffee. Known worldwide for it’s outstanding aroma and flavor. My mother likes to say, “You can stay from miles, yes miles, and smell the Blue Mountain Coffee aroma”. I believe what she says is true, as I remember as a child being awaken by its pleasant aroma. Oh what an aroma! Oh what a flavor!

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Beans, its name derived from where it’s grown on Jamaica’s Blue Mountain, which stands approximately 7400 ft high. Amongst the thick forest, the rainfall, and the mountain’s mist, makes it perfect for the growth of the world’s finest coffee. Only fifteen percent of the coffee grown in Jamaica is authentic Blue Mountain Coffee. This coffee is guaranteed to be 100% true Jamaican Blue.

How can one resist having this coffee? This has been one of Jamaica’s best selling souvenirs (if you want to call it that). You’ve got to try it.

First order Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee. When your order arrives, go ahead and start brewing a pot. After it has been brewed and you have poured a cup, instead of using the creamer and sweetener, try something a little different. Try using coconut cream. You may like it. How’s that? Uhm, Good, right? You have never experienced coffee, until you sip on a cup of blue mountain coffee with coconut cream.

As simple as coffee is to make there are coffee lovers out there who are constantly trying to improve on the perfect cup. From something so simple as pouring almost boiling water over coffee grounds seemingly becomes ever more complex.

It doesn’t need to be this way, if you start off with the right approach your coffee is guaranteed to taste better.

First things first, if you love coffee and want to make a better brew then throw away any instant or ground coffee that you have lying around. Seems drastic I know, but the reason is simple. This method of making coffee is already likely to be severely compromised due to the grounds already being exposed to air which you would have had no control over. This in-turn would have caused the coffee to oxidize, thereby potentially ruining the perfect brew, and all this before you had even got your favourite cup out of the cupboard.

There is a better way…

The only way to limit coffee grounds to prolonged air exposure is to invest in a coffee grinder and grind your own. That way you can order coffee beans and mill the exact quantity you need, giving you the freshest coffee grounds possible time after time.

So which coffee grinder do you choose? There are a few different types that you need to know a little about before you can make that decision.

Crusher Style Coffee Grinder:

Probably the cheapest type of coffee grinder, the crusher attempts to compress the coffee bean into grounds by simply forcing it to explode. Although this approach does work and would be an improvement over store bought coffee grounds, it’s major stumbling block is the end result is irregular, uneven coffee grounds that will limit you to the types of coffee you can make.

Blade Style Coffee Grinder:

Works by mincing the coffee bean over-and-over. Again, this method doesn’t produce an even, consistent grind, and also because the blade rotates extremely quickly, they can be very noisy.

Burr Style Coffee Grinder:

A coffee enthusiasts dream! The burr grinder comes in two forms the flat base variant and the conical type. They work by rotating two steel burrs at adjustable heights to grind the coffee. Both types of Burr produce even, consistent coffee grounds and this where your investment should lie. read more »