Cooper & Co

Black gold?

March 13, 2019

This item has been splashed all over the national media, £15 for a cup of Yemeni coffee from an Alain Ducasse outlet in King’s Cross London. The PR people have done such a good job that even I’m writing about it! It does however, as The Times in their “Weekend” supplement points out, open up a discussion around what a great cup of coffee tastes like and what one might consider is good value.

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A taste test of alternatives to milk milk

January 28, 2019

Once upon a time the only milk available was, well, milk milk. That is, it originated from a mammal, mostly cows but also goats or sheep. However, in much the same way that coffee is no longer just coffee there has been an explosion in the non-dairy milk offer found on both the supermarket shelf and in your local coffee shop.

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Van Story

January 15, 2019

We have replaced our delivery vehicle, something we do every 3-5 years depending upon economic conditions and what else we need to renew. When you think about it, as we have been doing, it’s quite a big deal. If we get it wrong we could have 60 months of regret. Clearly there are the basics - getting the right size vehicle so that you are neither burning too much petrol carrying thin air nor one so small that you can’t fit in sufficient orders for a single delivery. Then there’s the decision as to how you to advertise our business on this white blank canvas.

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Filter Coffee - A New Dawn.

January 07, 2019

No doubt, like many of you, I’ve been making copious amounts of coffee as both a revival tool and for sheer pleasure over the holiday period. Usually on an average working day I’ll be drinking a selection of espresso based drinks from our trusty La Marzocco machine at our Halkett Place, Jersey shop where my office is also located. I’ve become so acclimatised to the punch that my double shot espresso based beverage delivers that anything less would, you might think, be barely worthy of comment. However, over the Christmas period I’ve been re-discovering the delight that is filter coffee.

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Coffees of the year 2018

December 28, 2018

It’s that time of the year when I like to review some of the incredible coffees we’ve seen this year. As I continually tell anyone who’ll listen to me we live in a golden age of coffee. The work at origin that goes into setting such a high bar is truly humbling and it’s tragic that so much is simply sold as commodity and left to the vagaries of New York “c” and a handful of hedge fund managers.

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Making the most of that special coffee and tea you bought this Christmas

December 24, 2018

A question we get asked a lot at this time of year is; “which is the best way to make coffee?”, and like all questions of this nature is almost impossible to answer as it really does depend upon individual taste. In our cafés for instance we make cappuccinos with ½ a shot of coffee through to 2 shots. Milk can be either “dry” or “wet”, super hot or just warm, chocolate topping or none, and that is just one drink.

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Natural v Washed, You What?!

December 18, 2018

In 2015 I visited Araku Valley which lies in the state of Andhra Pradesh in South East India. There I came across this incredible social and environmental “experiment” being organised by the NGO NAANDI. They are endeavouring to keep the culture and traditions of the peoples who live in this area alive by ensuring that the farmers get a sustainable price for their produce. On top of that they are re-building the eco-system through the planting of 1 million trees each year. For more insights take a look at my book “Big ideas for a small world”.

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The Magic of Jersey Milk

December 17, 2018

Milk has changed so much over the decades, full fat, half fat, skimmed and now milk alternatives such as Almond, Coconut and Soya.

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Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

December 06, 2018

Each year we find ourselves on tenterhooks as we await confirmation that the coffee has reached Jersey. Of course this year was no different. Just as the coffee was about to leave Southampton a storm blew up and the boat was cancelled. Nothing particularly unusual there you might think, but you’d be wrong.

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The Problem With Coffee Capsules

November 08, 2018

It’s a decade since a book with the intriguing title “Nudge” was published. Written by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler it has had a profound influence on Government and business around the world. Just recently the BBC ran a programme titled “Nudge, nudge” to celebrate its publication. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0b90xc6

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It's not rocket science!

November 08, 2018

I’ve just been away on a two berth boat travelling the canals of the south of France. As part of the on-board facilities there is a gas stove a kettle and a mesh filter to help make coffee. I took three of our coffees with me, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Cuban, Altura Lavado and a Costa Rica community lot from the Tazazzu region.

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Kenya, one of the world’s great coffee origins

November 08, 2018

Although there is some doubt as to who first brought coffee to Kenya, there is no doubt that it was the British who turned it into an export industry circa 1900 on the back of their considerable expertise in tea.

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