Cooper & Co

Stale Coffee - The Tell Tale Signs
November 06, 2018
I was called out by a customer of ours last week complaining that our coffee was tasting bitter and strong compared to what we usually supply. Of course, all sorts of alarm bells ring. Are we roasting too dark, have we ground the coffee incorrectly?
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Stories Behind Coffees - Aged & Monsooned
November 05, 2018
The first thing to point out is the difference between “aged” coffee and simply “old” coffee. Truly aged coffee is carefully aged, usually for six months to three years, by regularly monitoring and rotating the beans to distribute moisture and even out the aging process between coffee bags. This prevents mould and rot from occurring. Coffee is usually aged at origin, and is often aged at a higher altitude, where the temperature and humidity are more stable than at lower elevations.
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Decaffeinated Coffee Pod Problems
November 01, 2018
Whilst coffee pods are great in low volume sites and in particular for fresh ground decaffeinated coffee, they can be challenging to use when trying to make great coffee. Because the coffee is held in by paper a significant barrier is created for the water.
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Milk Handling and Wastage
November 01, 2018
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.
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Espresso Machine Cleaning
November 01, 2018
The actual problem is overdosing the cleaning powder.
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Top Down for Great Milk Foaming
November 01, 2018
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.
- Cappuccino
- Coffee
- Coffee Blog
- Foam
- How to make coffee
- milk
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Another Grinder Sick Note
November 01, 2018
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.
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Re-grinding Coffee - Just Don't!
November 01, 2018
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.
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Old Brown Java - Challenging But Outstanding Espresso
November 01, 2018
We 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.
- coffee
- Coffee Grinder
- Grinder
- OBJ
- Old Brown Java
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The Problem with Milk Auto-frothing Devices on Espresso Machines
October 31, 2018

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.
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Cappucciono at Home - The Key to Success!
October 29, 2018
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!)
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Colombia Coffee Safari January 2009
October 29, 2018
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.
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