Meeting, and then exceeding, customer expectations
What drives a remarkable operation? I ask this question quite a bit. Ultimately the answer falls to meeting customer expectations while making sure we’re creating customer value that exceeds price perception. In my years in the restaurant and coffee business I’ve seen some good companies, some great companies and some truly remarkable companies. I’ve only […]
UL Certification
By Arno Holschuh Once upon a time at an unnamed company in an unnamed city, a coffee company opened a new cafe. They had exotic tastes in espresso machines, and had purchased a beautiful, completely unheard-of model directly from a boutique European manufacturer. The crate was opened with care, the machine lifted onto the […]
Troubleshooting 101
Likely failures in unproven systems Compiled and Edited By Hylan Joseph This section of trouble shooting 101 concentrates on the problems plaguing brand-new systems. In this case, failure modes are generally not of the aging kind, but are related to mistakes in design and assembly caused by human beings. Wiring problems In this case, bad […]
Troubleshoot 101 Series – Vetting a Tech
Introduction: Hiring a tech and keeping them is one of the toughest aspects of what we do. Hiring a solid tech and getting them field trained i can cost up to $20,000 is unbillable time, wages and travel. It’s crucial that you have a robust screening process that catches idiosyncrasies, poor communication etc. before you […]
Top 10 Items for a Barista to Watch For
FAULT: MACHINE NOT HEATING AND NO STEAM Common Cause: On/off switch is in the wrong position. This is a classic example of how something so simple can be so detrimental. Ask yourself, have you tried turning your machine on and off Most machines have power switches that can be set in more than one position. […]
Fitting a Bulk Grinder
Fitting a Bulk Grinder to your Application By Chase Lemos of Nuova Ricambi USA As a technician, some of your accounts will need equipment that is able to process large amounts of coffee at a time. Perhaps a cafe sells their beans to their customers and needs the ability to grind the coffee for them. […]
Espresso Grinder Burrs
What’s the difference? By Chase Lemos – Nuova Ricambi USA Not all burrs are created equal the design of the burr coupled with the materials it is made from can change a lot about how the coffee turns out. Burrs have a usable lifespan and then they need to be resharpened or thrown out. […]
CTG Roasters II Fluid-Bed Arno
The Path Less Taken In the 1960s, Mike Sivetz was a chemical engineer working at a polyurethane plant. One of the process steps he designed involved drying magnesium pellets by floating them in a column of heated air. Sivetz saw those pellets, and in an impressive leap of the imagination, he realized that the process […]
Water Quality Issues
By Scott Manley, La Marzocco (and former master technician/tech trainer at Ecowater Systems) Water quality issues are addressed just like we approach issues with brewing and grinding equipment. When issues with brewing and grinding equipment arise, a technician uses all available information to assess the issue in order to affect a repair, […]
Addressing Water Quality Issues: Field Testing Water
Addressing Water Quality Issues: Field Testing Water By Scott Manley, La Marzocco Mercuric Thiocyanate is my new favorite word. I’m adding it to my personal water vocabulary of seemingly difficult to pronounce terms along with Hexavalent Chromium and Trihalomethanes. Hexavalent Chromium and Trihalomethanes, in case you are unfamiliar with these, are not something we are […]