It’s rare for me to find someone who has been in coffee as long or longer than me. Terry Z’s name has come up since the beginning of the Coffee Technicians Guild. He is a true craftsman. He is one of the most highly regarded tech voices in our industry. It was a real honor speaking to him. Enjoy.
-Hylan
Hylan Joseph: Tell me about yourself.
Terry Z.: Hello, my name is Terry Ziniewicz. Most folks in coffee know me as Terry Z.
I entered into the coffee industry in the very early 1990’s with espresso carts, inline stores and drive thru operations. As the service person for all our accounts, I was struggling to find the parts and pieces I needed to support our operations. As a result, I formed my own supply business that would support the company we were building, which then morphed into a supplier for other coffee companies.
Originally named Espresso Cart Parts Northwest, this company has gone on to become espressoparts.com. A company that my family built over a twenty-year period. Our work was to find and popularize products that enhanced the coffee making experience and then went on to become a hub of innovation during a critical time that became known as the Third Wave Coffee Industry. We worked with industry pros like David Schomer, Greg Scace, and others to connect all the information that created one of the largest innovation pushes in specialty coffee in over 40 years.
During this time, I co-founded Olympia Coffee Roasting to learn more about the industry I was so involved in. We successfully sourced and roasted organic coffees that could stand next to conventional coffees with pride. As far as how it relates to equipment, we played with all the ideas brought to us regarding processing, roasting and brewing. It was a way to better understand the outcome of our efforts in workflow and machine tech.
We sold our interests in these companies in 2010 and 2012 at which point I joined the team at Slayer Espresso to help create Version 2 and 3 of Slayer Espresso while supporting the launch of the Slayer single group. In 2014, I joined with Michael Myers Jr. to create Mavam Espresso machines to solve the riddle of temperature control over large volumes of water once and for all. The unique interface of the Mavam Under Counter Espresso Machine integrates all the elements of a traditional espresso machine in a low-profile open format. Our work has led to a patent: System and Method for Fluid Temperature Stability for Multi-Section Beverage Making Machine
HJ: Describe your current position, scope of work, are there any aspects of your job that motivate you?
TZ: Currently I support the operations at Caffewerks LLC which is a family owned and operated business. At Caffewerks we have developed a line of brew group related products in partnership with LF Spare Parts and IMS. Part of this work created the initiative of “Baskets, Gaskets, Screens and Screws” or just simply BGSS. This is a subscription service of group wear items that we have created for shop owners and tech companies. We refer to BGSS as a quality-based initiative reducing the variables caused by worn group components. We also provide industry consulting and coaching, product design, design and layout services and industry insight for clients looking to gain knowledge of the growing coffee industry.
I’m motivated by solving problems in workflow and product design. The adaption of glass washers used in the beer industry is a perfect example of how I applied a simple idea to benefit coffee by placing the beer glass rinsing valve in a dump sink. This changed how barista around the world operate behind the bar when steaming milk.
So I would say being able to innovate in a space that loves innovation is a great motivator.
HJ: What is it you find most fascinating about the service business?
TZ: Fixing things is in my DNA. I have been taking things apart and putting them back together my entire life. How things work is fascinating to me.
I have also learned that no matter how many years you have of experience in this industry, it is still possible to get stumped during a repair and also that just when you think you’ve seen everything something you’ve never seen before shows up.
HJ: What do you think were some important technical advances with espresso or coffee brewing equipment over the last five years?
TZ: First let me say that having been in the trade since the early 90’s I apparently have been around long enough to see the industry come full circle. When I entered the trade, we worked hard to get people to pay attention to extractions by taking them off machines with flow meters and onto semi-automatic machines “for more control of the coffee”
In many ways what I see now are machines that are super automatic type machines with a human completing the task of pressing a button. We somehow have lost our way and rely on scales and flow meters to do what used to be the art of making coffee. Repeatability is nice though and I just sound like an old man yelling at clouds…
I like to think the work that we did at Mavam to be an important step forward with regards to temperature control. We solved a problem that had been left unaddressed by the industry.
HJ: What technical advances would you like to see for the future for espresso and coffee brewing?
TZ: I would like to see less tech and more tasting. Put away the calculators, flow meters, scales etc. and just make coffee. Let’s get back to the best part of coffee.
HJ: What do you think of the changes over the last ten years the specialty coffee industry as a whole?
TZ: I like the overall awareness of the industry. When I entered the industry there were no books or how-to guides available. It was pre internet, so information sharing was a lost topic in the trade as everything seemed to be a secret.
I see the industry becoming more mature and knowledgeable. The sharing of information and the implementation of ideas happens much faster now leading to innovative processes that support better coffee.
HJ: What are your key takeaways from your experience in specialty coffee?
TZ: Opportunity abounds in specialty coffee! When I got started, I thought it would be a nice thing to do for 5 years. So now some 25 plus years later it is astonishing that opportunity is still around every turn.
I learned a lot about people and how diverse we all are on a global basis, yet our love of coffee is universal. People are the key factor in my want to be involved in coffee as an industry. The opportunities that have been placed in front of me via the coffee industry are vast and I’m very fortunate to have surrounded myself with people who had similar creative visions of how things could be. We simply put these things into place at a time that it was apparently needed.
HJ: Where do you see the service industry going in the next five, Ten years?
TZ: I see more and more “professional companies” vs. independent service techs. Many of these companies are servicing the large urban areas which has been desperately needed. Some markets have been greatly underserved as service has not kept up with the growth of the industry in some regions. It is an opportune time for a motivated tech to make the best of it.
Onward. The industry seems very healthy. I think we will see a return to less complicated methods of creating espresso extractions and hopefully return to the science found by tasting coffee rather than determining its worth via a percentage of TDS.
HJ: What steps did you take to become a tech?
TZ: I took a wrench and applied it to broken machines. I repeated this task over and over, sometimes for hours and hours. I learned from everyone and anyone willing to share and then in turn shared what I learned.
HJ: What advice would you give someone who was decided to pursue a career in our industry?
TZ: Learn the business first. What looks awesome from one side of the fence has a ton of realities that show up on the other.
Getting paid in 2020 is much easier than even just last year. Do not provide terms for repair services and if you do, be prepared for more work related to getting those bills paid.
Be flexible with your availability but also understand that your customers will request that you come “when it’s not busy” set your hours of availability and stick to it.
Don’t work on brands and gear that you don’t understand.
Be humble and learn every day.