Technical Service & Maintenance

[Michael]

All baristas must have a basic understanding of the equipment he/she operates. Cleaning of equipment must be carried out after every coffee, every kilo and at the end of every day. The machine and grinder should be serviced every 3-6 months depending on quantity of coffee brewed. One barista/manager must be responsible for the servicing of the machine and grinder, maintaining a service book of all repairs and schedule future technician visits.

Treat the espresso machine with tender-loving-care and you will not only prolong the life of your machine, but the care and attention will show in every cup. This is what customers come back for! CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE  Program

EVERY COFFEE

1. Flush the group head with water after every coffee to remove residual grounds and re-stabilise the brewing temperature
2. Wipe or brush out the residual grounds from the filter basket after each extraction, ensuring that the basket is clean and dry
3. Wipe and flush the steam wand with a damp, sanitised cloth after every use. This action will prevent a build-up or blockage of milk in the steam tip
4. Maintain a clean working area, including sanitising milk jugs, cloths and benches regularly throughout the day

EVERY KILO

1. Back-flush each group head with fresh water and a blind filter after every kilo of coffee used. This removes the build-up of grounds around the seal and shower screen
2. While back-flushing the heads; scrub the group handles and filter baskets with a scour pad and fresh water. Ensure all coffee oils are removed from inside the handles and filter baskets
3. Re-season each group handle after cleaning by running 1 shot of espresso into the drip tray – never serve ‘seasoning’ shots to customers

AT THE END OF EVERY SERVICE

Soak group handles and filter baskets in hot water and a teaspoon of espresso machine cleaning chemical. Soak only the metal components (and not the plastic handles) for 15 minutes. Scrub free of any coffee build-up, wash with soapy water and rinse clean

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE CONTINUED…

MACHINE

1. Using a gasket brush, gently scrub around the seals and shower screen to dislodge any coffee particles
2. Lock the blind filter into the group head and back-flush each group head with fresh water. Repeat using espresso machine cleaning chemical, activating the machine ‘on’ and ‘off’ for 5 seconds intervals until the powder has dissolved and run clean. Repeat again using only fresh water
3. Remove any milk build-up on the steam wand with a damp cloth and dislodge any blocked holes in the steam wand with a paper clip
4. Remove the drip tray and wash with warm soapy water
5. Empty coffee grounds from the knock tube/box into the garden or bin and rinse clean
6. Sanitise all benches, espresso machine surfaces, jugs, thermometers and barista tools – ready for tomorrow’s service

GRINDER

1. Close the gate on the hopper towards the end of service and grind-through any remaining beans. Transfer beans in the hopper back into their bag or a sealed container away from light, heat, moisture, air and odours. Wash hopper to remove all coffee oils, rinse and dry very well
2. Empty the dosing chamber and discard any left over ground coffee (as it will stale by the next day). Using a brush (or mini vacuum), remove all coffee particles within each section of the dosing chamber
3. Wipe down grinder trays, bench and sides of the grinder – ready for tomorrow’s service

THE BARISTA

Here are a few pointers on what barista work involves:

The role of the barista

The barista is to an espresso machine what a barman is to a bar. It is the responsibility of the barista to produce consistent, high quality espresso, while maintaining the machine and grinder and adapting to the surrounding variables (heat, light, air and moisture). A barista must also provide exceptional service and accomplish various tasks simultaneously without getting flustered or losing concentration. The barista ensures quality in every cup

Pride in product

With a product that undergoes such lengthy processes as coffee and ends in a 30 second extraction, a good barista takes pride to ensure that the taste and look of each coffee is as good as it smells. Latte art and coffee art are forms of pride expressed though a product. Product knowledge and quality control are also essential qualities in a barista, ensuring every cup served is representative of the barista and establishment it is served in

Workflow and efficiency

The balance between speed and quality is often the hardest one to achieve, and all too often quality is sacrificed to meet time restrictions. This hurdle can be overcome with techniques such as: easy ordering systems, communication between staff and customers, understanding customer expectations, a clean and efficient workspace and producing coffees in clusters of similar orders (as opposed to preparing each coffee individually) will all enhance speed and often the quality of the coffee served

Consistency

Standards must be set in an establishment to ensure all baristas have the same understanding of quality. It is counter-productive to have different baristas serving varying qualities of coffee as customers will experience this inconsistency and (most of the times) not come back

Maintenance

All baristas must have a basic understanding of the equipment he/she operates. Cleaning of equipment must be carried out after every coffee, every kilo and at the end of every day. The machine and grinder should be serviced every 3-6 months depending on quantity coffee brewed. One barista/manager must be responsible for the servicing of the machine and grinder, maintaining a service book of all repairs and schedule future technician visits

Keep learning

No one knows everything about coffee. A true barista is humble about his/her craft and is keen to keep learning, improving and discovering more about espresso. Customers do not enjoy arrogant service – they just want their coffee their way. After all, isn’t that what baristas do? There are many hundreds of books, forums, competitions and trade shows dedicated to sharing the love and knowledge of espresso. Never become complacent – a true barista continues evolving

Love

Treat the espresso machine with tender-loving-care and you will not only prolong the life of your machine, but the care and attention will show in every cup. This is what customers come back for! Treat the espresso machine with tender-loving-care and you will not only prolong the life of your machine, but the care and attention will show in every cup. This is what customers come back for! Treat the espresso machine with tender-loving-care and you will not only prolong the life of your machine, but the care and attention will show in every cup. This is what customers come back for!