The perfect cup or pull is elusive...you think you've perfected it one day but the next time, it's close to perfect, but just not the same. It's even harder to get consistency when someone else is making it for you!
At Cafe Miki, we use really really smart coffee equipment:
LaMarzocco Linea PB espresso machine ft. auto brew ratio & auto scales
PuqPress Auto Tamper
Fiorenzato F64 Evo grinder
What do these fancy gadgets and features mean? One word: consistency
No matter who is operating these machines, be it a novice trainee or a world champion barista, the espresso or coffee is as consistent as it can get. Here's why:
The Grinder
The most important piece of equipment in a coffee shop is the grinder, not the espresso machine. A World Champion Barista can brew great espresso from a range of machines, but if they have a poor bean grinder, there is no saving that espresso or coffee. The Fiorenzato Evo Grinder is world-class smart.
A good grinder will be fast, durable, consistent, and grinds the beans accurately and consistently to your desired granularity, without adding heat that cooks the beans .
Our Fiorenzato Evo grinder meets these requirements and takes it to the next level! It's digital settings, stepless grind calibration, doserless, built in timers, temperature controlling coolling fans, temperature and humidity sensors make grinding super easy, reliable, and adjustable no matter what the conditions are!
The Auto Tamper
Manual tamping by hand is the traditional way to compress your espresso bean grounds into the portafilter for espresso extraction. After grinding your beans, you distribute the grounds evenly in the portafilter before applying pressure down, using the tamper tool.
However, the applied pressure is inconsistent, even with many years of practice, especially between different baristas. Manual tamping can also cause pain over the course of a day and long lasting injuries without proper technique.
A minor difference in espresso ground distribution or applied tamping pressure can result in very different tasting espresso.
Auto tampers, especially electric ones, can eliminate some of the drawbacks that come from tamping manually. The pressure applied is consistent each time, resulting in more consistent espresso extraction. The barista is also more efficient and less stressed mentally and physically during busy times.
The Espresso Machine
This machine forces hot water through the espresso bean grounds to quickly extract the desired product. It does take a lot of practice and time to learn how to use a particular machine, and each brand or model behaves differenly...some machines have water that isn't consistently the same temperature, some machines have inconsistent water pressure, some machines act differently depending on the water quality or humidity of the cafe.
At Cafe Miki, we have the LaMarzoco Lina PB with auto brew ratio and auto scales.
In short, it can be programmed to keep the water pressure, water temperature, and extraction amount/time consistent no mater who is operating it. The barista only needs to program the customer's desired settings, and the machine does the rest from start to finish.
So why not get a fully automated espresso machine that Starbucks uses? One that grinds the coffee beans, tamps, and pulls the espresso all by itself? Because there's a limited amount of customization on fully automated machines. Customers and baristas that want a specific grind size, brew ratio, or extraction time, will be able to pull that "perfect" shot consistently with a semi-automatic espresso machine, like the LaMarzoco Linea PB.
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