How To

DIY

To DIY or not to DIY

After seeing too many backyard repairs performed incorrectly or dangerously, Maurizio Marcocci of Service Sphere stresses when do-it-yourself maintenance is acceptable and when it’s not.  With the rise in popularity of commercial and home coffee machines, the team at Service Sphere has seen an immense spike in backyarders attempting repairs and end users having a go themselves. 
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temperature coffee machine performance

How temperature effects coffee machine performance

Dr Monika Fekete looks at temperature-dependent variables and their consequences on grinder and espresso machine performance. On a chilly winter morning, hot cup of coffee in hand, I’m once again thinking about the many ways temperature has influenced the liquid I’m drinking.
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strong coffee

What makes a coffee strong?

Mocopan Coffee’s Babin Gurung on what coffee strength means and how to achieve it.  During my barista hustling days, customers often told me they liked their coffee strong. I had no problem adjusting to customers’ needs, but found many people had different ideas of what “strong” meant. Some of the things strength commonly referred to was more caffeine, darker roast, or sometimes, just bitter coffee. These ideas aren’t necessarily wrong, but here in the coffee world, when we say “strong”, we mean the strength of flavours contained in an espresso. 
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coffee group heads

Coffee group heads 101

Maurizio Marcocci of Service Sphere discusses the role of coffee group heads, common espresso machine parts that serve a huge purpose. To pull the best shots possible, baristas need to learn everything they can about coffee extraction. From grind adjustment to water temperature, these factors can all influence the flavour of coffee in the cup. However, while trying to grasp these complex concepts, many baristas can skip over a key component of espresso extraction. 
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grind temperature extraction

How grind temperature impacts extraction

Dr Monika Fekete explores the impact of grind temperature on extraction temperature and why shots tend to speed up over time.  Dialing in a delicious espresso shot is great way to start your day, be it at work or at home. As the day goes on, you might find that shots speed up and you need to adjust your grinder a bit finer to get the same result. It seems like your grind profile has changed.  Does this sound like a familiar story? It might be a common observation, but to date I’m unaware of a viable explanation backed up by solid data. 
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coffee machines developed over time

Changing times: How coffee machines have developed over time

Maurizio Marcocci discusses how commercial coffee equipment has developed over time and the new features that will lead the industry into the future. People have always looked for ways to make their life simpler, and technology is constantly evolving to fulfil these needs. Cars and airplanes get us where we need to go, while phones and social media connect us to friends and family overseas. Coffee machines are no different.
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Sunny Queen French toast

Sunny Queen says ‘bon appétit’ with snap-frozen French toast

Sunny Queen has released a snap-frozen French toast that fulfils the café market’s need for versatile, practical, and high-quality breakfast alternatives. Out-of-home breakfast consumption is growing year on year in Australia, with NPD Crest placing the market’s worth at $7.4 billion in 2018.
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Why coffee milk bubbles

Why coffee milk bubbles and how to avoid it

Monika Fekete investigates why milk bubbles form and how they impact on coffee quality and presentation.  Recently, I watched my coffee go cold in front of my eyes. It had been two months since I had enjoyed a proper coffee. I was looking forward to the experience as I sat at one of my favourite local cafés. However, no sooner had my coffee arrived, my newborn baby decided to test out his lung capacity and I found myself trying to calm him.   I had hoped this situation would be a one-off, but sadly it is not. My tiny son senses precisely when his mum is about to take a moment to enjoy her coffee, and duly demands attention. Consequently, I have had the opportunity to watch rosettas getting swallowed up in bubbles that slowly appear on top of my silky flat white. Interestingly, this wasn’t always the case. Sometimes many large bubbles emerged on the surface almost immediately, sometimes the micro-foam held together even after five minutes. 
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