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OPINION
“
Since the World Barista Championships
Big is best, or is it?
(WBC) became the pinnacle of everything
When is a 14, 16 or even a 20oz cup suitable
espresso and barista skills wise, the
for the consumer? If I were 20+ stone in
challenge to perfect this technology has been
weight and had hands the size of shovels
hotly contested by many manufacturers
then maybe this humongous vase of coffee
might be pro rata to my appetite! If the big
machine market, probably technical issue because it is now very
”
cup culture was imported from the USA,
then maybe we should have imported some
over-sized people as well to consume these
because it is simply essential essential indeed.
things because everyone I ever speak to
for making consistent, quality Many of the world’s largest espresso
seems to literally hate the huge size of the
espresso drinks. Quite machine manufacturers have pursued their
drinks currently served in many of our high
remarkably, this seemingly own ways of overcoming this vital technical
street coffee outlets.
impossible technical issue without verification because their
If we agree that an espresso is around
challenge was finally reputation, and to some degree, their
one fluid ounce of liquid and that the rest of
mastered some seven years future as a quality manufacturer, is at risk
the drink commonly served in the UK is
ago with little recognition or in terms of machine sales. This flurry of
made with milk, then, what is a good ratio
fanfare by father and son, development to stabilise temperature on
of coffee and milk for taste and quality? 20
Bruno and Paolo Dalla Corte. new models released to the market has
years ago ceramics manufacturers typically
Since the World Barista been unprecedented because of its
made 6, 7 and 8oz cups - anything larger
Championships (WBC) became importance as a must-have sales feature.
had the handle removed and was used for
the pinnacle of everything I can name at least five espresso
soup or for possibly eating your breakfast
espresso and barista skills machines that have been launched into the
from. A blind taste test will reveal that a 6oz
wise, the challenge to perfect this market place in the last couple of years
latte tastes better than a 8oz latte and a 8oz
technology has been hotly contested by that cannot prove their claims of having
latte tastes better than a 10 oz latte… Do I
many manufacturers. A knowledgeable group head temperature stability. The truth
need to go on?
barista will tell you that one degree of is that they simply don’t work well enough,
It is hard to get a drink smaller than 12oz
centigrade (1°C) is all it takes to alter the and sadly we have no official body like a
in most high street chains nowadays, and
flavour of an espresso. Most espresso Euro NCAP equivalent that we can trust.
they believe that the consumer will revolt
machines today will fluctuate in their group You may ask how I know that they don’t
and go elsewhere if they serve a smaller
head heat by anything up to a ridiculous work. Well, I’m not alone here - many
drink that actually tastes of coffee. How
20°C in a typical operating day. This crude reknowned baristas, respected technicians
weird is that?
lack of control over machine temperature and even the manufacturers themselves
What a wonderfully challenging industry
has been disastrous for the making of know full well that they are fooling the
this is, and that’s why I simply love the
quality espresso coffee so it’s little wonder unqualified. But not for too much longer I
coffee business!
that manufacturers must overcome this predict.
The machine salesman
Sales people just can’t help themselves, can they?
Imagine for a moment that you have a customer
with a budget of less than a weekly shopping bill
and they wish to buy a coffee machine that will
serve up to 100+ cappuccinos per hour and have
sufficient hot water to serve tea to a coach full of
old age pensioners. Once they have parted with
their hard-earned cash they expect the machine to
outlive them and their children, work effortlessly
without ever being cleaned or maintained. Get the
picture?
Far too often we see coffee machines placed
where they are simply not fit for purpose because
Mr Salesman has not listened to the customer or
fails to understand the demands of the site. Of
course, a salesperson needs to earn a living but
maybe, just maybe, the short term mentality of a
sale at any price is ultimately costing us all dearly.
The end result is once again badly produced coffee
and a less than satisfied consumer – that is of
course when the machine is actually working.
www.cafeculturemagazine.co.uk AUGUST 2008 CAFÉ CULTURE 43
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