30 Days of Blog - Day 4 - Following your heart

Welcome back for day 4 of 30. It seems like this blog thing is getting a little easier to make time for. Since I am expecting to stop what I am doing during the day to write a little here it doesn't feel like a burdensome task. The more I am doing it, the easier the words seem to flow out. So hopefully this continues and I will be a master blogger/time manager in 30 days... right?

Today I got the chance to stop by G&B Coffee here in L.A. and was lucky enough to bump in to my buddy Charles Babinski. We had the chance to catch up a little and talk about our current goings on and in our discussions Charles bestowed some brutal truths upon me, which simultaneously made me cringe and happy to hear. This conversation topic is what I want to talk about for today's post. 

This is about following your heart and letting your passion lead you to success. In our chat, Charles told me I was being too conservative and really needed to jump in to some of the new ventures that I want to do. I will leave the specifics of what I am wanting to do for later, but for now I want to say that he is absolutely right in his assessment of where I'm at in life. 

When it comes to working for myself, nothing seems to be more frightening than fully committing to a new concept. Questions like "Will it be special enough?" or "Other people have done it before" pop into your head. These questions sort of seize your brain and keep you from making decisive moves. But when I have started thinking about these new business ideas since talking with Charles, I realize that it isn't quite so frightening. It means putting your bets into one pot and taking a risk. Luckily when you are capable and know your business it doesn't mean throwing your sense out the window, but rather turning down the caution/fear knob considerably. All business ventures have risk involved, but if you don't take the chance you will never have the chance for success. 

This is echoed in the sense that it is really about letting your passion guide you. So many times I have let the uncertainty or fear of failure hold me back.

I bet you have too.

But you can feel your heart yearning for certain things. It could be a place you want to move, a job you want to do, or a cause you want to join.

Now don't get me wrong, not everything that holds me back is caused by fear. There is another side to this coin in my case, which is that I have too many ideas! So many concepts and ideas come and go in my head that it is almost impossible to keep track of them all. So many great ideas get put on a back burner and eventually forgotten that it feels like starting from scratch constantly. This comes from a lack of focus as well as the failure to commit. 

The solution for me is to focus on the things that I truly feel passion for and not let myself get distracted by all of the other fleeting, yet cool, ideas that come and go. I want to let my heart free, and let it take me to the successes and goals that really make me happy. Maybe you should do the same. People always say cute phrases like "failure is a learning opportunity" and "the best way to learn is to fail", which might be totally true but those words of wisdom never stop the pain of failure from hurting. Failure sucks! It feels awful. But if you love what you are doing when you fail it sure is easier to take. If we focus on what might fail, we won't see what can succeed. 

So here is what I ask: Stop procrastinating and saying "it probably wouldn't work". If you have a fire in your belly, you need to say "I'm going to make this work. I believe in it!" Take a reasonable risk and allow yourself to succeed. Keep focus on your goals and don't let anything distract you from your own success.

That's it for today. If Charles reads this one, I just want to say thank you for being honest and not being afraid to hurt my feelings with truth, because you have done exactly the opposite. I am seeing more clearly and feeling a bit more focus (granted it's only been half a day). Thank you my friend!

Thanks for listening to me pour out feelings today. It feels to good to let it out.

Pete

30 Days of Blog - Day 3 - Milk sharing and technology

Welcome to day 3 of 30. I feel like I've been writing for weeks now and it's only day 3! Hopefully it will get easier rather than harder from here. 

This 30 day challenge has put me in a mindset that is constantly self evaluating my thoughts to determine if they are worthwhile to put in your hands. Even if you think every word I write is gold, I'm going to tell you that there is plenty of really mundane stuff up in this brain, so I hope I'm filtering it enough to get to the good stuff...

Starting off today I will cover a topic that was requested by Steven Lim via Facebook. I mentioned milk foam sharing yesterday as a way to help make multiple drinks and he wanted to know more. I have been asked about this topic plenty, so let's start there.

"Milk sharing" (a term that sounds incredibly lame if you ask me) refers to the simple act of pouring off some of the milk and foam to save for later. You see this technique in competitions very frequently because the goal is to end up with same amount of foam/milk in each drink poured. While it seems like a relatively simple concept, it needs a little bit of forethought in order to pull off successfully. 

The first thing to consider with a full jug of fresh, properly steamed milk is that even when the milk and foam are well integrated and homogenous, more of the foam will tend to pour out first and less will pour out later. This is because milk foam is full of air and it wants to rise to the top. When your milk and foam have separated, the liquid portion will pour out first. But when they are integrated the foam will pour in large quantities. The more thick and airy your foam, the more will come out at the beginning. 

When it comes to techniques, I usually teach baristas to pour the first 2-3 ounces (60-90ml) of milk into a second heated jug, pour your drink with the first jug, then add your pour off back into the first jug and reincorporate by swirling/grooming. You will notice that both drinks will have a similar amount of foam if done right. Of course timing is still important, and you don't want any of the milk to be sitting for more than the few seconds it takes to finish pouring the drinks. 

You will need to experiment a little to get a feel for how much of the initial milk should be poured. If the second drink has too much foam you actually poured off too much. If the first drink still has too much you didn't pour enough. The technique gets a little trickier when you start to plan for more than two drinks like I did at WBC. 

For that I used one 1 liter jug to steam the milk, then split the milk pouring the first @3oz into a 20oz (600ml) jug, then filled my 12oz (360ml) jug with milk, and finally topped the last of the milk (which was mostly liquid) into the first jug. The two jugs were then taken to the table with the cups and espresso. The first pour I dropped a little milk from the 12oz jug into the 20oz and poured the capp from the 12oz jug. I then over filled the 12oz jug each time to get my proper proportion of foam (by overfilling I ensured getting both foam and liquid). The overfilled 12oz jug then poured a small amount back into the 20oz jug before continuing to pour the actual capp. I continued this for each drink. 

This sounds incredibly complicated, and perhaps it was, but it happened in a very short amount of time to prevent excess heat loss (or separation) in the process. In my mind the method worked very simply because I was focused on how much foam should be in each jug, and knowing that the first pour would have extra foam I could manage just how much was being portioned. So there you have it, my probably-over-complicated-but-totally-how-I-did-it, method of milk sharing at WBC.

Now that you milk geeks are sated, let's talk about something a little more controversial. 

My second topic is technology in the cafe.

The other day I came across a semi-automatic espresso machine with a built in auto shutoff steam wand. You have probably seen them before, they have that weird second probe attached and just a button to open the steam valve. I have seen these things for years and years and never really had what I would call a great experience with them. Until the other day.

This machine worked very well, steaming and stretching the milk just like I always do. My bigger concern was with the final temperature of the milk, and lo and behold it anticipated a couple degrees and turned itself off at almost exactly where I would have done so manually. Honestly it shouldn't have surprised me as much as it did (I'm just used to melting my tongue on drinks from these), but the conversation afterward went more in the direction of when technology is helpful. I know some people out there feel that coffee making should be automated in the future, but I disagree. 

Coffee preparation will go in two different directions in the future. Automation and craftsmanship. The funny thing is that these two directions already exist today (ie. Starbucks vs your fancy specialty cafe), they will just keep getting redefined and perhaps further apart. Automation people will go toward efficiency and scale, and craftsmanship people will go toward customization and personalized service. I personally am a fan of both concepts for different reasons. High quality automated coffee making makes sense when labor is at a premium and costs must be low. Traditional coffee preparation is also awesome because it gives such a personal touch to service. I imagine the price of those drinks would be higher, more exclusive, and ideally a part of a bigger experience. 

Regardless, I feel that technology in coffee making is coming and when it maintains quality levels and achieves the same (or better) results we should consider how to adopt that tech. It doesn't mean we have to, just that it can make things better. For example, my initial thought with temperature probe auto shutoff steam wands was that there would never be an under or over heated drink in your service. Obviously customer preference varies, and should be allowed, but even eliminating a couple jugs of milk being wasted each day can add up to savings for a cafe owner. The milk quality is just as good, and the baristas would still get to make latte art (be still my sarcastic heart), so why wouldn't you use one?

Don't think that I will be afraid of using any piece of equipment that comes my way in the future though. I still believe a great barista should be able to make great drinks no matter what equipment they are handed. 

So what am I asking you for today? Have a lovely day and care for others who need your help. That's my hippie moment for today, take it for what it is!

See you tomorrow,

Pete

30 Days of Blog - Day 2 - Multiple drinks and Royalty service

Welcome to Day 2 of 30. I barely made this one in time after a very long day working and training. But I'm sticking to my commitment of blogging, so here we go!

An interesting thing that happens from opening up your voice after keeping your thoughts to yourself for so long is that you have way too many thoughts to talk about. Today's topics were inspired by conversations from today's trainings. I have thought about them at some length before, but haven't let my feelings known until now.

The first topic is milk steaming for cafe service. I have witnessed some strange service philosophies lately in specialty cafes, especially regarding milk. In the US we have simultaneously adopted smaller drink sizes (which I love) as well as the standard of always steaming fresh milk for drinks (which I mostly love). Do you wonder what I don't love about fresh milk? 

It's the massive amounts of waste. 

Somehow steaming fresh milk for drinks has turned into only steaming enough milk for the current drink being made. It is almost as if nothing matters more than the one drink being prepared at the moment. By using one milk jug for one drink, along with the overall decrease in drink size average, it has become more and more difficult to portion the correct amount of milk without wasting much. Since when did preparing perfect milk for two, or *gasp* three or four, drinks at a time become a taboo? 

Busy cafes should know how to push out multiple drinks in a very timely fashion. Just because the milk for a drink was steamed together with another does not make one inferior (as long as you have done it properly) or contaminated. Maybe I find this topic funny because I actually made all 4 of my WBC cappuccinos with one 1L jug of milk. Steaming one jug of milk for each drink increases your service time, increases your waste, decreases you chances of getting a perfect texture, and has almost no difference in customer perception of how well their coffee was made. Again, you still have to make great looking latte art, perhaps implementing a foam pour off and a little care, but you can absolutely make great milk for two drinks at a time. Trust me.

The next topic is service details. Today I spoke about small details such as orienting latte art with the handle, cleaning small spills, moving with command, and considering details that the customer had never even considered. The reason I talk about these things (regularly) is they equate to impeccable service experiences. We once called it "attention to details", and this refers to everything possible in relation to the customer's experience. It can be as direct as hand delivering their drink when they have a seat or as simple as turning their cup handle toward their dominant hand. Not only should you do these things in your cafe, but all staff should be doing them EVERY TIME. Every tiny detail can add the service experience, and by showing that you are in control of it all they will appreciate your expertise. 

I like to say that these details are what make a good barista great. 

The best service I have ever had was never pointed out to me or even seemed like a big deal. But after the fact I felt like a king. It was like the person cared about how I felt. And let me tell you, I felt like royalty. Not hollow "OMG you won a competition" royalty, but rather "You deserve to be treated well" royalty. I have had those experiences rarely in cafes, but when I have I tell everyone about it. 

So here my ask for the day: Make more of these royalty moments in coffee! Not through trying to make coffee taste like rainbows, but through great service details. I'm pretty sure your customers will appreciate it. I know I will.

That's it for today. Thanks for catching up. Come on back tomorrow...

Pete

30 Days of Blog - Day 1 - Consulting and grinders

Welcome to Day 1 of 30, and thank you for reading what is essentially an experiment in self habit building. We might get off topic sometimes, but I hope the journey is worthwhile.

Today I am on my way to Los Angeles for an opening event, latte art throwdown, and a little education with Gavina Coffee at their new Don Francisco Cafe in Downtown LA. As I have been preparing for this trip I have been contemplating the nature of what I do as a consultant and educator. I get asked all the time "Pete, what are your doing these days?", which bothers me quite a bit! That means that no one sees all of the projects and events that I work on. Time to be more visible.

*Heart spilling moment about consulting* To be honest I started my consulting business after winning the WBC because I needed something to offer and I couldn't figure anything else out. A consultant is a role meant to enhance other peoples' businesses through the utilization of the consultants experience and knowledge. I have the knowledge and experience in vast quantities, but looking back on the past four years I would say it has been filled with competition training, lectures, coaching, and very minimally (in my perspective) actual collaborative consulting. 

To me this is a problem, as I consider myself a consultant but don't feel deep down that I have been fulfilling the role as I envision it. So I decided to analyze what has kept me going down the current path. In the end it all boils down to opportunities and focus. I am commonly approached for competition training and coaching because it is what I am known for, and quite frankly I'm really pretty darn good at it. Competition work is fulfilling and fun to me, but it is most often about the individual rather than the businesses behind them. So I will be pushing more into the realm of collaborative consulting with businesses, as I feel that I have more to offer than most. Enough self promotion for now though. 

Let's talk a little about coffee grinders. Mazzer, Simonelli, Compak, Mahlkoenig, and likely a few others are all racing to release their new weight based grinders. It is an exciting time for that and I think it is a very good step. We can remove the natural variability of the dose from our list of training and preparation concerns. Dose variability has been a flaw in grinder design, mostly because we took old doser based technology and added timers to the grinders in order to gain a level of consistency. Expect to see a lot of prototypes at HOST this year in Milan. If any of you manufacturers want feedback on your grinders you know where to find me! 

Another current hot topic, which seems to have been a topic for years now, is particle size and grind size composition. Ever since 2013 when a certain someone used the EK43 grinder to make coffee at WBC, baristas have been clamoring over eliminating fines and attempting to make superior espresso. 

I have to tell you this is a failure in many ways.

The original stated purpose of the EK grinder by Mr. Perger (at least as I recall) was to produce fewer fines when grinding, which has now been thoroughly disproven. He has since corrected this stance, which I applaud. That particular grinder produces a considerable amount of fines, and while you may have missed it, Matt poured fairly fast flowing shots in his presentation. This all makes sense when you think about it, since more fines with enough space for water to flow means that the coffee will extract faster, and will also over extract faster. Fast flow tends to lead to lower body, which some have begun to accept as the trade off for flavor clarity. 

What the EK grinder does do well is its ability to grind with fewer "boulders" and a generally more even sizing on the target/mean size of grinds. Interestingly I often find a lack of flavor complexity when the grind of coffee is too homogenous in size (like when the sizes are sifted and separated). EK grinders do seem to work pretty well for certain brewing methods such as v60, but their benefits dwindle for espresso. I have tasted shots on these grinders in competitions and cafes around the world and here is what I can conclude: 

It can make an equally good or bad shot (especially compared to the K30 Vario/Air/Peak), but rarely a superior one. It STILL COMES DOWN TO THE BARISTA! If the grinder on its own made a vastly superior shot, wouldn't it have won the WBC every year since and including 2013? For the record I won with the K30 Twin, a grinder that I consider superior in flavor to all of the other Mahlkoenig models to this day. I have seen numerous baristas come on stage believing their grinder will help them win, and they simply don't pull it off. The reason Matt performed so well in 2013 was

1) It was innovative in 2013 

2) He is a very good barista and he applied excellent fundamentals of espresso making to a very uncommon (at the time) technique. 

I don't want you to think I specifically hate on the EK43 grinder. It has merit as a pour over grinder (less so for large scale batch brew), it is good for slow selling single origin or decaf shots, and it has pushed the boundaries of what is considered a good espresso. Not too bad, but the main issue that I have is the wholesale acceptance and subsequent confusion made by these grinders.

The next innovation in espresso grinders, in my opinion, should be rethinking the nature of grinding. Heating or freezing the beans is interesting, and seem to generate results. Sometimes those results are positive. But the fact remains that we are still grinding using spinning blades that dull over time with use. Even the simple nature of blades dulling changes that composition of grind sizes and introduces inconsistencies. So if you want to work on a new true innovation in grinding I suggest figuring out how to make coffee beans more extractable in a more consistent way. That technology may be years or decades away, but I think it will be massive when it happens.

That's it for day 1. Hope you come back for day 2!

Pete

Incoming! 30 days of blogging

If you read my blog from time to time, you probably haven't had much of a choice. I will readily admit that I am a bad blogger, if only for the reason that I have not focused on being timely and consistent in my writing.

Well there is no better time for change than the present.

Starting tomorrow I will begin a 30 day blog commitment. I will write my thoughts on current topics in the coffee industry every day for the next 30 days. The purpose is twofold, in that I want to speak my mind as well as create the habit for myself to write. So here is my promise: no matter how busy I get, if I'm flying, working an event, teaching, or otherwise occupied I will make time to get my current musings typed and presented to you. There may be photos attached or just words for you to ponder, but there will be blog posts!

So let the writing begin. Thanks for reading!

Pete