I a newbie in a high volume cafe, just started shots training after six month of steaming/pouring practice. (we use La Mazocco Linea Classic, Mazzer Auto Dosing for house Blend, and manu for Single Origin and Decaf). I found that my shot are not consistent when it get busy. In other words, when not busy I can make good shots…
Practice is of course the key. However, is there any technics that I could learn or procedures to follow to get more consistent shots.
Thank you so much,
Warm Regards,
Peter
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One thing that I would take into account is that when you’re busy, the interior temperature if your grinder starts increasing, which will cause your espresso to start straying from what you dialed it to do. Also, if you’re not weighing your dose and yield, it’s very hard to achieve consistency in a high-volume shop, so that would be your first problem. Assuming you are weighing your shots, simply write down the dose , yield, & time of the shots for each bean when you initially dial in, and when you see the time start to sway due to temp change in the grinder, it’s much easier to make minor adjustments in the middle of a busy flow when you know what to aim for. (I.e. If my single origin was pulling 20 in & 45 out, with a time of 27-29 seconds, and in the middle of a rush I notice the espresso starting to pull the same dose/yield in 23-25 seconds, I know I just need to go finer by a degree or two, and can make the adjustments in between drinks. But yeah if you’re not weighing the shots, that’s definitely step one for attaining ideal consistency.
Another good tip ive learned tecently with single origin.
If you course it some and dose up a little when busy you can maintain flavour consistency. But only to a point. As soon as a busy period ends. Experiment while grinder is warm and machine ‘worked’.
Might help you understand settings to aim for in those times
Espresso Machine issue:
As great as the Linea Classic is it really can’t handle high volumes. The GB5, Linea PB or Strada will preform much better from a water temperature stability aspect. Brew water is preheated through the steam boiler on the GB5, Linea PB and Strada where as the Classic is not. What happens with the classic is your bringing in too much cool/room temp water into the boiler and the heating element can’t keep up. Plus try your best to avoid using the hot water spigot on any espresso machine.
Grinder
You didn’t say what kind of Mazzer grinder you were using. In high volume cafes, I really don’t like to see anything but a Robur. Would still prefer a Mahlkonig Peak in high volume setting (but that is just more of a personal preference)