Undoubtedly, a high degree of obsession is required for engineering better coffee grinders in the pursuit of making coffee better. Re-engineering, tweaking, and testing with the objective of product improvement and optimization is the only road to the elusive grinding utopia. As with all great journeys the path is windy and long, and progress is realized in years, not days or months.
Read MoreNominations Now Open in the 2022 CTG Leadership Council Election! Are you willing to take on the challenge of becoming a part of the next Leadership Council?
Read MoreYes, electrical schematics look imposing. Yes, they take time and effort to decode. But troubleshooting often involves finding what is broken by determining what isn’t broken, and few tools provide more information about the proper function of electrical circuits than an electrical schematic.
Read MoreThe World of Coffee countdown is well underway! In less than two weeks, we will be in the birth place of the espresso, Milan, for the return of World of Coffee. Join us from June 23-25, 2022 at the MiCo Milano Convention Center. We can’t wait to see everyone who is attending. Check out what's happening at the show and make plans to attend our community mixer!
Read MoreThe Specialty Coffee Expo is only three weeks away, and we're looking forward to seeing everyone who is planning to attend. We’re hosting some exciting Guild events that are open for everyone; take a look at our schedule and plan your days accordingly!
Read MoreAs a beverage equipment technician, we can see many different types of machines that heat water. These are espresso machines, drip coffee machines, tea brewers, hot chocolate machines, hot water machines and others. Servicing a machine with a heating issue begins with understanding the heating circuit, its path, and the parts in the path.
Read MoreWhat sets apart one technician from another? What are the two different paths a technician can choose to take? And what lessons can we learn from Greek mythological figures Prometheus and Epimetheus?
Read MoreHow many techs does it take to turn a bolt?
From managing your fellow humans to financial literacy and digital tools, setting up a service department is a skill in itself. If you’ve been tasked with founding or leading a service department for a roaster-retailer, this one’s for you. (And if you enjoy brilliant tech-based jokes, this one may also be for you…)
Read MoreOnce upon a time at an unnamed company in an unnamed city, a coffee company opened a new café. They had exotic tastes in espresso machines and had purchased a beautiful, completely unheard-of model directly from a boutique European manufacturer. The crate was opened with care, the machine lifted onto the counter, and the whole staff gathered around to admire it.
“Hey,” said a bright young barista. “That machine doesn’t have a UL sticker on it.”
And at that angst-filled moment, the manager of the new café suddenly got very curious about UL. Could the machine be installed? Was it legal? Was it safe? And what, just exactly, was UL?
Read MoreIt’s exciting to see so much interest in the testing and reporting of water quality among technicians these days. Let’s talk about what a TDS meter actually is, what is measures, what it doesn’t measure, and how to make the most of yours.
Read More“In my day-to-day you’ll often find me on the phone helping techs in the field figure out what’s going on with the piece of equipment they’re in front of. We’ve all been there. After having dealt with traffic, circling the block several times looking for parking, only to be confronted by a frustrated café manager who needs their business-critical piece of equipment back in operation so they can get back to bringing in the monies. In those types of situations, it can often be a challenge to take a step back, gather information, and work toward sussing out the root cause.
It’s times like these where having a mantra comes in handy.”
Read MoreAs a coffee technician, some of your accounts will need equipment that is able to grind large amounts of coffee at a time. The million dollar question, though: how do you decide which grinder works best for them?
Read More“Sproparts sells parts. We do our best to manage stock for the US Market. We listen to the needs of the technicians. We carry the stock so they don’t have to carry everything around in their truck or carry the cost of high-cost parts that will rarely be used. Let us do that. We got you.”
ANN HALSNE gives us the “breakdown” on the What, Why, and How of Parts.
Read MoreUL was set up to develop standards so that insurance companies could require that the equipment installed by companies didn’t burn the buildings to the ground. Or blow them up. But what does it mean to be UL listed?
Read MoreNot all coffee shops are created equal and neither should their maintenance plan be. JAKE CHIAVARIO shares tips on how to add value to maintenance and repair visits.
Read MoreHYLAN JOSEPH gets schooled by the patron saint of water, SCOTT MANLEY, and shares a handy guide to chlorides VS chlorine.
Read More"I've never really looked at cafés as anything other than the signal that, okay, you are being priced out. But as I became more visible there, I watched the clientele change. Conversations would start about, oh, I didn't know this was here. Or, I knew this was here, but I didn't feel like I was welcomed. And that made me go, okay, I can work on building community and creating spaces for people to feel comfortable and be themselves.”
Anthony Ragler of Black and White Coffee talks to the CTG’s Hylan Joseph about current barista culture, gentrification, and inclusivity in the coffee industry:
Read More“My biggest challenge is to continue studying and keep up to date with all the new technologies to be able to learn and raise awareness among Argentine customers about the importance of advancing their equipment to provide a better service in specialty coffee.”
Read MoreCoffee Technicians Guild
The Coffee Technicians Guild is a guild of the Specialty Coffee Association. The SCA is a non-profit organization, exempt from tax under IRC 501(c)(6) and organized under the laws of California as a mutual benefit corporation.
