Finding the perfect espresso machine

 An espresso machine is one of the most important equipment a cafe owner will need in running a cafe. The other one being the grinder. 

Ever since we started our journey in the coffee industry, we see a lot of different brands and types of espresso machines, different prices, and of course, the different features and specifications of espresso machines.

Quite often, we see cafe owners in the City of Davao using the home use type of espresso machine. Their reason, budget. By home use, it means that the capacity of the machine can cater a minimal number of serving at a time, say, 3 to 5 coffee drinkers at once. Then you need to wait thereafter for the machine to reach the right temperature again to make another batch of 3 to 5 extractions. These types of espresso machines may not be able to sustain when the cafe business gets big especially if you use the steam simultaneously. That's the time that they need to decide on when to upgrade and which machine will be best for their operation.

So, the question really is, "which one should I choose?"

Remember that all espresso machines have different features. To name a few, boiler capacity, heat recovery of the machine after use, pumps, pressure and temperature reach and others.

The best advice I can give is to "know your goal" first. If your goal is to serve more than 10, 20 customers an hour, you need to put this into your priority list in choosing an espresso machine. 

The next part is knowing how many succeeding extraction an espresso machine can make. Remember that temperature and pressure play an important factor on this. Hence, you also need to know how the heat recovers. 

For busy coffee shops in Davao City, average customers may be from 20 to 50. We have seen coffee shops near schools where customers of 10 to 15 go in at once and order their hot or iced coffee drink. And with this number, an espresso machine and grinder which can sustain this volume of customers should be a priority.

If you have already found a list of espresso machine to choose from, the next thing you may want to know is the after sales service.

Of course, machines may break down, parts may need to be replaced at a certain time. Can the machine supplier provide you with the parts? How about a service technician? How fast can they cater to your concern?

Now if all of your questions and concerns are answered, that's the right time to pick out the best espresso machine on your list. This is certainly an investment that you may need to be really sure of.

So, happy espresso machine hunting!

Coffee Journey

When we started our coffee journey in 2022, we didn't know that we would be enjoying this today. To be honest, the only thing we know about coffee are those that every household have and drink every day, the instant coffees.

Fast forward today, we reached a lot of places, improved our speaking and sales skills and we get to learn a lot from coffee beans to espresso machines to the different coffee beverage we can actually create.

Here are some of the things we learned since we started:

* Coffee plants are planted in different level of elevation and it depends on the variety of coffee. Like for example, robusta are found on low level altitudes while arabica are found in higher altitudes.

 * Coffee can adopt the taste and aroma of the crops that were previously planted on the soil. For coffee experts, they can easily identify different taste, calling it notes, and the most common being the jackfruit and citrusy after taste from lime or lemon.

* Coffee has unique tastes and goes well when blended although some prefer it 100% of the same variety when extracting their espresso. Robusta for example is most commonly used as raw materials for instant coffees and they're known to have more caffeine content which is the reason for its bitterness. Arabica, on the other hand, is known for its acidity. So, when combined together, the tastes compliment each other producing a really good cup of coffee.

* Coffee, when extracted by an espresso machine, will have different taste depending on the temperature applied. Like for example, the same batch of coffee at 93 degrees may not have the same taste when extracted at 95 degrees. 

 * Roasting plays an important role in making a perfectly good batch of coffee for espresso machines.

* When grinding coffee beans, the grind size matters. However, it would still depend on the palate of the coffee drinker to say that a cup of coffee is really good which is pretty much their "sweet spot".

In all honesty, the coffee industry is quite unique. The more you indulge in it, the more you learn about it and it just doesn't end. 

  

 

 

Bye 2023... hello 2024

Looking back at the year that was, 2023, made me realize that we are blessed and we should always be thankful for whatever we received and what we went through, no matter how hard it was.

From our side of the coin, our relationship with friends was tested. In all honesty, it's not a confidential matter but only a few "close" friends knew what happened. Although it was something that has become a barrier and a hurdle to grow the friendship and maintain it, we learned a lot of lessons from it. This learning has helped us, somehow, to choose the right friends.

Patience was also tested. There are times when we feel that the values we had learned was enough, but, when you evaluate it, it is not and won't be enough in this lifetime or next. Either you just learn to dance with the music or completely block these off.

Faith, hope and family mattered, A LOT!! Let's face it, we're all imperfect. And these aspects require a lot of effort, trust and prayer. In all honesty, these are what we describe as "work in progress". And something that falls in this category shouldn't be taken for granted.

Nevertheless, no matter the hurdles and blessings were thrown on your path, you will have to learn to thrive. No matter how good or bad a situation is, we shouldn't be complacent. Things may change in between.

But trust God that He will carry us out of what we think the lowest situation we are in. And, we should always be thankful for whatever comes our way, good or bad. 

So let's declare that we will have a better 2024! Cheers to the year that was and the year that will be.... all the good and bad things that were and all the good and lessons that will be learned from all of these. 

Happy new year!! Bring it on 2024!