ESPRESSO BAR DESIGN

Against all reason and better judgment the SCAE has asked me to speak on espresso bar design at the world barista contest this June in London.

It is true that Geneva and I have designed our bars ourselves, employing the architect to bring our vision into reality.  In general, Geneva specializes in back-bar design (the detailed part) and I do aesthetics and customer flow.

To organize my thoughts for my talk I will blog about it.  Our Gran Bar design flows from Vivace’s mission: to research, develop, and promote caffe espresso as a culinary art.  And of course to promote it we serve it.  Espresso preparation is unique in that it combines performance art, the fluid dance of a talented barista pouring latte art, with the joy of sweet coffee and silky milk textures.  The closest thing is the sushi chef who creates intricate sashimi in full view of the customer at the sushi bar.

The reason for the art however is the customer.  Without someone in front of us to please, what is the point of preparing espresso that actually tastes as good as ground coffee smells?  In this way we are not too different from the ancient Japanese tea school, “Yabunouchi-ryu” , an art practiced by my friend , Chiaki.  I have attended a few Japanese tea ceremonies over the years, and several performed by Chiaki, a master.  To be truthful I always felt like the stupid gaijin (foreigner) being scrutinized for minor gaffes as I bumbled my way through as “the guest”.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  Because in the Yabunouchi school the entire reason for the ceremony is the pleasure of the guest.  And of course, nuance of movement and placement of utensils, choice of flowers, and cups are all stylized and refined to a very high degree.  So, I was happily shocked that I mattered, and that my pleasure and happiness enjoying the tea are paramount.

So it is inside the Vivace “school” of espresso.  At it’s best, the coffee, the ambience, and the performance combine to transport  the busy urbanite into a moment of  reflection upon being human.  For myself that is the promise of any art form, be it performance, culinary , or visual, I want to be taken out of the ordinary, even for a moment, to enter a plane of existence where beauty infuses my existence.  Where I can peek, just for a moment, behind the curtain of bills past due,  roofs that need repair, or clogged toilets, and glimpse the impossible beauty of the universe around me..  A Vivace espresso bar is a sanctuary . Every aspect of the design, and performance by the baristi, is for the pleasure of our guest.

In our designs I also need to facilitate the historical mission of the coffee house as an intellectual petri-dish for the exchange and fermentation of ideas among very different people without academic constraint.  (We differ from the pub in this regard because after a coffee fueled debate everyone can still remember what they said the following day…)

So the design of a Vivace Gran Bar has a twin purposes, to enhance the beauty of the coffee and to bring people together.

A customer’s journey…

Let’s follow along as our customer enters the door. First contact is the signage.  The text within the Vivace logo “ESPRESSO VIVACE una bella tazza di caffe” translates as “excitement about a beautiful cup of coffee“.  The shape is round because I perused many logos when designing the Vivace mandala and round seemed to have the most integrity. It is rendered in heavy copper to suggest longevity and tradition.  Well made espresso is a culinary classic because it enhances flavor and offers more gentle caffeine.  It is also healthy and loaded with anti-oxidants.  In this way it will become a new tradition and our logo tries to convey that.

 

Then we follow our customer in.  The entrance area is designed  to be spacious, provide a sweeping view of the bar, and have some kind of intellectual stimulation to pass the time while waiting.  Waiting is a very psychological activity because time passes much slower if the mind is stagnant. 

 At our new Brix bar we use a poster service to cover the entire wall next to the line with posters announcing community performances.  In Seattle, this is the best way to find intimate chamber music concerts and fringe theater.  It changes every three weeks and is quite dense with information.  And guess what?  It stimulates conversation among our customers, a double win…community connection and mind food while waiting.

As they shuffle forward they are also paraded past our retail display case.   Again, the wait is “shorter” if you have something to do or look at.  And while waiting they might decide that a set of Vivace porcelain cups is just the thing for their Mamas birthday.

Next they proceed past the pastry case to the grinder area where the barista working shots takes their order.  The Vivace machines are set low enough so that the customer gets full eye contact with the barista making the coffee to enhance communication.

As they order the barista repeats the order and hits the grinder switch.  Let’s peek behind the bar now.

The grinder station is designed to have three grinders side-by-side for Vita,  Dolce, and D-caf.  The “dump box” for spent coffee is just a steel reinforced rectangular hole with a rubber bumper that empties into a 33 gal. trash can beneath the counter.

Under counter Vivace has no cabinets, only MetroRack shelves that can be re-arranged and are mildew resistant.  The design is easier to keep clean, can grow with the business and is considerable cheaper than built-in cabinets.

The back bar counter is New Imperial Brown granite.  We use granite because of it’s durability and it absorbs the noise of preparation. Tamping, thumping the milk pitchers, and general high frequency noises like dish clatter  are muted by the stone.  The counter top is 33” high for best ergonomic packing posture for the average employee.  And, this height allows us to just slip in an under-counter refrigerator.

Stocking priorities behind the bar are determined by frequency of usage.  The most used items, porcelain cups are on top of the machine with back-ups right behind the barista on, you guessed it, MetroRack. To-go cups are in spring-loaded tubes right behind the barista, a turn and reach maneuver. Back-up coffee beans are one step away, as are rags, syrups.  So the theme of the entire back-bar design is to prioritize items that are used the most so that they are closer to the barista.  You must not ever waste the customers time with extra movements necessitated by haphazard storage. Also poor placement of high use items makes a difficult work environment for my staff. (Let’s face it no matter how good your coffee, or beautiful your shop is, there is nothing more tedious for the customer than dealing with unhappy employees.  For more dig up my “Culture of Excellence’ articles in my archives.)

Now we arrive at the milk presentation area. At Brix they are presenting  on the brown granite but the main bar is cut away to reveal the area as a stage.  The raised Italian stand up bar is higher and made from Caffe Forest brown marble.  The effect is to frame the lower granite counter and create a stunning visual presentation of caffe latte art being poured and offered to the guest.  The lower bar also accommodates wheel chair guests and satisfies the American Disabilities Act for a counter at their height.  Our wheel chair customers are right at home in the big show, not relegated to the end of the bar.

At the presentation counter we also have our cash register. Here the design of Vivace sacrifices a tiny bit of speed for the benefit of my talented baristi.  It is true you can go faster if the cashier is a separate station and the baristi do not handle the transaction.  This is the standard in Italy for high volume bars. But I learned from big time illusionist Lance Burton in Vegas,  that when people are amazed they are very generous.   They pour out of his show and pack his shop eager to spend $10 for a little coin slide trick that costs 25 cents to make.  I applied the lesson to Vivace.  When the barista  pours the drink and tops it with beautiful latte art, tips increase.  It is a win-win situation. To have talented people taking this art seriously, they must earn as much as possible, and tips are very important to them.

Here we separate into two groups, customers taking their coffee to go, and customers using the seating area. To go folks have a free standing condiment bar in the middle of the entrance area so they can keep the flow going and are out the door.  It is located just off the main bar area so they do not have to shuffle through the seating.

Customers enjoying coffee at the bar have room to stand a moment, read the paper or chat.  The horseshoe-shaped Italian stand-up bar is a design that has it’s genesis in the coffee itself.  Espresso and cappuccino are delicate foams.  They should be enjoyed immediately or they lose that silky mouth-feel.

Customers here to relax awhile venture into the seating area.

The seating  is designed to facilitate solo customers with long window bars up front that look out on Broadway.  Groups have a choice of  two-person or six-person tables.  The entire shop is about 2000 square feet with about 950 going to preparation, storage and a tiny office.  The rest is seating and holds about 85 people in total, with room for 15 more on our street tables..  For tables and chairs, we use dinette style to encourage people to be comfortable and break up the “marble palace” effect of our bars. (Window bars are all stone as well as the main bar.) Lighting is intimate but always just enough to read by.  We have one long (6’x18”) free standing marble bar for group discussions.  Also we have a glassed in meeting room that seats about 24 people. Our seating area has no flat screen  monitors or even a public telephone.  I want a Vivace to be an escape from all the information that bombards us daily.

Art is brought in by a professional gallery owner and rotated seasonally.  Wireless is free.

Finally, the seating area also has a children’s corner with drawing supplies and toys.  The corner is designed to be a small corral so harried parents can keep them in control and grab a moments peace.  For adults Vivace has chess sets and go-boards available.

ESPRESSO TECHNIQUE:monsooned robusta effects on flow rate

Dear patient reader, 

 

Some unexpected effects on barista techniques, specifically on  monitoring the flow rate,  have come up after we dropped robusta from our blend a couple of months ago.

 

Background: After sourcing mild flavorful robusta coffee in the mid ’90’s I have used robusta in our blends to enhance crema viscosity, mouth-feel, and duration in the cup.  Then in 2001 we finally cracked the temperature problem on the espresso machine by introducing PID control of the coffee boiler and adding a pre-heating tank for the brewing water on a two-group LaMarzocco Linea. (For details find “Italy Meets Omega” in my archives at www.espressovivace.com/archives).

When the temperature of the brewing water is held constant at 203 degreesF. (at sea level) we were able to preserve the natural sugars present in our roast through the brewing cycle into the cup.  Our espresso became much sweeter.   I immeadiately noticed that the crema became very fragile and the duration became 30 seconds instead of lasting for over one minute in the cup. (The mouth feel became even more heavenly though, with a downy lightness impossible to express with words.)  I called up Carl Staub the food scientist specializing in coffee and asked him “what’s up with the fragile crema Carl?”   He asked right away “Is the coffee sweeter David?”  I said it was much sweeter.  Carl said that the increased sugar content would have a negative effect on crema life in the cup….something about the sugars breaking the long-chain surfactant molecules responsible for stable foam.

 

So finally in early 2009 I have concluded that crema longevity of sweet Northern Italian espresso is not helped by the addition of robusta in the blend. We have had an all arabica blend for about two months.

 

What I did not expect was the effect on flow rate management by the barista.  Previously my pour would slow down towards the end of the shot noticeably.  This quality is attributed to the use of conical grinders at Vivace that produce micro-particles that add much to the flavor and texture of our espresso.  But, they migrate down in the packed cake of coffee during brewing and make a fine mat in the bottom of the coffee basket, slowing down the flow rate.  This made my baristi struggle a bit to hit the mark of 23 seconds for 1 and 3/4 oz dpouble shot as they had to guess where it would end up as it slowed to a stop just at the finish line in the cup.

So why has it changed?  The robusta we were using is Monsooned Indian Robusta.  One of the characteristics of monsooning coffee (paradoxically) is that the finished roasted coffee has a much lower internal moisture content, thus requiring a finer grind than the other beans in the blend. A finer grind produces  a signifigantly higher percentage of micro-particles than a slightly more coarse grind. (As a matter of fact, brewing pure monsooned robusta, the pour starts out fast and chokes to a complete stop at about the one ounce mark).

 

So the net moisture content of the blend was made a bit lower with the robusta in it. (Robusta was used at  14% of the blend).  This created a finer overall grind for the blend, the effect was a slight increase in micro-particles in the blend creating the problem of the slowing flow rate of the coffee. With this coffee not present in the blend the total moisture contect increased a bit, leading to a slightly more coarse grind and less particle migration during the brewing cycle.  Now we have more control over flow rate and shot cut-off, one of the truly dominant factorsa in a perfect cup.

After twenty-one years you can see why I am not bored with my beloved tricky coffee. It always throws us a curve ball.

 

 

 

made

Equipment Review-Slayer Espresso Machine

Dear Reader,

Here are a couple of pictures from my visit to Slayer.  My complete test of the integrity of the brewing system will come later this month.  But, just looking at it I am reminded of the espresso machine “sculptures” created by Kees Vander Westen.  I can tell you now that the look,  and feel, of this elegant machine leave no doubt that Eric Perkunder and Dan Urweiler have created a very beautiful work of art.

A tasty little number…the action and wooden paddles give the feel of a being at the helm of a fine yacht.

Schomer at bat….I will post a complete review as soon as it becomes available to test.  Dan and Eric have taken a bit of advice from me on their group head and that is what we are waiting for.

Artisan Business-synergies

Dear Reader,

Sorry for slow posts lately, I am on vacation in Montana with my sons Taylor, and Andre.  When I return to Seattle I will research the new machine, Slayer, and post a review.  Hwoever, while casting hoppers into the Montana rivers I often ponder the beautiful synergies that develop around a business if passion, rather than strictly cash, are the core values over time.

 

In our case, Espresso Vivace is 21 years old.  It is true I shamelessly set out to create a legend from the beginning, but floating down the river of time it seems that perfecting espresso is much more compelling than legend management activities like seminars and symposiums.  So I am lucky, my core value  trurns out to be perfecting espresso as a culinary art.  As I have pointed out in past articles on staff culture,  knowing thyself is paramount in creating a passion driven business, and a small business will strip you to your core values in a few years due to it’s difficulty.

So if you live for the perfect curve in a glass bowl, or the sublime patina on a violin body, or even the fragrance of freshly roasted coffee, if you can actually form a business around it beautiful things sprout all around it like flowers after a desert rain.

Many aware people on every corner of our Earth are very interested in sustainability right now.  Since my Greenpeace days I have been one of them.  In coffee this is often labeled organic, shade grown, or bird friendly. What I find is that pursuing pure sweet arabica coffees without compromise means that the farms we buy from have shade trees, clean water, and do not use harsh chemical fertilizers.  If the farms are not sustainable, the coffee can taste acidic when roasted to a Northern Italian degree.   Shopping sustainably  is more important then posting signs in your shop advertising sustainability.  And key to this essay, it is just an artist persuing a beauftiful goal…creating sweet caffe espresso, it is not necessary to hold the world on your shoulders.

 

The same can be said for fair trade issues.  When buying the best mild arabicas we pay well above the benchmark set for Fair Trade.  And as you know, underpaid, unhappy workers can not produce top quality in any endeavor.   So the pursuit of the sweet coffee also encompasses equitible treatement of the the people harversting and processing these coffees.  

 

Another less obvious aspect of running these espresso bars for the purpose of creating coffee as art, is the effect that competition has on issues like racial, or gender discrimination.  The model leap frogs the entire problem.  In Seattle I cannot compete if I am so stupid the I cannot recognize talent because it happens to  occur in a black person, or some exotic gender bender.  My competitors, which there are MANY, will clean my clock if have a bias against  a class of people before I even meet them.

 

There are also very sublime things that begin percolating on both sides of the counter in an artisn coffee business.  On our side, Vivace’s fidelity to coffee as an art gives young talented people something to believe in.  And, the ones that truly love coffee stay for years because of it .   They come to work happy and eager to create beauty in the aroma and appearance of our cappuccino, and caffe macchiato.  The entire business becomes a pleasure to run.

I say both sides of the counter because the customers also form a community around the belief that when they walk in the door, they are getting something that transcends commerce.  We live in their imaginations, we actually mean something to them on a personal level. . This was powerfully illustarted to me when we lost the Roasteria to Sound Transit.  I built Brix on the other end of Broadway, with  very little foot traffic, and no institutional support.  I opened Friday Sept. 26th with no ads and not even a sign over  the door.  On Saturday it was packed, and I mean PACKED.  When the customers really love the coffee they treat the staff very well and they are free to be artists, which as you might know, need a lot of attention.

 

OK I blasted through some very interesting subjets.  For a complete development, and a chance to weigh in yourself, come to my talk at Seattle’s September Coffee Fest.

Artisan Business-Service Memo

Dear Readers,

This is one of my favorite pieces to try to describe what we do as espresso pros….it started out as an in-house Quality Control (QC) memo but I hope you find it useful.

David

Professional Barista-
Mission, Style and Artistry
10.1.04

The espresso pro is so many things at once, a host, an artist in a highly technical culinary art, a performer on an exotic glittering stage, counselor, listener, friend and purveyor of caffeine.  People come in dim and dappled and they need their coffee. We do our magic and shazam, time to rock and roll.  (The ultimate transformation by coffee has been depicted in a Gennedy Taratofsky episode of “Dexter” entitled “Coffee”.) This the first reality of the barista: seeing and greeting people that may not be ready to face the world.

Here I reveal my dinosaur leanings…after seventeen years I am very concerned to be a good, approachable host.  What is the style that allows a pro to put people at ease that are shuffling along pre-coffee in the morning?  It is compassionate listening that makes you approachable day after day by the widest variety of people.  Many espresso bar owners advocate a high chat style in a barista with lots of intrusive personality and flattering comments.  I call this the personality trap.  It may increase sales for a year or so, but ultimately the chatty one moves on, and the many of her customers may go with her.  Putting out a lot of chat is also difficult on the barista, seeing 400 people a day, and they will burn out.  To be a long term pro, a barista must conserve energy and use it where it counts, speed and quality.  Also, if you are intent on making people feel great with flattering chat, you attract people that need that.  Again, my approach is old school: I believe that when they come in my door they want a cup of coffee, my customers already have a life.

(Therein lies my only issue with the barista contests.  They are very good for highlighting this new profession and developing skills to create beautiful espresso coffee.  And they offer a few winners a career path in barista training and consultation. But they focus so much on the barista as a sort of a star that the young winners can get a self centered attitude and come to believe the whole thing of being a pro-barista is a showcase for their talents. Perhaps points for gracious, approachable style should be awarded. A customer can feel left out of this quite easily…and ordering a cappuccino can feel like getting guitar lessons from a rock star.)

So the encounter begins with eye contact.  I would like my barista to make eye contact with anyone within the door within a few moments after they have crumpled in.  Human beings are an aggressive, territorial species, and this says “ welcome to my space”.  A nod to say”be right with ‘ya” is all you may have time for, that’s fine, the eye contact says welcome.  Once they are in it is time for…

THE ORDER
This business is based on regular customers.  And if your concept is gourmet, the customer is possessed of enough sensitivity to appreciate the difference in your espresso.  A sensitive person may not want a lot of personal conversation every day before coffee so I teach my staff to try to stay away from leading questions such as “how ‘ya doing today?”  (Whadda ya’ mean how am I doin’ today? I am doin’ without my coffee that’s how.)  Focus the encounter right away on the customers needs, using phrases like “what can I get ‘ya?”,  “coffee time?” or that reliable old standby “good morning”. Keep it simple and welcoming to be approachable every day.

Then, you listen and get it right.  Repeat the order back to them, emphasize the details they have stressed such as not too hot, or vanilla but not too sweet.  The number one key to speed on a bar is getting the order right the first time. To endear them to you forever memorize the drink within two visits and simply greet them with “the usual today?”.  People yearn to be acknowledged and listened to in our highly paced urban cultures and this is how we honor their choice to come in…we listen.  When they need to talk you will know it.  And, of course we chat when a customer initiates it and we have time.  We would not be in this business if we did not like people.

So first and always you are a respectful, approachable host to your establishment.

THE PERFORMANCE
is a dance of fluid efficiency.  As a performance art, making espresso is clearly a case of the form following the function.  The function, of course, is to prepare the finest espresso drinks in the shortest amount of time.  And because it is a culinary art, people will consume the coffee, so every action must ooze confidence.  This was the quality I most admired in the Italian baristi I observed, a rock solid underlying confidence that infused their motions with almost feline grace.    And moving with a silky smooth physical style mimics the beauty of the espresso oozing from the spouts, or the velvet undulations of the steamed milk forming the rosetta patterns in the cup.  Smooth efficiency is also the number two key to speed on a bar.  Rushing will slow you down with mistakes and creates anxiety in the customers watching your performance.  At best, the  performance of the barista and the culinary art being created share same flowing style. And as any serious music student knows, the key to confident performance is in the preparation.

First, set the stage.  Any smooth performance begins with all the props being where they should be.  Arrange your work area according to your working style.  For me, milk containers should be opened in advance ( I hate wrestling with the little plastic rings, or worse, forcing open reluctant paper cartons in a slam), and arranged for easy access in  your refrigerator. Syrup bottles are shiny, not sticky, and arranged in order of usage, with vanilla and almond right up front.  The all-important rag hierarchy is established with a porta-filter wiping rag, counter-top rags (sanitized), steamer rag, and floor rags to act as  mini-mops for small disasters.  Back-up rags are one step away.  Cups both porcelain and paper are clean and well stocked.  Porcelain, of course are stocked on top of the espresso machine to pre-heat them.  Back-up stock is one step away.  Grinders should be detailed  and stocked with fresh coffee, the back-up coffee within arms reach.  Utensils, coffee brushes, scrubbing pads for the brass brewing surfaces, a small tool kit, band aids, pens, foam spatulas, and on and on…everything where it should be before the door is opened.  Beginning to get the picture…

Good, because you are an important aspect of the picture.  The espresso professional, at minimum, should present a clean appearance in grooming and clothing.  Beyond that minimum, some style and flair is nice.  Me, I favor dark tight fitting knits and a black or dark brown four-way apron around the waist.  No chicken slaughtering, full coverage apron for me. (Yes, yes…I know that I cut my first video, Caffe Latte Art in a very purple bib-apron….ahhh…whadda ‘ya gonna do?)  I like to look sharp and sassy, vaguely Euro-mutt, and always urban.  For my staff I allow a wide range of personal style because I need them to be comfortable first and foremost to do a top job.  But they must be clean.

Because it is a culinary art polished professionalism is the best style.  This can be reflected in each motion a barista makes, packing, steaming, and pouring. One of my five-year baristi, Kasey, displays his artistry from the moment he picks up the packer. He has a flourish when he a picks up the packer to address the coffee.  He sweeps it off the counter and the packing head sort of does a little circular motion on the way to the porta-filter, which he repeats after tapping.  The circular embellishment is not dramatic and large, it is smooth and subtle, having developed naturally over thousands of shots.  You have to be watching to notice…beautiful.  It is his signature as a very experienced culinary artist.

Free pouring caffe latte art is the grand finale in this two minute dance.  Even after sixteen years of watching these patterns ooze forth from our steam pitchers I still find them mesmerizing, and so do our customers.  It is a classic finish that will stand the test of time.  The beauty of the free poured patterns is that they are a natural extension of the behavior of the two liquids, espresso and steamed milk, combining.  The sensuous, flowing form of the rosetta pattern echoes the viscous beauty of the espresso pour itself.   They are silky foams doing what they want to do.  The velvet beauty of the rosette is accomplished with an effortless flick of the wrist, and is never labored or time consuming.  Again, it is the form following the function that is the mark of the professional.

For heavier foam, such as we prepare for cappuccino and espresso macchiato, the heart shape is my favorite to pour.  The master of these patterns is Luigi Lupi. He is a very talented Italian barman, working in Verona Italy, that has decided to share his artistry with the world through a video entitled “Decorated Cappuccinos”.

There is another school of latte and cappuccino art that employs a scribe-like tool to draw the foam into beautiful patterns reminiscent of the swirls employed by French pastry chefs.   Although these cappuccini are beautiful, laboring over the customers coffee with a tool just will not do on an espresso bar. For me personally, I would not appreciate a barista bending over my cappuccino and tooling it.  These beautiful patterns would work well in a classy restaurant where the waiter simply appears from the kitchen with the artistic cappuccino. There is a master in Australia, George Sabados, sharing his knowledge of these creations in a video entitled “Coffee Making Skills”.

Counselor, Listener, Friend

Over the years I have had a number of strange encounters between baristi and my customers.  I will never forget a strapping young man that worked in construction and bristled with masculine energy and coiled muscles, walking in to complain about rudeness he felt he had received at my sidewalk bar down the street.  He had been coming for years and as he began to talk about his encounter his lower lip began trembling, his face grew red, and he began to cry.  In his mind, he had been betrayed by a friend.

I have seen repeats of this scenario many times in sixteen years. There is something about making coffee for someone every day that transcends commerce.  Perhaps it is our compassionate listening style that slips us past people’s urban defenses.  But, people will bond with a good barista.  This vulnerability on the part of regular customers requires compassion and kindness on the part of the barista.

However, when you see hundreds of people a day a pro barista might run into a few that are not worthy of kindness.  For us the customer is always right, and if this does not prove to be the case, the customer is gone.  I empower my staff to “eighty-six” abusive customers telling them that in my absence the barista on duty is the host of this espresso bar.  In my sixteen years this has led to one or two instances of a customer being asked to seek coffee elsewhere.  My people are professional baristi and are given my respect when they don the apron. Trust is the only way to manage people with the sensitivity and intelligence to produce espresso on our level, and knowing they have my trust relaxes them and fosters the confidence that is the basis of the whole bar persona.

If a pattern of customer vs.barista squabbles develops then of course the barista is gone.

Clearly we have a new profession.  To learn the intricacies of espresso preparation requires years of experience.  We have shown the pro-barista to be a culinary artist  and performance artist at the same time.  This begs the question of salary-how can we espresso bar owners ever pay them enough to keep the good ones in the job?  There is a limit to the posted price for espresso drinks.  Artistic coffee can go as high as 20% over the corporate chains, maximum.  Even charging that much is risky.  Fortunately, espresso lovers are very appreciative of the artistic work that we do-they pay my people directly.

The answer lies in bar design to encourage tipping.

If you have ever seen the crowd in Lance Burton’s magic shop in Vegas after his act you will see an amazing sight.  Normally sane people are just tripping over themselves to buy 5 cent “Coin Vanishing” gimmicks for $10 each.  It proves that if you amaze and inspire people their wallets just fall open.  The same is true for the espresso performance.  So place the cashier adjacent to the final pouring area.  A customer is paying as the drink is flowing into the cup, saying “Oh my god…that’s so beautiful I hate to drink it” and stuffing bills into the tip jar.

 

Artisan Business-Hello Brix

After “Goodbye Roasteria” I wanted to post a piece about the new bar we built on Broadway at Brix Condominiums.  As you know if you have been reading here, I found out that I was losing my Roasteria Vivace over three years ago.  I have mentioned that we had no advertising and completely packed this place the day after opening, a phenomenon I attributed to the power of appealing to the imaginations of our customers by staying true to our charter : to research, develop, and promote caffe espresso as a culinary art.  When you do not sell out, a coffee ompany can transcend commerce and take a place in people’s hearts.

Yada, yada, yada….we got that I think.

 

What I have not mentioned is how perfect Brix came out.  The shop is exactly as beautiful as it appeared in my imagination in the months of design and the grind of construction.

 

The counters…

 

Our serving area is designed to look like a small theater…with Imperial Brown granite elegantly surrounded with Caffe Forest Brown marble featuring a swept back curve for each side of the lowered portion.  Lowering the main bar here was the idea of Lisa P. who has been with Vivace since 1989.  She is pictured in the painting below the rim of the bar at the old cart, handing a coffee to Gunars Berzins, an eccentric Broadway figure who helped open the cart from 1988 until 1992.  The lowered section of bar meets ADA code as well for handicapped access.

 

 I designed around this stone color, Caffe Forest Brown and for the first time we have no green in the shop.  The colors are brown, yellow and blood red in small quantities as an accent. Here we are looking dowen the counter from the serving area. Note the small imperfections in the radius of the bar top.  Caffe Forest Brown marble gets it’s beauty from the red veining within the brown and this is a challenge on radius cuts due to it’s softness.  I think the slight wobble in the curvature is very charming and gives the counter a hand done feel.

 

The walls came out a perfect yellow.  An artist named Paul Morris applied seven coats of” Shimmer Stone” to get the yellow just right.

The best thing about Brix however is the clientele.  Brix is surrounded by N. Capitol Hill, home to the sweetest people in Seattle.

It is actually over 100 degrees in Seattle today, an all time high I think.  I will post this soggy entry and promise to wow you next time with “BarPro” an in-house customer service essay I wrote about five years ago

Equipment Review-Anfim Super Caimano Grinder

The Super Caimano by Anfim is a flat burr grinder available with a reduced  head speed of 800 rpm.   The burr is 75mm wide and will grind a double shot of espresso in about 12 seconds.  This is the first time I have been able to recommend a flat burr grinder since the Mazzer M-100 was around.

Remember, conical burrs will produce espresso crema that is thicker, and contains more aroma and flavor than flat burrs in general.  The reason is the production of micro-particles in the conical grind.  However tasty these micro-particles are, they are also a bit of a devil for the pro-barista because they migrate down in the cake of packed coffee during the extraction and slow down the flow rate.  On temperature stabilized espresso machines like the Synesso Cyncra or GB- series from LaMarzocco flow rate becomes very critical for sugar preservation. 

Flat burs, here shown with optional titanium coating, hold an edge here.   They produce very consistent particle sizes in the grind  and it is a lot easier to extract shots with perfect flow rate.  (In our case we are timing a shot at 23 to 25 seconds.)  Compared to conical burrs it is a bit of a trade off between potentially extracting  more  body and aroma and missing the shot timing more often on the bar.  ( With our roast slow pours result in hollow tasting shots and fast pours, by far the greatest sin, become  sour/astringent.)  At the end of the day I’m a gambler though, and will stick with conical burrs but I really liked this grinder, enough to bring it to your attention.

Quality

Machining and workmanship are first rate, on a par with Mazzer and Compak in this regard.  The doser is particularly smooth and stout,  though of course, archaic for those that grind by the cup.  I do not know if Anfim plans a direct dosing model.

Heat

A far as controlling heat transfer to the burrs the machine rates above average.  This model comes with a vent fan, but the grinding head is direct-drive and is coupled to the motor through a metal drive shaft.  Despite being direct-drive though it remained cool on a Vivace morning shift until almost 11am.  It was a Saturday at  Brix so that is probably 65 shots per hour, 325 shots total, which I found to be surprisingly good performance.  At the end of the day however,  this a light volume grinder. I think it could do fine for  shops making 30 shots/hour.  We use them for D-Caf.

The Shot

The pour though, as I mentioned, was a joy on the bar.  It was so consistent from shot to shot and even my head trainer, Don Jones, liked working on this machine a lot.  One drawback though is that adjusting the grind is done with an incremental collar and is not infinite.  It is a step by step grind adjust and the perfect pour is often between settings.  On the collar there are currently 70 holes, producing 70 possible grind settings.  Anfim is increasing this to 90 on the next shipment according to Mark Barnett who distributes this grinder with his Synesso machnines.  (Mark has also mentioned an infinite, stepless grind adjustment is on the way.)

The grinder is available with an electronic timer allowing the motor to run just long enough to grind the shot for you.  It is possible to adjust the timer to 1/10th of a second intervals for dosage control.

Overall flow-rate is easier to control on this grinder compared to  our DRM conicals, even considering the step grind adjust, because of the consistent particle size.

It is possible to quote the fragrance of the coffee in the shot but flavor lags a wee bit in intensity compared to the same coffee prepared with conical burrs, and mouth-feel is lighter and less silky.  But it is easier to hit the pour with this flat burr machine….you decide what works for you.

EQUIPMENT REVIEW LaMarzocco GB-3

Dear Readers,

The Shot

How the world does turn…just a few years ago sweet caffe espresso was impossible due to inadequate machine temperature stability, now you can pull perfect shots right in your own kitchen.

 

 

Pictured above is the LaMarzocco GB-3.  This machine has PID control of the brewing temperature combined with LaMarzocco’s superior “water jacket” group head that brings all that wonderful temperature stability  right to the coffee bed with unfailing fidelity.  The machine is capable of perfect caffe espresso….coffee that tastes just like the freshly ground beans smell.  

The distribution block just above the screen is all stainless steel as well.  Stainless does not contribute that rancid bite in the coffee  that brass does and contains no lead.  This helps produce a cleaner taste but you need to be sure the machine is seasoned after cleaning.  Stainless steel will contribute a slight metallic note to the cofffee if no coffee oils are present on the brewing surfaces.   (This is true of all espresso machines-too clean is not optimal.  Fresh, not rancid, coffee oils must be present for the top coffee.)

 

Steamer

The steamer is lever operated and will produce perfect cappuccino foam in a 1/3 Litre   pitcher.  The key is t be able to roll the entire volume of milk to produce the chiffon texture and it’s no problem on the GB-3.

Reliability

Not much has been written by me on LaMarzocco’s reliability…an oversight I regret.  When something is always there for you you tend to take it for granted. ( The original PID prototype, a two-group Linea that I modified on Ash Wednesday 2001, is still pulling perfect shots for us at my roasting plant.) 

The GB-3 is very reliable and is backed by LaMarzocco’s nation wide distribution network for parts and technical support in every major city. (Incidentally, the Franke nightmare is over and LaMarzocco regains controle of their distribution network this coming Monday….yeah!)

Applications

I have to believe that this is the ultimate gourmet restaurant machine as well as the perfect home machine.  The machine is not cheap, but it operates on 110V power (for the US market), and contains it’s own water tank and waste water resouviour under the grate.  This means you save a lot of money on installation which can offset th price of the machine.

Toy Value

A  home machine simply must look cool.  With lots of chrome combined with Marzocco’s retro oval logo and brown panels this machine weighs in heavy on toy value…the elusive eye candy.

Artisan Business Roasteria Goodbye

In the artist’s rendition above we see Tricia Rhodes and Mary Michaud bringing their classy style to the front bar.  For us Mary and Tricia defined the warm, smooth service style of the Roasteria in their eight years of artistry.  In the upper left corner you see artist Kurt Wenner installing his mural “An Italian in Algiers” after the opera of the same name by Rossini.  To the left are the windows overlooking the park…(it was especially beautiful when it snowed).  In the center we see the the “elements” series of espresso education and innovations that occured there.  And in the center of the bar our Diedrich IR-12 roaster appears ina bit of digital wizardry.  (The producation roasting was actually moved years ago to 1512 11th Ave. across thge park from the shop.)    And on the right I appear at my sample roaster selecting coffees to use in the blends.  The Roasteria was where I did all my sample roasting and blending research until the day it closed.

 

Although I had years of advance warning that Sound Transit was going to build the Capitol Hill station there,  it did not seem real that it was going to be razed.  But finally, on Sunday July 13th 2008 it was finally time to say goodbye to our beloved Roasteria Vivace.

This leafy corner came to my attention in 1991 the year Geneva and I had our first son, Taylor. Although it was tucked away a bit, Iwas swayed by my desire to gaze out on the trees in the park for the rest of my life, making the beautiful coffee, and we opened on September 15th 1992. Locating in a leafy hideout was ana act of youthful hubris on my part and business was slow for the first few years.

With no advertising, it became popular because of you dear coffee lover.  You not only sought us out but told your friends and families.  Thank you very much.

The Roasteria was the place where caffe espresso was perfected (again with the hubris) ass a culinary art. Our delicious, swirly research was documented there in a book and two videos that have gone world wide as the standard course for preparing and pouring espresso coffee. In filming Caffe Latte Art in 1994 the store appears as half the original size with the Probat L-12 up front where we did all our roasting until 1995.

When I filmed “Techniques of the Barista” there in 1996 you see the full size shop with the Wenner mural over my shoulder. And, I was younger, I had brown hair.

They say that what ever does not kill you makes you stronger, and clouds have silver linings.  In our case this has been true.  Our new shop is on North Broadway at the Brix condominiums (532 Broadway Ave E.).   We opened on September 26th 2008, a Friday.  We had no signs, and of course no advertising.  The first day broke even and the second day was standing room only.  Our daily business volume exceeded the Roasteria within three weeks after opening and…we own it!   We have no lease.  The mural is there, we have our children’s corner, and finally I have my perfect yellow walls that I always secretely yearned for.

Artisan Business-customer service theory

Dear Reader,

 

Customer service does not occur in a vacuum.  It is a dynamic. living thing where the customer, over time, is as important as the employee in enhancing, or destroying, fine attentive service.

Let me give an example. In 1989 Vivace opened a cart in the financial district of downtown Seattle at 5th and Union.  I had counted pedestrian foot traffic at over 10,000 people/day walking past the corner and thought I can’t lose here it’s a “no-brainer”. 

 It was a very left brain analysis and completely devoid of any intuiition.  If I had just stood on the corner with my eyes closed, smelling the diesel and hearing the roaring buses climbing past the courtyard, I would have run screaming from this “opportunity”.  It was, and is, a dirty stressed out place in the city.  No one with any artistry in their soul could work there….but I was all ego and ambition and thought of it a the shining center of Seattle.

Three years later we pulled the plug and built the Roasteria on Capitol Hill.  In those three  years I gained valuable experience in customer service.  (Remember, experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you thought you wanted).

The lessons I learned are what this short essay is about.  I worked morning shift before Taylor was born in 1991 and the first thing I noticed was a lack of loyalty.  One day they buy my beautiful latte made with sweet espresso and topped with the heart shape from perfectly steamed milk , and the next day the same person would dash by with  Charbucks or an SBC cup, and man that personally pissed me off.

Pretty soon no one on my staff wanted to work there.  They would do it for Vivace but were clearly unhappy after the first year. We had problems with employee theft, showing up on time, abusing equipment, and running a sloppy cart.  It just kept getting harder and harder and culminated with me hiring a opportunistic manager that tried to sue Vivace for a hostile work environment.  (We won but not before gaining more “experience”).   I thought I was in the wrong business for awhile. 

 

Really, I just had a beautiful business concept in trhe wrong place.  The district was largely inhabited by people that felt trapped in dead end jobs shuffling paper for the banks or working the teller lines.  They were largely numb to the finer pleasures of life and took no joy in our lovely coffee.  

As I have illuminated in my “Culture of Excellence” articles (see www.espressovivace.com/archives ) coffee at the top level can only be made by artistic people motived by the beauty that we find in the perfect extraction or latte art pattern.  It is a culinary art first, but like the moves of a master sushi chef it is also performance art.   These artists require audience appreciation to remain happy at work. 

So my theory is that if you do not have appreciative customers you cannot run the bar, the whole thing just crumbles in your hands.  The unhappy people at 5th and Union were vampires draining the joy out of myself and my staff.  Location is not a numbers game in the city, it is all about finding happy people that are available for culinary experience.