How to Clean & Maintain Your Espresso Machine
You can’t serve good coffee if your espresso machine is dirty or in need of repair. Cleaning and maintaining your equipment should be one of...
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September 23, 2026
As automation accelerates, does coffee need to invest more in baristas?
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Key takeaways Automation should remove repetitive tasks, not the value of hospitality. Roasting and inventory automate fastest; guest connection still can't. Connection, teaching, and community building are skills machines can't replace. Owners' use of automation's savings decides whether baristas actually benefit. Automation has changed how the coffee industry works, from farm to café counter. Producers use machinery to cut manual labour, and roasters rely on… read more
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Key takeaways Automation should remove repetitive tasks, not the value of hospitality. Roasting and inventory automate fastest; guest connection still can't. Connection, teaching, and community building are skills machines can't replace. Owners' use of automation's… read more
How Does Elevation Affect Your Ideal Coffee Brew Temperature?
There’s so much to consider when brewing exceptional coffee: grind size, brew time, pulsing and water dispersal, brew temperature… and elevation? Yes, elevation. While some...
5 Barista Champions on How They Chose Their Competition Coffee
If you were to compete in the World Barista Championship, which coffee would you use? This is one of the hardest and most important choices...
Why Trade Shows Are Great Opportunities for Coffee Education
Trade shows are a marketing investment, a networking opportunity, a place where contracts are signed and deals made – but that’s not all. They also...
How Have World AeroPress Champion Recipes Changed Over The Years?
It’s been ten glorious years since the first World AeroPress Championship: ten years of experimental, creative, boundary-pushing – and, above all, fun – performances. When...
Testing Water in Pursuit of Excellent Coffee
As I watch the slow drip of my morning pour over, I like to tell myself that this coffee counts towards my daily intake of...
How Can Water Flow Rate Help You Pull Better Espresso Shots?
Have you ever struggled to keep your espresso extraction time consistent? Perhaps you’ve checked the machine to confirm the pressure and temperature are steady. You’re...
How Cafés Can Blend Quality, Efficiency, & Customer Service
Handling never-ending lines of people waiting anxiously for their coffees? Taking complex and extensive drink orders while trying to maintain quality? Serving curious customers new...
What Café Owners & Baristas Need to Know About Water Quality
Great coffee beans: check. Great equipment: check. Great recipe: check. So why doesn’t your brewed coffee taste great? It could be the water. Water makes...
How Grind Size Can Help You Brew Better-Tasting Coffee
So, you want your coffee to taste even more delicious, sweet, and balanced. You want that incredible aroma and lingering aftertaste. And you want this...
Coffee Industry Looks to Brazil as It Hosts 4 World Championships
2018 will be a good year for Brazil and International Coffee Week (ICW): the SCA just announced that the country will host the World Brewer’s Cup...
How to Increase or Reduce Coffee Acidity During Brewing
Coffee acidity is a divisive term in coffee brewing. For some, it signals sharp, sour flavours. For others, it’s a revered attribute of a high-quality...
Lessons From Nora Šmahelová on How to Build a Career in Coffee
Once you get into coffee, it can be hard to get out of it. Or so Nora Šmahelová would tell you. She’s a German Barista...
How to Limit Water Temperature Variation for Better Coffee
Water: it makes up 94–98% of your cup of coffee. But it’s not just the biggest ingredient in your beverage. Water temperature (along with its...
How To Better Control Your Espresso’s Brew Ratio
Brew ratio is the heart of any espresso-based recipe. But are you confident in your ability to control it to get the best possible shot,...
Coffee Cupping: How to Use Solutions to Improve Your Palate
A well-trained palate is a useful tool. It will help you to better appreciate your coffee and the wonderful nuances in the cup. It may...