An official trade guild of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), the Coffee Technicians Guild (CTG) is dedicated to supporting the coffee industry through the development of professional technicians and to being the voice of technicians within the coffee community. Founded in 2016, the guild hopes
Why do we need a Coffee Technicians Guild? We are just talking about maintaining and repairing coffee equipment, right? In fact, this is a critical piece in the puzzle at the coffee retail level and—as of now—there is no definition for what a coffee technician is, nor are there any standards for what they do. This is an opportunity for Coffee Technicians to work with SCA to create this definition, develop standards, build an accreditation program, provide training and resources, as well as foster communication within the industry. Although this industry that has been around for well over three decades, we are now at the dawn of a new era for coffee technicians.
One of the best ways to build this community is through events and educational programs that provide opportunities to develop skills and learn best practices. The CTG just held its second Coffee Technicians Guild Summit in the U.S. and geared up for its first Summit in Europe, which was held 16-17 November 2017 in Susegana, Italy. Event sponsors Astoria and BWT Best Water Technology provided the venue and equipment to make this CTG Summit possible. This event included two full days of diverse workshops, inspiring lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and team challenges. Mulmar Operation and Service Manager Paul Smith and one of Mulmar engineer Romain Sanchez joint the event.
The summit was held at Astoria (Via Condotti Bardini, 1, 31058 Susegana TV, Italy), and began with an optional badge pick-up and reception at Hotel Astoria on Wednesday, November 15. The following day, attendees enjoyed listening to presentations from industry experts and take part in workshops.
Lectures for Thursday and Friday included the following sessions:
Tracking Your Extraction: A Technical Evaluation with Marco Wellinger of ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) exploring the different chemical and physical markers that characterize an extraction.
Basic Principles of Electricity with Mike Khan of La Marzocco focusing on the core concepts of electricity, how its generated, how it is used in coffee equipment, and techniques for considering and diagnosing electrical circuits.
The Effects of Grinders on Roasted Coffee with Simon Green of Bunn UK Ltd. offering a comparative discussion of Burr styles, hot vs. cold grinding, dosing technologies and a look to the future of grinding.
Test and Measurement Instruments for Your Coffee Machine with Allen Boney of RS Components discussing electrical test instruments and how they can be applied to coffee machines.
Water and Machines: A Love/Hate Relationship with Sergio Barbarisi of BWT Water + More Italia exploring some of the ways in which water could be dangerous for our equipment and how to achieve optimal water.
Coffee Equipment – Preventative Maintenance with Steve Murdoch of Costa Coffee providing insights on the effects of equipment failure on customer perception, brand loyalty, and ultimately customer spend and company profit.
The Science of Cleaning Products with Damian Marshall of Urnex exploring what makes an effective cleaning product and when to use a particular product on your machine.
