Spot the errors in my barista routine [video] - Page 2

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
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RapidCoffee
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#11: Post by RapidCoffee »

Top three egregious errors:
1. Failed to weigh dose and extraction to the nearest microgram, take refractometer readings, and Scace the temperature/pressure between shots.
2. Forgot to add pumpkin spice latte mix to the milk before frothing.
3. Did everything manually, instead of using the K-cup attachment. (What do you think the "K" in K-cup stands for, anyway?)

Under the circumstances, your routine looks fine to me. I'd be happy to slurp down one of those cappuccinos while finalizing the paperwork on my next Porsche. :P
John

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HB (original poster)
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#12: Post by HB (original poster) »

Thanks for the critiques, I think that's all the errors, except maybe one more... placing the tamper on the counter?

I asked Lem Butler, whose won the state barista championship 4x; he says there's no written rule about stowing the tamper, but the countertop is considered a germ magnet. He recommended hanging it on the grinder fork or parking it in a tamper cozy or on a tamper mat (he used to stow it on the top of the grinder lid, but that drags coffee grounds around, leading to potential deductions).

While not mentioned explicitly, I think my dosing and milk filling should be more accurate. I struck off too much coffee into the hopper. I prepared around 50 drinks and the dump pan had way too much wasted milk. IIRC, in a barista competition, they allow for no more than two finger widths of milk at the bottom of the pitcher for all 16 drinks combined.
Prescott CR wrote:I'd prep the milk before the shot, but it didn't really interfere with what you were doing.
I turned down the steam boiler pressure for slow steaming for training purposes, but normally I'd have it set fast enough to steam in 15 seconds. So with 25 seconds of espresso pour time, that gives me enough time to fill the pitcher, steam, and then stop the extraction. Prepping the milk pitcher before the extraction would increase drink-to-drink time, though arguably I could use that time to keep the workstation cleaner!
TomC wrote:...the top half of the cup is off limits to a barista's hands.
Whoops. #fail.
aecletec wrote:Does re-using old grounds count? They weren't idle for long, though.
Yes, barely a minute. That's not an error in my book, since it reduces waste.
aecletec wrote:Dirty water on the working surface.
Blame that on the installer! The driptray drainline was missing a hose clamp and dripped.
Dan Kehn

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