From pulling espresso photographs in an ice cream store to founding Espresso Machine Service Co., Spencer Perez is aware of his manner round espresso—and the equipment that makes it doable.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
ONLINE EDITOR
Photographs courtesy of Spencer Perez
On this planet of specialty espresso, few roles are as important—and as missed—because the service technician. Spencer Perez, founding father of Espresso Machine Service Co., and Chattanooga, Tennessee’s go-to man for all issues espresso tools, brings a poetic pragmatism to the craft of holding machines (and folks) operating.
From his early days pulling photographs at an ice cream store to descaling boilers in his bathtub and serving to launch the Service Layer Cooperative, Spencer’s journey blends hands-on grit with philosophical depth. On this two-part dialog, we dive into how a love for espresso, instruments, and neighborhood formed his path—and why the way forward for espresso would possibly simply rely upon the parents behind the wrench.
Barista Journal On-line: First issues first, are you able to inform us about how you bought your begin in espresso and as a espresso service technician?
Spencer Perez: My dad’s Cafe Bustelo coughing into the carafe, that’s in all probability the place it began. Waking to a small storm and the scent of moist earth. He’d let me have half a cup on occasion on Saturdays, once we labored on the automobiles or constructed bicycle ramps. By eighth grade, I used to be bringing a journey mug to high school. That 12 months, this nice ice cream and occasional store opened close to our home, and once I turned fifteen, they employed me. That was my first expertise with espresso. That was 2005.
Quick ahead ten years by way of all types of labor in a number of espresso firms—the latter three spent within the early days of PERC Espresso—and I used to be attending to know Andrew Gage, who began Velo Espresso Roasters. We’d speak a handful of instances a 12 months about our challenges promoting light-roasted espresso within the Southeast. Ultimately, he requested me to come back on as a associate, and that’s what introduced us to Chattanooga.
We did lots of work at Velo that I’m pleased with, not least of which was a bunch research with modbar. We shared our 3bar, 195°F espresso recipe with them, they usually pulled in different cafés who have been experimenting with low stress to begin to work out some concepts about all of it. These machines opened new horizons for espresso, however they weren’t particularly dependable. Or perhaps they’d have been, have been there extra good techs. I don’t know, ours broke always. My dumpy bikes did, too.
I’d taken up interest motorcycling, and the abilities I’d gained with a set of instruments made me the de facto in-house tech at Velo. Days, I designed packaging and ran QC. Nights, I descaled steam boilers within the bathtub.
In 2017, we endured a string of disappointments. Our shoestring second café wasn’t doing properly. Our chilly brew enlargement wasn’t both. Workers felt ignored. Tensions have been excessive. We have been spent.
Jacked into the pc in my windowless workplace, my ideas grew more and more idiosyncratic. I obsessed over magical roast-phase meta-ratios as silver bullets for sweetness. Manic delusions of Fibonacci spirals and non-orientable surfaces crammed my waking hours.
I used to be consuming quite a bit. I used to be over-caffeinated and underslept. It was hurting me and the corporate. I wanted a change. I wanted to work with my physique once more. To return again to earth. I purchased a scythe to chop my grass. One early Saturday morning—it’s higher with some dew on the bottom—I spotted Chattanooga wanted a technician, and I knew it needed to be me.
What does your day-to-day appear like?
I’ve been in a stable-ish morning routine for the previous couple years. Mild train at dawn, espresso on the porch, and breakfast with my daughter. My spouse Sarah runs operations at Espresso Machine Service Co. (CMSCo), and I deal with gross sales and tech help. If I don’t have one thing very first thing, we normally get to the store across the identical time, between 8:30 and 9.
Summers are completely different, it is a household enterprise. I make one other espresso and we meet for 15-30 min to assessment the day’s work orders, make clear buying requests, no matter. Then it’s into the work. Generally, we’re busy within the area with upkeep, repairs, and installations. Generally, we’ve obtained machines on the workbenches. Generally, it’s techniques growth or cleansing the lavatory. Generally, it’s conferences all day. It’s normally some mixture of the entire above. Most weeks, I spend lots of fulfilling time speaking with baristas and café house owners. That’s good power for the work. On cooler days, I’ll spend a little bit time within the hammock after lunch. That’s an essential a part of the job, too.
There’s no finish to the work, so I get to resolve once I’ve achieved sufficient. Time permitting, I would bounce in a creek, work on a private mission, or simply sit awhile and see what comes up. Then I am going dwelling to spend time with my household.
Aside from being a technician, you additionally work as a advisor, installer, and contractor—is it typical for service technicians to tackle a number of roles on this manner?
All one of the best techs I do know operate as consultants infrequently. To seek out the correct tools for a buyer, we now have to know their priorities, strengths, and weaknesses. If they need it, we will leverage our community or expertise with espresso to enhance their operation. So CMSCo. will not be “espresso consultants” per se, however we spend lots of time doing these kinds of issues.
Set up is included with the acquisition of recent business espresso machines, however not all techs set up gear they didn’t promote. We do, with some situations: specifically, a monetary association with the shopper or reseller that pretty compensates us for an professional bench take a look at, set up, and consumer coaching, which tools gross sales assist us subsidize. Compromises to that course of within the curiosity of value financial savings hardly ever go properly.
And sure, most founder-techs put on a lot of hats. It jogs my memory a little bit of the early years of American third-wave. That is nonetheless a younger commerce, largely propelled by folks with extra imaginative and prescient than cash. Individuals cautious of the corrupting affect of debt. Individuals deeply attuned to the relationships between physique, work, and neighborhood. Lengthy-gamers. We develop slowly.
What prompted you to assist facilitate the launch of the Service Layer Cooperative? What points have you ever skilled firsthand as a espresso service technician that you simply hope to deal with by way of the SLC?
Doing this properly is rewarding in so some ways, nevertheless it took me a very long time to search out stable footing. If I will help carry a richer model of my expertise with the Service Layer to extra techs, I’d prefer to.
For CMSCo., it was exhausting early on to search out steering and sources for constructing an operational basis. Producer trainings are typically rudimentary, and you’ll’t go to all of them, so typically you’re employed on unfamiliar platforms. Service Layer members have been instrumental in supporting our growth. They’ve shared arcane data, workshopped greatest practices, and mentored us. They’ve organized extra superior trainings with allied producers and adjoining specialists.
Shaping client tradition is difficult, too. Ceaselessly, we’ll get a name from somebody who had a unit put in —who is aware of by whom, (or if) it’s a mannequin we promote—a 12 months or much less into its possession. It’s not arrange proper. Or they obtained a nice deal on a “refurbished” unit. They don’t know the way to use it. They don’t know the way to backflush. Nobody ever talked to them about service. However they’ve obtained scale within the tanks, steam leaks, move fee discrepancies, they usually discovered us. Crickets from the reseller, particularly once they attempt to submit our invoice for guarantee protection.
It’s exhausting for a first-time café proprietor to know the way to navigate {the marketplace}, and techs have lots of work to do to extend visibility. I’m hoping SLC will help with schooling, client entry to nice native techs, and give you honest preparations with different distributors so everybody does properly. The co-op’s members are dedicated to deeply satisfying tools experiences for his or her prospects, which incorporates the procuring half, nevertheless it’s exhausting to spend money on that have once we’re being undercut by brokers with little regard for a similar.
We are going to launch half two of this text tomorrow.
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