
From pulling coffee pictures in an ice cream store to origination Espresso Gadget Carrier Co., Spencer Perez is aware of his means round espresso—and the equipment that makes it conceivable.
BY EMILY JOY MENESES
ONLINE EDITOR
Pictures courtesy of Spencer Perez
On this planet of strong point espresso, few roles are as very important—and as lost sight of—because the carrier technician. Spencer Perez, founding father of Coffee Machine Service Co., and Chattanooga, Tennessee’s go-to man for all issues espresso apparatus, brings a poetic pragmatism to the craft of holding machines (and society) working.
From his early days pulling pictures at an ice cream store to descaling boilers in his tub and serving to settingup the Service Layer Cooperative, Spencer’s proceed blends hands-on grit with philosophical intensity. On this two-part dialog, we dive into how a love for espresso, gear, and public formed his trail—and why the moment of espresso would possibly simply rely at the other folks in the back of the wrench.

Barista Brochure On-line: First issues first, are you able to let us know about how you were given your get started in espresso and as a espresso carrier technician?
Spencer Perez: My dad’s Cafe Bustelo coughing into the carafe, that’s most probably the place it began. Waking to a tiny hurricane and the odor of rainy earth. He’d let me have part a cup from time to time on Saturdays, after we labored at the vehicles or constructed bicycle ramps. By way of 8th grade, I used to be bringing a journey mug to college. That time, this splendid ice cream and low store opened alike our abode, and after I grew to become fifteen, they leased me. That used to be my first enjoy with coffee. That used to be 2005.
Rapid ahead ten years via a wide variety of labor in different espresso corporations—the ultimate 3 spent within the early days of PERC Coffee—and I used to be getting to understand Andrew Gage, who began Velo Coffee Roasters. We’d communicate a handful of instances a time about our demanding situations promoting light-roasted espresso within the Southeast. Ultimately, he requested me to come back on as a spouse, and that’s what introduced us to Chattanooga.

We did a bundle of labor at Velo that I’m happy with, no longer least of which used to be a gaggle find out about with modbar. We shared our 3bar, 195°F coffee recipe with them, and so they pulled in alternative cafés who had been experimenting with low drive to begin to determine some concepts about all of it. The ones machines opened fresh horizons for espresso, however they weren’t particularly worthy. Or perhaps they’d were, had been there extra just right techs. I don’t know, ours beggarly repeatedly. My dumpy motorcycles did, too.
I’d taken up pastime motorcycling, and the abilities I’d received with a suite of gear made me the de facto in-house tech at Velo. Days, I designed packaging and ran QC. Nights, I descaled steam boilers within the tub.
In 2017, we persevered a tale of disappointments. Our shoestring 2nd café wasn’t doing smartly. Our chilly brew enlargement wasn’t both. Personnel felt omitted. Tensions had been top. We had been spent.
Jacked into the pc in my windowless workplace, my ideas grew an increasing number of idiosyncratic. I obsessed over magical roast-phase meta-ratios as silver bullets for sweetness. Manic delusions of Fibonacci spirals and non-orientable surfaces stuffed my waking hours.
I used to be ingesting a bundle. I used to be over-caffeinated and underslept. It used to be hurting me and the corporate. I wished a transformation. I had to paintings with my frame once more. To come back again to earth. I purchased a scythe to decrease my grass. One early Saturday morning—it’s higher with some dew at the field—I spotted Chattanooga wanted a technician, and I knew it needed to be me.
What does your day by day seem like?
I’ve been in a stable-ish morning regimen for the age couple years. Shiny workout at break of day, espresso at the porch, and breakfast with my daughter. My spouse Sarah runs operations at Coffee Machine Service Co. (CMSCo), and I maintain gross sales and tech assistance. If I don’t have one thing very first thing, we normally get to the store round the similar pace, between 8:30 and 9.
Summers are other, this can be a nation trade. I manufacture any other espresso and we meet for 15-30 min to study the month’s paintings orders, explain buying requests, no matter. After it’s into the paintings. Infrequently, we’re busy within the garden with upkeep, maintenance, and installations. Infrequently, we’ve were given machines at the workbenches. Infrequently, it’s methods construction or cleansing the toilet. Infrequently, it’s conferences all month. It’s normally some mixture of the entire above. Maximum weeks, I spend a bundle of relaxing pace speaking with baristas and café homeowners. That’s just right power for the paintings. On cooler days, I’ll spend a slight pace within the hammock later lunch. That’s an remarkable a part of the process, too.
There’s disagree finish to the paintings, so I am getting to come to a decision after I’ve executed enough quantity. Date permitting, I would possibly soar in a creek, paintings on a private mission, or simply sit down awhile and spot what comes up. After I cross house to spend pace with my nation.

Except for being a technician, you additionally paintings as a specialist, installer, and contractor—is it standard for carrier technicians to tackle more than one roles on this means?
The entire very best techs I do know serve as as specialists from pace to pace. To seek out the precise apparatus for a buyer, we need to perceive their priorities, strengths, and weaknesses. If they would like it, we will be able to leverage our community or enjoy with espresso to fortify their operation. So CMSCo. don’t seem to be “coffee consultants” consistent with se, however we spend a bundle of pace doing the ones kinds of issues.
Set up is incorporated with the acquisition of fresh industrial coffee machines, however no longer all techs set up equipment they didn’t promote. We do, with some statuses: particularly, a monetary association with the client or reseller that rather compensates us for a professional bench check, set up, and person coaching, which apparatus gross sales aid us subsidize. Compromises to that procedure within the passion of value financial savings infrequently cross smartly.
And sure, maximum founder-techs put on a variety of hats. It strikes a chord in my memory a slight of the early years of American third-wave. That is nonetheless a tender business, most commonly propelled through society with extra ocular than cash. Nation cautious of the corrupting affect of debt. Nation deeply attuned to the relationships between frame, paintings, and public. Lengthy-gamers. We develop slowly.

What brought about you to aid facilitate the settingup of the Carrier Layer Cooperative? What problems have you ever skilled firsthand as a espresso carrier technician that you just hope to handle in the course of the SLC?
Doing this smartly is rewarding in such a lot of tactics, however it took me a protracted pace to seek out forged bottom. If I will be able to aid carry a richer model of my enjoy with the Carrier Layer to extra techs, I’d love to.
For CMSCo., it used to be withered early on to seek out steerage and sources for construction an operational foot. Producer trainings are in most cases rudimentary, and you’ll’t cross to they all, so infrequently you’re employed on unfamiliar platforms. Carrier Layer participants were instrumental in supporting our construction. They’ve shared arcane wisdom, workshopped very best practices, and mentored us. They’ve arranged extra complicated trainings with allied producers and adjoining consultants.
Shaping shopper tradition is withered, too. Regularly, we’ll get a decision from any person who had a unit put in —who is aware of through whom, (or if) it’s a fashion we promote—a time or much less into its possession. It’s no longer arrange proper. Or they were given a splendid trade in on a “refurbished” unit. They don’t understand how to worth it. They don’t understand how to backflush. Nobody ever talked to them about carrier. However they’ve were given scale within the tanks, steam leaks, stream fee discrepancies, and so they discovered us. Crickets from the reseller, particularly after they aim to post our invoice for guaranty protection.
It’s withered for a first-time café proprietor to understand how to navigate {the marketplace}, and techs have a bundle of labor to do to extend visibility. I’m hoping SLC can aid with schooling, shopper get right of entry to to splendid native techs, and get a hold of truthful preparations with alternative distributors so everybody does smartly. The co-op’s participants are dedicated to deeply gratifying apparatus reports for his or her consumers, which incorporates the buying groceries section, however it’s withered to put money into that have after we’re being undercut through brokers with slight regard for a similar.
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