Due to the demand from a number of our clients, we felt that a trip to Europe was justified to discuss with some of the manufacturers what we required from them to offer the local market. So, during the month of October, a couple of our team travelled to Europe to meet with a number of our suppliers and manufacturers and attend technical training sessions.

We had pre arranged a number of visits to various manufacturers and were very happy to be welcomed with open arms, as the manufacturers very much value the Australian coffee culture and want to learn as much as they can about it to design machines to suit the way we drink coffee.
It was in some ways surprising that most of the manufacturers stated that we are the biggest market along with North America for the high end, technically advanced and customisable models they produce.
Most of the European and Italian demand is for a more simple machine with set temperature groups, single boilers, standard cup heights and a simple semi automatic or lever operated group.
NETHERLANDS
Kees van der Westen
My first visit was to Waaire/Eindhoven in the Netherlands, “The Home of Electronics Giant Phillips”, about a 1.5 hour train ride from Amsterdam, to visit Kees Van Der Westen – a man whom I have followed with great interest and admiration for the past 15 years. I met Kees at a conference in Melbourne, and we hit it off. We studied the same degree, “Industrial Design” and share the same interests in collecting vintage signs, cars, pinball machines and last but not least, coffee. We have quite a bit in common, so I knew it was going to be a great visit.
For those of you who have been living under a coffee machine, Kees, pronounced (Case) is a Dutch Industrial Designer who in the mid 1980s started designing and producing some of the most unique and expensive coffee machines on the planet. With the use of the highest quality materials and some real technological magic, Kees espresso machines have become some of the most desirable in the world.
After firstly boarding the wrong train and then after finding the right train, I took a seat and looked out the window at the amazing countryside of the Netherlands at 6am. The morning mist started to lift and expose large windmills, endless fields of flowers and dairy cows as far as the eye could see.
Finally I arrived at the station in Eindhoven, and Kees came to collect me in his 1961 Ford Thunderbird convertible, a rare sight in this part of the world and one of my all time favourite cars. From the moment I jumped in the passenger seat, I could see where parts of the aesthetic inspiration came from for his coffee machine designs. The levers to operate the air con and wipers have an uncanny similarity to the levers on the Kees machines. We drove to his workshop, discussing collecting and restoring cars along the way.
We arrived at the factory, which was much smaller than I expected and was very well organised, with many collectables, signs, coffee machines, coke machines and even a pinball machine. My type of workplace! Kees showed me the small, humble and very slick production line consisting of no more than around 5 men building a range of espresso bling: Spirits, Mirages, and the all famous Speedster. The guys here are very dedicated and take a lot of pride in every aspect of the build, from the wiring lumes all the way to packing the machines into the custom hand made crates they are delivered in.
Everything is hand built with absolute precision, using custom engineered, local and Italian made components. There is a dedicated R&D space with a heavily wired prototype being tested for temperature at every possible orifice; the journey and research to extract the perfect espresso never stops here.
We took a short drive for some lunch at a cool little café, which of course had a Kees machine in pride of place. Here we discussed the industry and future of the industry; I was happy to hear Kees confirm that Australia is a world leader in espresso based drinks and are now having the rest of the world, including Italy, take notice.
On our return, Kees dedicated the afternoon to a technical training session, explaining the history, the innovative hydraulic system and future technology. Based around precise temperature and pressure profiling, the machines are far more than the uniquely dateless aesthetics that wrap around them. I was very impressed to learn just how far Kees has come with his products, from a humble back shed to a world wide consumer brand; I was greatly inspired. After working in the industry for 15 years, I can honestly say I have never met a man with as much dedication, depth of knowledge and commitment to both results in the cup and beauty.
Kees dropped me back at the station. After walking in to board the train back to Amsterdam, I was told that a crane had fallen over the tracks, and no trains would be leaving until the next morning. What would a European adventure be without experiences such as this! I managed to find an alternative and made it back to Amsterdam before the bars shut. Kees had made me up a list of roasters and cafés to visit during my next few days in Amsterdam, and what a list it was! A highlight was Lot Sixty One, set up by fellow Australian, Adam Craig. Located in the trendy Jordan area, Lot Sixty One roasts in house on a nice little 12 kg Probat. After two weeks on the road with reasonably average coffee, it was a delight to experience, and I felt I was back in Australia.
ITALY
HOST – La Marzocco OOTB
We travelled down to Milano for the bi-annual HOST Expo to see what was on offer from the world’s leading manufacturers. Here we spent three days putting faces to the names, talking coffee tech and getting a few sneak peeks at various prototypes inconspicuously placed in the back rooms of some exhibitors. I was blown away by a number of innovations there this year, including a heated grinder by Nuova Simonelli, a remotely iPad accessible Rancilio machine and a number of machines with scales built into the drip trays.

While in Milano we also had the privilege of attending the La Marzocco “Out of the Box” event. This ran for a number of days in conjunction with HOST and included a number of Innovative workshops and lectures from the likes of Francesco Illy (Illy Coffee) and Piero Bambi (Owner of La Marzocco). I was really impressed with the comradeship, enthusiasm and creativity from everyone I met working with LM at this event. The event also had a working model of the “Mod Bar”, invented by Corey Waldron from Seattle. Featuring a modular espresso system that has a innovative font style outlet with beautiful simplistic aesthetics and most of the working components placed below the bench in racks, it looked something like a stack of audio amplifiers and controllers.

CMA – ASTORIA / WEGA
The following week we took the train up north to Susegana, a tranquil little town just a short distance from Venice. Here we arrived in the late of the night at the Astoria Hotel, a rebuilt 19th Century building perched on a hill overlooking this picturesque Italian town. On awakening and pulling the blinds the next morning, I was greeted by an amazing view of vineyards, maple trees, birch trees and in the distance, the CMA Spa factory. As it so happens, the hotel is owned by the CMA group, founded in 1969, the makers of Wega, San Marino, Leone and Astoria espresso machines.
CMA is quite possibly the largest manufacturer of espresso machines in the world; they produce a range of machines to suit all budgets and levels of coffee production. Designed for ease of maintenance and with readily available components, CMA equipment is perfect for typical franchise stores.
We were collected after a hearty Italian breakfast and escorted to the CMA factory, where we were greeted by ASTORIA export manager Flavio Urizzi and engineer Christian Molnar. The day started with a few decent espressos of course, and then an extensive tour of the manufacturing facility. This is serious manufacturing, with the capacity to produce upwards of 75,000 machines per year. The production here reminded me of a car manufacturing plant with automation, heavy machinery, conveyer belts and robots working away. Most of the machines are manufactured here, starting from the bending and pressing of the chassis and body components to the pre-testing and packaging. I was impressed with the absolute accuracy of each operation in the build process and the minimal wastage throughout the process. The plant was absolutely spotless and runs like a well oiled “espresso” machine. There is a strong focus on the environment and green awareness. Flavio explained the company’s philosophy is inspired by lean manufacturing, in which local energy sources are put to careful use in order to operate production lines in the most efficient way possible.
After the tour, it was back to school. We entered the technical training room and got a rundown on the design, manufacture, operation and programming of the new Astoria, PLUS FOR YOU. We discussed its advantages over similar equipment, its environmentally conscious design features and the future upgrades, which include pressure profiling and a new touch screen, to name a few.
We then moved on to the hands on part stripping and rebuilding the equipment. I was amazed to learn how much of the machine we could work on and/or remove while it is still in normal operation. Of great interest were a number of machines and grinders that had been cut up in a specifically precise way to expose the internal workings and design of each component. This gave a great insight to the operation and function of each component and the various paths of water flow.
After an exhausting day at coffee tech school, the amazing hospitality continued. We were taken out to an amazing little Italian restaurant to enjoy the local produce for dinner. It seemed the food never stopped; it was a carb loading smorgasbord washed down with local wines.
San Remo
The following day we take a short journey by car to visit the guys who surprised many and were the talk of the town at HOST this year, “San Remo”. We had viewed the amazing new concept machine “OPERA” at HOST, but I was looking forward to a one on one briefing with one of the creators and fellow Australian, Ben Stephens. We were met by Carlo de Sordi, Sales and Marketing manager and Ben, who were still basking in the glory of their amazing week at HOST.

I was impressed with the absolute accuracy of each operation in the build process and the minimal wastage throughout the process.

They explained the weeks leading up to HOST and the amazing sprint to the finish line to get the OPERA ready for its public release to the world. It was explained that the machine landed at HOST around 3 hours before the event opened and was still only an Advanced Prototype. However, given this it performed for the entire event without a hiccup and had crowds of people lining up to see the revolutionary new features. We headed straight to the training room to see the OPERA. Just when you think you have seen it all in the world of espresso coffee equipment, along comes another game changer. The aesthetics were simple and solid, and no doubt it is the heaviest machine ever produced given the amount of stuff going on inside this machine, with 5 boilers, gear pumps, a number of electronic boards and an endless amount of pipes and wires. We discussed the groundbreaking innovations and threw around ideas for modifications and tweaks; however, most of it will have to stay in my head, as I was sworn to secrecy … but let me just say there are some exciting times ahead for this young dynamic company. We took a short tour of the manufacturing facility and viewed the other equipment that this company is well known for – like the uniquely designed ROMA, the Verona, and even spotted some smart looking vending machines in production. Carlo rallied up the team and we took a short walk for some lunch at the local Italian restaurant with the SR team and enjoyed getting involved in the talks of OPERA marketing ideas, plans and future for the company. We were blown away by the enthusiasm and absolute passion of these espresso specialists: the company has a real family feel, the ideas are shared together, the work is enjoyed together, the food is enjoyed together, and the espresso is enjoyed together. After lunch we farewelled the San Remo team, who generously dropped us off at the train station for the short journey to Venice. At this point we were feeling quite overwhelmed and excited after the last few factory visits. The amount of information, the sincere interest in our ideas and suggestions and last but not least, the amazing Italian hospitality had been second to none.
Next on the list was a trip down to Florence and Tuscany to share lunch with the man, the legend, Piero Bambi, President of La Marzocco. The tour of the La Marzocco factory was certainly the icing on the cake of this incredible trip …
Stay tuned for this in the next article of Café Culture, where we also introduce you to Dubai’s only specialty coffee roasters, who are basking in the glory of taking out the recent UAE Barista championships.

BIO.
Kayne Ensten, owner of Complete Café Services, has spent the last 15 years working with a number of local and national coffee companies as service manager and technician.
Complete Café Services is an Adelaide based company working with a number of cafés, roasters and franchises, supplying coffee related equipment and maintaining it as required. The 6 person team has an in-depth knowledge of the coffee industry and strive to keep up to date with the latest equipment and innovations in the industry by participating in technical sessions and visits to local and international manufacturers.

By Kayne Ensten