December marks Worldwide Food Service Safety Month. Since there are few products as widely enjoyed across the globe as coffee, Houston’s has chosen to explore the reasons why properly cleaning equipment is so vitally important to a cafe’s investment, to the health of its consumers, and to the integrity of a coffee’s flavor.

The Flavor Impact

Most coffee establishments thrive on delivering a great-tasting brew. In this competitive industry, it’s often important to set an individual flavor signature apart from the multitude of other businesses vying for the consumer’s palate. However, that expertly refined flavor may be in jeopardy if you don’t take the proper precautions.

When coffee beans are roasted, they generate a natural oil. When the bean is ground, those oils are expressed and can coat the inside of grinders, french presses, espresso machines, or any equipment it comes into contact with. The problem is that this oil will continue to build, introducing new and increasingly bitter flavor to any coffee that passes through the equipment. Even if you’re using the best coffee in the world, it won’t be any good if you haven’t been regularly and thoroughly removing this excess oil.

The Health Implications

Almost all coffee equipment has dark, moist compartments that are used to either hold or make coffee. Coincidentally, dark and moist environments are perfect for mold and bacteria to grow and thrive. In as little as a few days, these toxins will begin to multiply and reach numbers that can make people sick. Sneezing, coughing, headaches, and congestion are all common symptoms of mold exposure, and it’s not uncommon for illness to get worse from there.

Many people assume that the heat generated by the coffee creation process is enough to kill any lingering toxins, but that’s simply not the case. As much as 50% of bacteria will withstand the high temperatures of a coffee maker and continue to multiply without proper cleaning. To prevent any chance of food-borne illness, it’s important to clean your equipment daily, and not just by running parts through the dishwasher. A deep clean, using specially designed cleaners, is the only way to ensure the equipment is properly sanitized.

The Bottom Line

From hiring the right staff, to choosing the best beans, a lot of hard work goes into establishing and maintaining a cafe. A good deal of money goes into it as well. Coffee equipment isn’t cheap. It also doesn’t clean itself. An unmaintained piece of machinery is going to have a shorter lifespan, and that degree of negligence could break the budget for any cafe, independent or otherwise. However, by taking the necessary steps to purchase and utilize safe and appropriate cleaning solutions, the liability of malfunctioning equipment can be minimized.

Urnex has been around since 1936, helping roasters and brewers to continue delivering fantastic coffee. The specialty coffee market is now booming, and Urnex is still here to keep the brew at its best. Houston’s is a proud supplier of Urnex products that have been designed to reach and resolve every element of a coffee maker’s sanitization needs. For those who are new to making clean coffee a priority, we even offer the Urnex System Cafe Starter Kit. It doesn’t have to be too late to make the change.

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Each spring, SCA hosts a large expo in Seattle, Washington to aid in industry education and prosperity. This Specialty Coffee Expo (commonly referred to as the SCA Expo) allows industry manufacturers and producers to showcase their products and give coffee operators, distributors, and enthusiasts alike the chance to peruse the newest and greatest offerings. Over the years, the show as grown “expo-nentially,” selling out exhibition space that now fills three halls of the Seattle Convention Center.

The overall focus of this year’s show was diversity, featuring coffees grown/produced in countries around the world, with Asia and South America as some of the most prevalent. Countries such as China and Brazil were particularly popular with booths that were made to impress.

While Houston’s does not exhibit at the expo, we do attend each year. The show provides us with the opportunity to meet with vendors and customers, and to get an idea of what to expect from the future of the coffee industry. Many of our manufacturer/vendor partners exhibit at the show including Torani, Monin, Dr. Smoothie, David Rio, Urnex, Kerry Foodservice, and Two Leaves and a Bud, as well as newer Houston’s vendors like Pacific Foods, Califia Farms, and ITO EN.

Monitoring current and upcoming trends in the coffee industry is crucial, and SCA Expo is always a perfect opportunity to assess the crowd. With the busy summer season in mind, many exhibitors at SCA Expo 2018 opted to offer taste tests of cold beverages from iced coffee and frappes, to non-coffee beverages like lemonade and flavored sparkling water. The absence of previously popular oatmeal products was painfully obvious this year, but made way for other healthier trends that ranged from convenient grab-and-go products, to handcrafted, premium products. Turmeric offerings seem to be surging with David Rio’s latte powder leading the pack. All natural, sugar-free, and/or low-calorie beverage options also seem to be on the rise, as are dairy/milk alternatives. While nut milks have been popular in years’ past, it appears oat milk will be giving the ever-popular almond milk a run for its money in 2018.

Contributing to the theme of diversity, Torani showcased its new Asian fruit-inspired Longan Syrup, among other products, by serving up Butterfly Lemonade that combined the syrup with Lemonade Real Fruit Smoothie mix. The vibrant purple color and sweet Longan flavor paired with the tart lemonade for a perfect summer offering.

Monin served its new Brown Butter Toffee Syrup in frappe, but most notable was the flavored sparkling water. Monin’s new, all-natural Concentrated Flavors line provides sugar-free, low calorie flavor to any drink, but the Strawberry Basil and Watermelon Jalapeno Sparkling Water offered expo attendees a light, yet flavorful beverage.

Celebrity Latte Artist, Melannie Aquino showed off her skills in booth #2100, drawing pictures with foam and chocolate on the tops of various lattes prepared with David Rio chai products. After attendees were wowed by the latte art, many were also impressed with the authentic turmeric flavor in David Rio’s Turmeric Lattes, Turmeric macaroons, and turmeric cupcakes provided by a local bakery and made using David Rio’s powdered product. The philanthropic organization also used the show as an opportunity to introduce Nalin, the white tiger and newest adoptee under the company’s endangered species initiative.

While many exhibitors utilize SCA Expo to introduce new product, Dr. Smoothie (a Bevolution Group brand) took this year’s show as an opportunity to reintroduce itself entirely, launching a rebrand of the 1997 logo. The new logo has opted away from retro and moved towards simplistic, yet refined. All of the brand’s packaging will have a consistent, clean look, featuring photos of fresh fruit and color-coded frappe categories. Watch for a soft rollout of the new branding sometime this summer.

Each year, SCA Expo exhibitors are given the opportunity to enter their products in a new product showcase, with the chance to win “Best New Product” bragging rights for the year. Our friends at Pacific Foods took home top honors in the Specialty Beverage Flavor Additive Category by winning Best New Product for their new Barista Series Oat, a plant-based dairy alternative that will be released this summer. Crowds gathered around the Pacific booth while attendees (including our own Rebecca Phillips and Amanda Hackathorn) tried their hands at latte art in the exhibitor’s Latte Art Throwdown. The winner of the competition got a chance to pour the latte art featured on the Pacific Foods’ new product packaging, also due out later this year. Sadly, neither Rebecca nor Amanda won the honor, but they certainly gave it their all!

As Houston’s shifts its focus towards the rapidly growing coffee segment, these vendor relationships and industry/product insights are key to our continued growth and success. With many coffee-based vendor partnerships, Houston’s controls a unique niche as a redistributor to the specialty coffee industry, providing access to hundreds of ancillary products sold and used by roasters and baristas across the country. It’s no secret that coffee’s popularity and progress will continue to grow, making events such as this more and more valuable. That’s why we can’t wait until next April when SCA Expo 2019 tackles Boston, Massachusetts! Will we see you there?

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Cold brew may have been invented as early as the 1600’s in Japan but this refreshing process of brewing coffee has, over the past few years, increased in popularity by leaps and bounds! And as the trend of cold brew continues to grow, the cleanliness of these brewing machines and tools is becoming more and more vital to the coffee industry. The questions is – how does one keep all these different setups clean?

Urnex Brands® has provided an efficient answer to that very question. They recently introduced a cleaning product designed specifically for professional cold brew equipment called the 1-2-Cold Brew! This system is a two-step cleaning and sanitizing kit ideal for any cold brew coffee supplies and is comprised of a liquid cleaner called Clearly Cold and a liquid sanitizer called Complete Café. Clearly Cold is specially formulated and designed to remove coffee oil residue from cold brewed coffee equipment. Complete Café is an EPA sanitizer specific to cold brew equipment, but is acceptable for use with other coffee brewing equipment as well.

With the demand of cold-brewed coffee surpassing initial expectations in the market, 1-2-Cold Brew proves to have limitless benefits in the coffee world. Here are our top 3 benefits of the 1-2-Cold Brew Cleaning and Sanitizing Kit.

1-2 Cold Brew is easy to use

First and foremost, this product is very easy to use! With its liquid formulation and built-in measuring device for controlled dosing, Urnex has created an effortless cleaning process for coffee equipment. It’s as simple as mixing Clearly Cold with water and letting it soak in your tap system, keg, brew container, etc. Once you’ve let the solution soak for about 5+ minutes, you just repeat the same steps with the Complete Cafe and voila, your cold brew equipment is as clean as a whistle!

*The cleaning methods slightly vary based on the setup. Click here for full cleaning instructions.*

Coffee residue from taps

Clearly Cold and Complete Cafe

Photos courtesy of Urnex®

People can enjoy cold brew without worrying about the safety concerns

There are many safety concerns when it comes to food and beverages. In terms of cold brew, the concern of bacteria growth is at the top of the list.

Urnex Marketing Associate Lee Gordon explains, “Because cold brew coffee is brewed without hot water and often sitting out at room temperature for an extended period of time, brewing containers and dispensing systems are prone to bacteria growth. “

By routinely using 1-2-Cold Brew to clean your coffee equipment, any concerns of bacteria growth are eliminated so you can enjoy your cold brew without having to worry about getting sick!

Clean coffee equipment leads to better tasting coffee

Fresh cold brew after taps have been cleaned

Did you know that dirty coffee equipment can affect the flavor of your coffee? This is due to the oils from your coffee. Coffee is naturally a very oily substance. Any parts of your machine that are exposed to coffee, whether it is in the form of beans or grinds, will be exposed to these oils and is subject to buildup.

“Cold brew is typically brewed between 12 and 24 hours, so coffee oil residue has a much longer time to build up compared to other brew methods,” said Gordon. “If coffee residue is left uncleaned on coffee equipment, it will eventually clog the machine’s filters and tubes and cause it to malfunction. But even before this occurs, stale residue in coffee equipment will have a noticeably negative effect on the taste of coffee or espresso.”

Simply put, clean equipment leads to better tasting coffee!

In the end, if you are looking for an easy and effective cold brew coffee cleaner, 1-2-Cold Brew is your answer!  Urnex products clean and maintain your equipment. So nothing gets between you and your perfect brew!

Contact Houston’s today to order your own 1-2-Cold Brew or if you have any questions regarding this great product!

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Torani® – Booth #829

Flavor seekers around the globe enjoy Torani® in their favorite beverages every day. And Torani has continued to stay on the creative edge with new product lines and ideas for the last 80 years.

Dr. Smoothie® – Booth #1408

Dr. Smoothie® formulates its beverages with your health in mind to maximize the benefits to your body. Functional beverages are what Dr. Smoothie® is all about since 1997.

Monin®– Booth #1203

Monin®’s sole purpose is to create flavors that people around the world can easily use in their everyday life.  Founder Georges Monin’s motto La Passion de la Qualit® (“Passion for Quality”) became the Monin® slogan.

Pacific® Foods – Booth #1736

Pacific® Foods has one simple goal- to make tasty, healthy foods with integrity. Making foods it can be proud of is as much about the ingredients it uses and the way those ingredients are grown, as it is the actual recipe. And GMO’s? Not on Pacific® Foods’ watch.

David Rio™ – Booth #1536

David Rio™, makes chai because it is inspired by traditional Indian milk tea, and it set out to blend Eastern traditions with Western style to create America’s Premier Chai.

Urnex® – Booth #1409

Urnex® doesn’t make coffee or coffee equipment; it helps make them better. With over four generations of experience, Urnex® is the world leader in specialty cleaning products for coffee and espresso equipment.

Mocafé™ – Booth #429

Innovative Beverage Concepts Inc., creators of Mocafé™, has been a leader in developing award winning cafe beverages since 1996. Come taste and compare the difference real ingredients make.

Vitamix® – Booth #707

Since 1921, The Vitamix® Corporation has been an award-winning innovator in blending technology. It is a quality-based organization creating, producing, and marketing high performance, durable, reliable, and innovative equipment.

Espresso Supply Inc. – Booth #1137

Espresso Supply, Inc. has used its expertise to develop a full line of espresso accessories and small wares designed to facilitate the operation of an espresso bar or coffee business.

Cappuccine® – Booth #813

Many people don’ know that Cappuccine® created the first blended iced coffee mix over 15 years ago. Today, its product line consists of more than 20 gourmet flavors that are proudly served all over the world.

Add a Scoop™ – Booth #1621

The Add a Scoop™ by Smoothie Essentials line of products fits an active life style. Being a powder they travel well – from hikes to back packing to vacations. Add a Scoop™ Blends are a wide range of functional supplements; see which one works for you.

The Frozen Bean – Booth #1808

The Frozen Bean, their passion is to create the finest beverages, using only the highest quality ingredients sourced from around the world.

Zojirushi – Booth #817

Zojirushi Corporation began operation more than 90 years ago with the launch of its first glass-lined vacuum bottle. Improving customers’ quality of life through creation of innovative products remains the heart of Zojirushi’s corporate philosophy.

Straw Propeller Gourmet Foods – Booth #1813

Straw Propeller Gourmet Foods offers 15 flavors of oatmeal and 5 flavors of muesli. All of its artisan products are made with certified gluten-free oats, non-GMO, all-natural and kosher certified ingredients.

Remember, if any of these vendors have hot new products you need in your restaurant or warehouse, call Houston’s to see how we can help.

Credit: All of the above company descriptions were paraphrased from the vendor’s website linked to the vendor name. The logos are also courtesy of the vendors.

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