Barista Group explains why Markibar’s Izaga W, one of the first coffee grinders with internally scale-controlled doses, is designed for workflow, speed, and consistency.
When Joe Chalhoub established Barista Group in 2017, he set out to create the specialty coffee industry’s most innovative and outstanding coffee systems and resources. Today, he does just that, and works alongside manufacturers to create and supply best-in- class coffee tools.
“Barista Group aims to share products with a broad group of baristas, and in turn meet the needs of consumers in Australia’s ever-growing café culture. Our focus is on providing equipment that is engineered with precision, improves workflow, and ultimately saves precious time,” Joe says.
Over the past six years, Barista Group had built a portfolio of products that streamline many elements of coffee making, from grinding and tamping to brewing and steaming milk. One of those products is the Markibar Izaga W grind-by weight coffee grinder. Designed for workflow and purpose-built for speed and efficiency, Joe says the grinder is exactly the type of high calibre product he looks for, combining excellence in practicality and functionality.
“The Markibar Izaga W grinder features innovative Grind-by-Weight technology with instant scale-controlled dosing that guarantees maximum consistency and a constant quality in all your coffees, without barista adjustment,” he says.
“The grinder delivers consistent doses despite changing the grinding point, which can be altered to finer or coarser without affecting the coffee dose delivered to the filter. It also isn’t affected by natural burr wear and tear, changing the type of coffee used in the grinder, or environmental factors like temperature, humidity, or sunlight.”
According to Joe, the Izaga W is designed for establishments with high volume output and those wanting to eliminate steps in their workflow.
“Weighing doses independently saves valuable time that can be allocated elsewhere in the workflow. The Izaga W sports a set of long-life burrs with an estimated lifespan of approximately 1300- to 1500-kilograms of coffee depending on roast level,” he says.
“The Izaga W automatic coffee grinder has the most advanced technology to guarantee its high performance. The design of the independent grinding chamber, thermally isolated from the drive motor, allows the heat to dissipate via the bottom of the grinder rather than the burr chamber, resulting in much cooler and consistent grind.”
Users can switch between the Instant Dose and On Demand grinding modes on Izaga W grinders at the touch of a button. The work mode and status of the dosing chambers are shown in real time on the alphanumeric display.
“In Instant Dose mode, the coffee is measured with high precision and delivered instantly in the portafilter, with none of the time loss, which hinders the agility required in a café or coffee shop,” says Joe.
“In the Instant Dose and On Demand grinding mode, the dose is ground and weighed when one or two coffees are requested. Maximum dosing variance (+/- 0.3 grams) is achieved in this work mode. Thanks to the vertical built-in doser on the Izaga W, the coffee gets dispensed at 90 degrees into the portafilter. The vertical dispenser allows the coffee to collapse and distribute evenly in the filter basket, hence avoiding any channelling during extraction.”
Barista Group has been a partner of Markibar for the past four years, since the release of its first product, the Izaga Key coffee grinder. Joe says Markibar represents the ideal partner Barista Group tries to work with, and believes in the brand because of its dedication to creating consistent grinding technology.
“The Izaga Key (Grind-By-Time) proved to be very reliable and efficient coffee grinder due to the main feature that Markibar specialises in, which is instant dosing. Markibar outperformed the competition simply for its dose consistency with a 0.5-gram variance,” he says.
“Just like its successor, the Izaga Key combines innovative aesthetics and a high-performance mechanics. Its isolated grinding chamber, smart ventilation, innovative grinding point control, precision mechanics and high-quality materials are designed for coffee shops of high workload and maximum requirement.”
Joe adds that Markibar’s reliable manufacturing and competitively priced equipment is why he continues to support the brand and its products.
“Brands are not created overnight, they have to be built, starting with awareness. You need to focus on the wants and needs of the industry, the quality of your product, and how it meets their demands, then the sales come naturally,” Joe explains.
“We prefer to work with people who ask: ‘How can we improve our product?’ They’re more open to feedback, sharing intellectual property, and really building something together, which we’ve successfully done with Markibar, Ubermilk, Tone, and many others.”
Barista Group will present the Markibar’s Izaga W coffee grinder at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo from 17 to 19 August at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“We aim to share innovative products with a broad group of baristas, and in turn meet the needs of consumers in the global coffee industry’s ever-growing café culture,” Joe says.
At the heart of each staff member is a passion for making great coffee, which inspired the company name ‘Barista Group’.
Joe says this is “exactly what the myriad of baristas around the world do day-in, day- out.”
“Barista Group is made up of a team of likeminded professionals with a common curiosity to explore and discover state-of- the-art products, working together to make these dynamic tools available to the coffee industry,” he says.
“From Übermilk through to Markibar coffee grinders, Barista Group’s focus is on providing equipment that delivers the quality, consistency, reliability, and efficiency every café or organisation needs.”
For more information, visit www.baristagroup.com.au
This article appears in the August 2023 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
