Class In Session
A Service Layer event review by Nick Barnett
The 2024 SCA Expo brought together a very dedicated, respect-filled, hungry, warm-hearted, sleepless team of coffee professionals for one common goal: to give the coffee industry a glimpse at what the technical community has to offer … to start to see the Service Layer.
We want to give a shout out to Jon Ferguson for highlighting this briefly in Barista Magazine. And now for the full story…
Mike Sabol and I probably first talked around 2014, as our paths crossed on the LM tech line, and later from a mutual love for the band King Crimson. Though we didn’t talk often, it was always a breath of fresh air as we agreed on or were intrigued by many of the same issues that coffee manufacturers and service companies face. One of those issues is always communication—a way to “keep the lines open” between manufacturer and service company, or even between service companies themselves.
Mike was also having this conversation with many others, as I would soon find out. After enough brewhaha and ballyhoo, I received an email on 9/12/2022
“Hi Nick,
Here is the invite to the Discord group. This project is only a day old, so give it a few weeks to populate with enough folks to get a good discussion going.
– Mike”
I was intrigued! Finally, a free space where a couple of tech companies could shoot the breeze about the industry we love. SteamVolt always promoted more communication between service partners, and we recently got involved with the Coffee Technicians Guild through the addition of Frank Freeman. But this Discord channel felt more our style. It was a place where we could say what we wanted, unfiltered—dare I say, a bit messy, but just more real at times. More importantly, it was the start of a group of highly skilled techs who understood that in order for technicians to survive and uphold their side of the industry (maintaining our shop, parts, training, vehicle fleet), we need to sell new equipment. Service companies immediately came out of the woodwork to discuss the community and industry they work for. Conversations ranged from how a service dispatch department is set up to delicate DC voltage troubleshooting.
A number of us finally had the chance to meet at the 2023 SCA in Portland. A whole article could be written on this event but for our purposes here, it was at this event that a plan started to hatch as we started to realize that we were not the only technicians needing a little community, and big ups to the Black Rabbit team for hosting a couple of killer events!!
Expo 2023 came and went, but the Discord channel kept going strong. After a while, a group of us started seriously considering the idea of doing a Service Layer event or meetup around SCA 2024. SteamVolt would host, as the event would take place in Chicago—we just needed content. After a few brief discussions on the Discord channel, it was clear that a deep-dive instructional class—something more advanced than a beginner manufacturer class, and something that could speak to a broader range of equipment technicians—was needed. Within hours of that realization, the name of an electrical engineer turned coffee nut and grinder burr dealer, Pat Boyt, came up. Within minutes, other techs seconded the motion. Pat, who lives and runs his business out of Wilkeson, WA, sells burrs for most coffee applications but also helps some of the best technicians around with electrical issues and solutions for all sorts of coffee engineering challenges. The number of technicians he’s helped is remarkable. He’s the real deal. Picture a bluesy guitar-playing, motorcycle-riding, airplane-repairing West Coaster, and you’re halfway there. Add decades of experience in technical engineering, and the fact that he’s a huge softy with a heart of gold, and you’re almost there.
Pat Boyt
The gears started turning as Pat immediately expressed interest in teaching the class. In fact, he was so eager that he typed up three or four pages of the curriculum on the very first day. It was clear this kind of training and teaching was in high demand. The event was officially green-lit! Feedback from our Discord channel started pouring in. Some technicians who hadn’t planned to attend SCA now booked their trips. What was about to unfold would be extraordinary.
Word spread. Vendor friends in the industry started reaching out to see how they could be involved. It was quickly agreed that this training event should be created and managed by technicians for technicians. It was also decided that the event would be nonprofit, with tickets sold to cover costs. Pat insisted on Chicago’s best deep-dish pizza for lunch, so an order from the original Pequod’s was also in the works.
“Morning coffee was brought in from several different roasters… as well as cold nitro coffee… and plenty of sparkling water. After all, we're technicians, not animals.”
The date approached, and by gosh, we had over 30 technicians from all over the country—from Florida to Seattle, Fargo, North Dakota, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Even Scott Jones, flying in from Western Australia, where he runs Espresso Medic in Margaret River, was joining us! The best of the best from the Midwest were also going to be there, ready to go. The strong skills of Matt Campbell, owner of Invoke in Ohio, and the calm expertise of Ryan Baughn owner of Caliber Coffee in Wisconsin would be present. Superior Chicago Roaster Technicians Miro Lomeli from Counter Culture and Nathaniel Waters from Intelligentsia Coffee were also on the list. There was no doubt that all of us espresso tech nerds were going to get a lot out of this epic day.
Eric Mullins, Miro Lomeli, and Scott Jones
Nathaniel Waters, Chris Williamson, and Jack Kehoe
Flyers were made by our long time design partners, Field of Grass Design, and the event quickly sold out! We were focused on getting the word out that there was serious movement in the tech field and new ideas that could bring the Service Layer to a wider audience. With the help of our trusted Discord channel, we worked on other ideas that we could exhibit during and around the SCA Coffee Expo.
We decided to open up SteamVolt for a second night and invited manufacturers to execute new machine demos. We also secured an SCA booth where we would build an espresso machine, donated by Ryan Baughn, in real time, from frame to completion in three days!
THE WEEK OF
The week was upon us, and everything had a glow. Some technicians, like Scott from Espresso Medic, showed up early to help out. Jobs ranged from picking up chairs for the class to completing some SteamVolt jobs, as our primary focus needed to continue during the event. Every step of the way, there were conversations between technicians about the particulars. A byproduct of being a coffee technician is specializing in the models and makes in your particular service area. Scott was eager to help with a Keys Vander Westin repair we were doing for 4LW Coffee, as he didn’t see much of that brand at home. My heart filled up, knowing that bringing technicians together in one location is so crucial to their success. I was also getting some free labor hours. Yay!
Boyt also stopped by to get the lay of the land and make sure our projector and classroom setup would work. He brought with him a longtime friend and espresso technician, Christopher Williamson, from Coffee Connections in Indiana. Chris has been selling equipment and fixing espresso machines for over 16 years and is one of the kindest and most patient human beings you'll ever meet. Conversations continued into the evening, and at one point, I had to kick everyone out so I could get some sleep.
CLASS BEGINS
The day of the class was finally here. We had been working nonstop, and I felt like I had picked up 10 espresso machines the day before. Technicians started filing in. Morning coffee was brought in from several different roasters, including Soloway, Factotum and New Math, as well as cold nitro coffee on the Brood Nitro Infuser, and plenty of sparkling water. After all, we're technicians, not animals. By 9 AM, we were all seated, and the class began.
The class was divided into two groups. First, Pat lectured on the training document he created, which pulled from textbooks and real-life situations. It covered how power is processed at the plant, through your shop, into the machine, the board, and finally each specific board component. You could say it was the whole kit and caboodle.
The second part of the class was a hands-on workshop, teaching proper component removal, replacement, and testing. SteamVolt had purchased specific tools for this and had set up a small table with power options and electrical whips for daisy-chaining boards on the fly, some of which Pat helped assemble the night before.
Adam Edwards
Jonah Ileana
Adriana Cusco
Pat Boyt presenting
Byron Betts at the electrical table
The class was neither uncomfortable nor intimidating. Great questions were asked without anyone going too far off track. Matt Campbell rocked some good questions and I remember Brady Butler, an Authorised SCA Trainer who founded Trail Blaze Academy in Cornelius, NC, bringing up some great points as well.
Before we knew it, lunch arrived, and it was none other than the best deep-dish pizza from the original Pequod's! Nothing says productivity like a 5-pound melted crispy pie—or 12!
We returned to our seats for a 15-minute review, then moved on to the hands-on demonstration. Pat went through setup, technique, troubleshooting, and repair for Fetco, Nuova Simonelli, and La Marzocco boards, occasionally pausing to share a story, anecdote, or aphorism. People who had been standing two feet away from his table were now gathered around his shoulders like Jim Henson's Muppets during a monologue. It was truly a scene. The class never really ended—it just rolled right into a big hangout. Some switched from coffee to beer or wine. We were then reminded that this was the day before the Expo started! What a kickoff!
Brady Butler
Rebecca Jones
Early in our email exchanges, Pat and I had shared musical references, and he mentioned that he had a couple of nice guitars, so naturally, I had my Chet Atkins Tennessee Rose Gretsch on hand. As we mingled, Pat strummed a few blues riffs to set the tone. It was magical.
That night, Fred drove Pat back to his hotel and got to hear a few more stories that the rest of us didn’t. Pat walked into the hotel like Clint Eastwood riding into the sunset. Thank you, Pat Boyt!
We are planning to review Pat's teachings before the new year. Since the class, the Service Layer has focused on spreading the word and deciding what could be accomplished by the time Expo 2025 rolls around. Thanks and hugs to all for being our guinea pigs. Because of the SCA Expo (which we must always thank) and the Service Layer booth events, the class was attended by some of the best technicians in the industry. Our team at SteamVolt could not be happier with the turnout and the wonderful connections that were made.
Additional thanks to another music guru, friend, and excellent photographer, Aaron Ehinger, for documenting the event.
To quote something I mentioned earlier, the class and the conversation never really ended. Wonderful relationships have been made that will continue for a long time. I am always grateful to be a part of this family. Thank you, all!
Please keep this Service Layer conversation going!
