Compact Cimbali S15 completes the S series line up.

La Cimbali (www.cimbaliuk.com) has added to its multi-award winning S Series, with the launch of the S15 - a fully automatic and super compact entry level model, capable of producing up to 150 top quality beverages a day, say the company.

The S15 is ideally suited to locations where space may be at a premium such as bakeries, offi ces, hotels, conference centres, convenience stores and similar smaller businesses where anticipated coffee volumes are low. This is a robust machine that incorporates proven and patented Cimbali technologies including Smartboiler for optimum boiler performance and an integral Wi-Fi telemetry system which allows the remote monitoring of machine performance.

“It seems that the industry has done such a great job of educating people through lockdown that we have become a nation of expert home baristas. This translates to a steep rise in expectations amongst consumers when enjoying beverages out of home,” said Daniel Clarke, managing director, La Cimbali UK.

“The S15 offers real benefi ts as it allows small businesses to compete with the high street by offering a great range of premium quality drinks, prepared to a professional barista standard, even if the daily coffee volumes are quite low.”

Whether operated in barista assisted or self-serve mode, the S15 features a 7” touchscreen which can be customised with recipe icons that are intuitive and simple to use. With hot textured milk technology and an innovative split in two powder hopper, a fl exible menu with scope to select from 96 different recipes based on fresh coffee beans, fresh or powder milk and soluble chocolate, is possible.

“Clearly, hygiene is a key priority, so we are encouraging operators to invest in our free to use Cup4You technology as this allows the user to browse the menu and order favourite beverages directly from a smartphone or tablet,” added Daniel Clarke. “This touch free ordering is a valuable feature and becoming increasingly popular with customers and business owners right now in light of the COVID pandemic.”

The S15 completes the line-up of Cimbali’s S Series of automatic machines which includes the S60, recent winner of the prestigious Good Design award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in collaboration with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies.

Monin launches Rooibos tea concentrate

Monin (www.monin.com) says that it has continued its commitment to launching new and intriguing fl avours with the release of Rooibos Tea Concentrate – a delicate and woody concentrate with a slight sweetness that will help ensure its place as a versatile member of any backbar line up, they propose.

Suited to both hot and cold beverages, Monin’s fi rst NPD of 2021 has its roots in the mountains of South Africa, where it is also known as ‘red tea’ due to its potential as a caffeine-free tea alternative.

The low sugar Rooibos recipe brings authentic fl avour cues to outlets, and can be enjoyed as a cool, thirst quenching iced tea or as a warm, velvety tea latte, suggest Monin. It also pairs well with other complimentary Monin fl avours such as Vanilla, Blackberry, Blood Orange or Rhubarb, or as an innovative addition to summer and winter cocktails, they have found.

Safety support for coff ee house service providers and coff ee shops

Martyn Longstaff (pictured) of CoffeeSafe refl ects on the importance of examination for your coffee machine.

COULD THIS HAPPEN IN YOUR COFFEE SHOP?

In 2010 a steam coffee machine exploded injuring 16 people, fi ve of whom were hospitalised. The incident sent a shockwave through the coffee industry. Fortunately, there were no severe injuries or loss of life.

The coffee machine weighed 73kg. It was fi xed to the counter and plumbed into solid piping and to electrical points. When it exploded it exerted enough force to uproot itself off the counter, rip out the pipework, rise to the ceiling of the café and travel seven meters across the cafe fl oor. Eyewitnesses believed a bomb had been detonated from the sound and carnage it created. This highlighted the need for coffee machines to be examined. An accident of this magnitude made the industry stand up and take note as it got unwelcome attention. Indeed, a subsequent report revealed that only 33% of coffee houses in London were complying with safety regulations, which are in place to reduce the risk of accidents happening. It was suspected that the situation was the same throughout the rest of the UK. This was surprising as there is a legal requirement for coffee machines that produce steam to comply with safety regulations. Do you know? Are you in the same situation now? How safe is your coffee machine? The initial response was for service providers and manufacturers to work with third party engineers to help operators to provide a service of examination. This solution was not effi cient, it caused confusion and was costly. CoffeeSafe was asked to fi nd a better solution.

COFFEESAFE’S APPROACH

CoffeeSafe works with its partners to help maintain the safety of traditional and bean to cup coffee machines. Its online examination reporting solution streamlines the process of statutory examinations and reporting on commercial coffee machines. This helps meet the demands giving coffee machine owners confi dence that the engineers checking their systems are competent to deliver the required Written Schemes of Examination. CoffeeSafe works to keep the café owners, most important asset, their coffee machine, the employees and customers safe. Through a collaboration with Costa Express and La Cimbali, for example, CoffeeSafe reduced costs and improved the safety of coffee machines. How did we achieve this? We rolled out IOSH approved training for over 600 coffee machine service engineers so they can now carry out examination work whilst servicing the machine, reducing the need for two engineers. This signifi cantly reduces the cost for coffee machine owners. With 30 years’ experience in the industry CoffeeSafe developed a cloud-based software package which has reduced administration for service providers and coffee shop owners. The CoffeeSafe system gives service partners complete control to ensure a reliable and improved customer service experience to coffee shop owners. Safety improvements and the reductions in administering the logistics has seen more than 12,0000 additional coffee machines complying with the regulation.

HAVE YOUR MACHINE EXAMINED BY A COFFEESAFE PARTNER

Your coffee machine needs to be examined every year and by visiting www.coffeesafe.com you will gain access to over 110 nationwide coffee machine service engineering companies, who cover the whole of the UK, Northern and Southern Ireland. The engineers (over 600) at these companies have received CoffeeSafe premium in-house training on the regulations and examination techniques. Even during the pandemic, they have provided a service guaranteeing continued safety of the highest standard. In the past two years these engineers have produced 48,000 examination reports each individually audited by CoffeeSafe staff to ensure that the examination was carried out to the highest standard. Having a service engineer who knows your Coffee machine’s system to carry out the safety examination means they know how to identify weaknesses that could fail and can give you peace of mind. Since 2010, we have continued to work closely with our partners to provide services that have made signifi cant improvements to coffee shop safety ensuring service partners and manufacturers’ customers are compliant with the pressure system safety regulations. We believe in sharing knowledge, raising awareness and above all else we continue to

THINK SAFETY FIRST.

For more information Call 01274 979920 Visit www.coffeesafe.com Email info@coffeesafe.com

ICA update

The Ice Cream Alliance (ICA) is a not for profit organisation which has been serving the UK’s ice cream industry for over 75 years, providing membership and technical services, in house training, updates, National Ice Cream Competition, Mobiler of the Year and an annual trade event.

Their office was initially closed when all staff were required to work remotely. In the meantime, their communications workload increased substantially as the rules regarding Covid-19 changed on an almost daily basis within the UK, and then again when the devolved nations began applying their own strategies, they report. Parlours, along with much of hospitality, couldn’t open for ‘dinein’ customers and manufacturers, similarly, lost a lot of business from restaurants and hotels. Additionally, the events market, including weddings, sporting events and agricultural shows effectively dried up. How, then, do they explain the almost 14% year on year increase in ice cream sales within the UK? “Ice cream is regarded by many as an affordable treat, and many of us have very fond ice cream related childhood memories. Quite simply, consuming ice cream helps us to feel good,” the ICA’s Zelica Carr (pictured) points out, having provided advice and support to their members, helping them to adapt and change their business models to reflect the ever-changing environment.

“Some businesses which were inflexible and simply closed their doors have subsequently ceased trading, whereas others who were agile and adapted quickly have gone from strength to strength, they observe. The weather is always an important factor in the ice cream industry, needless to say, and the 2020 season started with excellent weather in March.

“Restrictions in airline flights also meant that many people stayed at home in 2020, with some of the more fortunate able to ‘staycation’ in-between lockdowns. Day trips then increased in importance as people, unable to stay in hotels, sought out seaside resorts and other destinations. Some mobilers adapted by providing deliveries of bread and essential foodstuffs to vulnerable people and communities which were otherwise struggling.

Larger manufacturers further benefitted from additional sales through supermarkets and the smaller artisan manufacturers moved into take-away services, some utilising delivery apps.”

Due to government restrictions the ICA’s planned Artisan and Ice Cream Food Show scheduled for February 2021 will now take place in February 2022, and exhibition space is selling well as it will be the first time in almost two years that people in the ice cream industry within the UK will be able to come together. They have also had to make alternative arrangements to hold the 2021 National Ice Cream and Mobiler of the Year Competitions which would normally be held at the Expo, and will be endeavouring to produce the results of both competitions in the spring of 2021 which will launch the 2021 season and the industry a muchneeded boost (more information at https://www.ice-cream.org/).

NEW PRODUCT

Herald adds more to the mix

Quality disposables manufacturer and supplier, Herald, has launched three new packaging products to meet increased demand from the catering and food to go sectors as the market for take outs increases. The products consist of 8oz, 12oz and 16oz kraft and white, lined, paper soup cups with lids, small, medium and large paper, recyclable chicken boxes, and 8oz, 10oz, 12oz, 16oz and 20oz PET smoothie cups with flat, domed or domed with hole for a straw lids. Competitively priced, all three lines have already earned themselves a loyal customer base and Herald is expecting sales to increase going into 2021.

Managing director of Herald, Yogesh Patel notes that his products have had a widening appeal in the last 12 months as the market changed due to lockdown: “Our main task, in response to the last year, has been to react swiftly, anticipating demand and making sure that customers could access the widest choice of goods. As a result, we have added a significant number of products to the full range, developing new lines and increasing the amount of stock available,” he said. Call 0208 507 7900 or visit www.heraldplastic.com.