a useful guide to making your setup sing

Everything you need to know before you open. Whether you’re simply practicing at home, or preparing for a weekend pop-up, we’ve put together some helpful things to think through. Taking orders, charging, making drinks, and workflow hacks, as well as solutions to common problems.

before the event

Things to consider ahead of time. 

small menu 
We recommend starting with only one cup size and having that be 250mL or 8oz at the largest. This helps the service to be quicker and more predictable for small set-ups. But we all know that an iced option can become popular during hot months so that could always be an additional add on. 

Don’t overwhelm you or your customers. Try offering a small menu all together! For example, cappuccino, latte, americano, espresso and one special drink.  

single shots 
If the event is going to be busy, we can pre-determine whether we need to serve single espressos instead of doubles by splitting the shots.  

POS 
Don’t forget about a point of sales system to charge at events. 

multitasking tools 
We can always add the Brew-by-weight scale to our flow with the Linea Mini as we juggle the many tasks of a barista behind the bar. 

during the event

Adaptive things to pivot to during service when it starts to get busy. 

double portafilters
The two portafilter system is a fantastic way to keep shots pulling back-to-back. While one shot is being brewing, the other portafilter is being prepped for the next shot. If we are not very busy it is best to only use one portafilter and keep it in the group head of the machine to stay hot. 

milk sharing  
Just like with splitting shots we can share milk too. Steam enough milk for two drinks at once in a larger 60cl or 20oz pitcher. Put half of the steamed milk into a smaller 30cl or 12oz pitcher and set aside while pouring the first drink. 

hot water tower 
Having a separate hot water tower is very useful. This reserves the power of the steam and coffee boiler in our machine for espresso and milk and so remains stable throughout busy service. 

after the event

Things to be aware of when packing up after an event is over. 

traveling with the linea mini 
When traveling with an espresso machine, draining the steam boiler for the move makes the machine much lighter and helps keep the water inside the boilers fresh.  

Moving our machine around also means we need to be mindful of freezing temperatures as a frozen machine must be repaired.