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Published, May 13, 2019

Meet the Team: Fotis, Technical Engineer

Technicians are often the unsung heroes of the coffee industry.

If they are not spending hours on the road travelling to a customer location, they are in the workshop fine-tuning equipment. Evening callouts, heavy equipment and difficult installs are just some of the issues that they might face. We recognise the importance of technical and want to celebrate the skills of some of our engineers.

Fotis first joined Origin in 2017. We caught up with him to chat coffee, machines and why technical interests him.

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Hi Fotis, you’ve been with us for 2 years now, how has it been for you?
It’s been the defining experience in my coffee journey! Working with one of the leading companies in the industry it’s a pleasure, and I feel very lucky that I had this opportunity to be part of the team.

With so many different roles in coffee, what was it that attracted you to a career in technical services?
Since I started my career in coffee as a barista, I was always fascinated with coffee equipment! The heart of the coffee shop is where the espresso machine is - everything evolves around it. I realised that I wanted to get more involved with the technical department when I caught myself looking at diagrams of coffee machinery after my shifts, trying to figure out how they work! I believe I took the saying “being a barista is not just about pressing buttons “way too serious :)

Aside from coffee, what other interests do you have?
Basketball, skating, puzzles, board/video games and cooking are some of the first things that comes to my mind.

What do you most enjoy about working in the coffee industry?
Apart from tasting amazing coffee every day, I would say the people! The coffee community is amazing. So many passionate people around the world with the same interests pushes the industry further.

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Last year we moved our lab from Shoreditch to our new location in Southwark, what’s the new lab like?
It’s definitely an improvement, the new lab is much bigger. We are a team of 4 technicians and now each one of us has our own workstation. The lab is equipped with all the necessary tools to get the job done and the bigger storage capacity, means we can now keep more parts in stock.

La Marzocco are one of our closest equipment suppliers, what are the machines like to work with? Do you have a favourite?
All of La Marzocco machines are great! I have been lucky enough to work with several different models throughout the years such as the Linea classic and Strada but the Linea PB is my all-time favourite working as a barista and a technician. I was also lucky to install the new KB90 in Charlotte Road - I believe that this machine is a game changer!

Learn more about our technical services here