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Innovation is a broad term. In this edition of Grinder Coffee Immersion Café Education Series, we’re going to look at innovation specific to technology in coffee making to improve quality and efficiency.
Quality!
We are living in a time where the technological rate of change is faster than ever before, by a long way, and the coffee industry is benefiting from these advancements.
In the past 10 years, we’ve seen some basic advancements such as electronic tampers and milk jug rinsers, and coffee brewing scales that are now café staples. In more recent years, we’ve seen the rise of quality automatic milk frothers and grind-by-weight grinders. Now we’re seeing the rise of cloud-based integration and equipment that automatically adjusts to your brew recipe.
Embracing innovation and technology is essential to keep up with café trends. We see coffee machine automation existing not to make coffee making easier for an inexperienced barista, but to allow great baristas to work more efficiently and produce coffee of higher quality to a more consistent standard.
A company with a focus on bringing the latest technology to market is Barista Group. We had a chat with Joe from Barista Group to gather some insights on the current and future state of innovations in coffee making.
We asked Joe what has been the best innovation in recent years; unsurprisingly, he went straight to automated milk foamers.
Any process that brings new ideas, methods, and solutions that have significant positive impact and value is called innovation. There are so many products that made a big difference but milk foamers must be on top of the list. They automate the milk frothing process, delivering consistent, ready-to-pour micro foamed milk at the barista’s desired temperature. Think about this: by the time you grab your milk bottle, pour it in a jug, and steam it, you’re spending the time it would take to make a second cup of coffee. This is about 20 seconds per cup, which adds up over a day. Whereas milk foamers and steamers like the Übermilk do all this at the touch of a button and free up the barista to focus on customer service or café operations.
A secondary benefit of automating the coffee making process is that after the initial outlay to purchase the equipment, it can be incredibly efficient and beneficial to your operating costs. Joe’s customer shares their thoughts after using Übermilk in their venues: “Using the Übermilk, we’ve increased our volume without having to increase our workforce. The technology is very simple to use and easy to understand, so it’s made our training faster too.”
Lastly we asked Joe what’s next for automation in cafes, and he shared, “The café business is getting harder, margins are shrinking, wages and utilities have risen by more than 20% since 2009 (source: theconversation.com), and inflation will beg for alternative solutions to remain sustainable. Robots and under-counter fully automatic machines will be the next thing. I can’t see any coffee shops surviving or being sustainable in the future without having the right equipment.”
Efficiency!
We are constantly observing changes in the coffee industry which align with Joe’s comments. It’s more and more common to see a grind-by-weight grinder and automatic milk foamer in venues. Übermilk are the market leaders in this space with some other options such as Latte Art Factory, Perfect Moose, Café Assist, and the La Marzocco Wally. Markibar and Mahkonenig have a good footprint in the grind-by-weight grinder market with just about every other grinder manufacturer having options coming out regularly. Another exciting development is full automatic espresso machines such as the Franke Mytico and, of course, the Eversys range of equipment. Eversys have also announced a fully automatic, fully under-counter espresso machine which looks to be a game changer for those who can afford the upfront costs.
This equipment isn’t for every café, but something we encourage you to consider as your business grows. If you’re starting out or looking some tips, speak to your Grinders territory manager or coffee specialist on the best coffee station setups for greater efficiency.
The perfect starting point is the layout and setup of your workstation for which we have some design layouts as a starting point.
Talk to us
Technological innovation is rapidly transforming the coffee industry, enhancing efficiency and quality in café operations. Advancements like automated milk foamers, grind-by-weight grinders, and cloud-based integration systems are becoming essential tools for modern baristas, enabling them to deliver consistently high-quality coffee while optimizing workflow and reducing operating costs. As the industry faces increasing challenges such as shrinking margins and rising costs, embracing these innovations is crucial for sustainability. The future of coffee making looks promising with the advent of fully automated, under-counter machines, poised to revolutionise café operations and meet the demands of an evolving market.
Reach out to your Territory Manager or Coffee Specialist if you would like some support or have any questions.
