Posted July 21, 2014 12:40 am by Tony Hogarth
I recently got into a discussion with our head roaster about automatic coffee machines. Lloyd is a purist and coffee fanatic and without trying to toot our own horn, one of the best baristas I have ever met. In essence, he is as close to a figurehead for the argument against automatic coffee machines as there could possibly be and I was waiting for a tirade against automating the art of coffee making. However, even he has come around to the use of automatic machines and admitted they ‘have their place’.
Obviously the best coffee is made by an experienced, trained barista controlling every aspect of the shot and adding their own signature flair to each cup, but that is not what the automatic machine is competing with. Automatic coffee machines are not supposed to replace baristas but simply act as a substitute when there is not one at hand.
The improvements in automatic coffee machines over the last few years have been quite remarkable with companies like Jura and WMF leading the way, automatic machines have gone from offices to homes and even to hospitality professionals.
Why buy an automatic machine?
Speciality Coffees
Enjoying a speciality drink, does not mean you can make it. Without a coffee machine you are limited to pots of brewed coffee. An automatic coffee machine gives you all the speciality drinks you want at the touch of a button.
Make Fresh Coffee
Gone are the days of making a pot of coffee and leaving it percolating on the hotplate for hours on end. This over-brewing will destroy the taste and leave you with little more than a sour caffeine injection.
Use Fresh Beans
Roasted coffee beans will hold their freshness much better than after you grind it. The grinding process will release the oils and flavours that give coffee its taste. An automatic coffee machine should have an in-built grinder which grinds the coffee to order each time you use it. This gives you a fresh tasting coffee each time you use it.
Free Choice of Coffee
Your automatic machine can still use any beans you want. You can still treat yourself to an exclusive roast from an artisan roaster or test new beans you found in a market, the possibilities are endless.
Speed
Automatic coffee machines are getting faster and faster with some preparing cappuccinos in under a minute.
Consistency
An automatic machine is programmed to make coffee to pre-set specifications. Although this scientific approach may take the ‘heart’ out of coffee making, it means there is no room for the mistakes that untrained coffee drinkers will make.
Safety
It’s certainly more an issue for offices, but safety can be a real concern when using a manual machine. The process of manually making coffee involves plenty of hot water, often steam being fired out of a hot metal wand. I am not suggesting that your employees can not use a kettle, but accidents happen and the larger the more coffees you make the more scope there is for injury.
If you would like more information or to purchase an automatic coffee machine for your business or home then get in touch or go to our coffee machines page.