Starbucks launches a high-end coffee machine

Erma Kamen

For a coffee shop, having a "Black Hawk" lying on the bar is something to brag about.

In the traditional sense, the coffee machine is the "low-key giant" in the coffee shop. It accounts for a lot of the cost of opening a shop and also represents the professionalism of a shop. But it is not easy to buy a "super value" machine within the budget.

But for Starbucks, the coffee machine seems to be a way to demonstrate its brand strength. It is said that it has a new machine under testing.

Today, let’s talk about this nascent coffee machine and its culture.

Coffee Gate｜Er Ma, from Seattle

1

Starbucks to launch new coffee machine

Recently, Starbucks launched a coffee machine called Patented Bottom Fill Espresso at its only internal beta store open to the public, the Roy Street store at its headquarters in Seattle.

Since there is no official Chinese translation, we will translate it as " bottom-filling espresso machine ".

First watch the video (26 seconds long) to learn about this new coffee machine——

▲This new coffee machine looks very cool

The four types of coffee beans available for selection are placed in front of the coffee machine. For any type of beans, the machine has corresponding processing parameters, which can be considered semi-automatic .

Press the button and the espresso will rise up, overcoming gravity. The side of the machine also has a milk frothing device, which is small and slender but fully functional. It is easy to make a cup of Italian coffee and is also very eye-catching.

But considering that its output is slower than the fully automatic ThermoPlan machines used in most stores today, the most likely place for it to appear in the future would be Starbucks' roastery stores or some of its Reserve stores.

In fact, Roy Street has been playing the role of an innovation laboratory for Starbucks since 2009. Some of the most experimental drinks, such as Acorn Latte and Japanese Iced Macchiato, first appeared here and then were launched on the market.

The emergence of bottom-fill espresso machines is now considered a warm-up for Starbucks' coffee machine innovation.

2

The coffee machines used by Starbucks in those years

In the past few years, Starbucks has changed its coffee machines several times, and these different brands of coffee machines have sometimes even become its marketing points. And their changes have always been used as a mirror to reflect the changes of Starbucks in recent years.

In the past year, the most talked-about coffee machine in Starbucks is the Victoria Arduino Black Eagle VA388, also known as the legendary " Black Eagle ", which is used as a competition machine in the World Coffee Competition (WBC). The vigorous promotion behind this is closely related to Starbucks' increasing emphasis on high-end gold medals.

▲Black Hawk coffee machine

If a coffee shop has such a semi-automatic boutique coffee machine, it can almost show its status. Therefore, the Shanghai Sinan Mansion store, which opened in May 2016, has two Black Hawk VA388s, which undoubtedly highlights the status of this store.

Before Black Hawk, Starbucks acquired a coffee machine brand called Clover Brewing System in 2008. Today, this semi-automatic coffee machine can still be seen in some stores in the United States. The coffee it extracts is not Italian espresso, but more like a French press and a siphon pot grafted together, and then packaged in high-tech packaging.

▲ Clover Brewing System, which Starbucks acquired

Going back further, Starbucks even used the LINEA coffee machine from the well-known Italian coffee machine brand La Marzocco (the legendary "La Marzocco") in the early days. This semi-automatic machine can now be seen in many small and medium-sized boutique coffee shops.

But because it tests the skills of the barista to a great extent and requires a lot of training costs, it disappeared from Starbucks soon.

▲LINEA coffee machine

Today, the ThermoPlan used on a large scale by Starbucks comes from Weggis, a small town in Switzerland with a population of less than 10,000 people.

In 1999, this small workshop company with only 20 employees at the time won the exclusive global supply contract for Starbucks. As the latter quickly opened stores around the world, ThermoPlan is now spread all over the world.

▲The "Starbucks exclusive" rumor on the Internet

As a coffee machine brand that once relied on standardization and efficiency to build its empire, the automatic and fast ThermoPlan did help Starbucks expand in the initial stages.

3

Coffee machines are no longer just for making coffee

In today’s boutique coffee shops, the presence of coffee machines is becoming more and more prominent. Sometimes the machine body is colorful, and sometimes it is simply highlighted in the store description.

Consumers have also been educated to think that a coffee machine is a symbol of whether a coffee shop is authentic.

On the other hand, coffee machine brands are also seeking greater room for development. Last year, La Marzocco opened its first coffee shop in Seattle, which was also its first retail store outside of its dozens of showrooms around the world.

When talking about why such a store was opened, the head of La Marzocco's US market said: "This surprised me. People seem to want to connect with our brand."

Coffee machine culture may be regarded as a branch of boutique coffee education. Looking back, its status is gradually increasing and it has become an element that cannot be ignored.

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Coordinator: Ka Sir | Editor: Zheng Yu

This article is original by Kamen. Please do not reprint without permission

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