Innovations in coffee-making machines that are juicing up the speciality coffee segment, which is growing north of 10% year on year
New Delhi: Ask any cubicle farm worker, any corporate worker ant or even a blue-blood Cadillac-crested C-suite executive about their favourite office-hours beverage. Most likely, coffee will be the hands-down winner. Caffeine, usually in the form of coffee, is as necessary to the morning as sunrise. It is also the perfect antidote to shake off the inertia of an afternoon energy slump or whenever the brain feels low on energy.
There is enough innovation happening in the coffee machine segment with more exciting products coming into the market. All these new technologies, products, and new features are helping to ensure that there is constant progress happening in the coffee segment. Here are a few cutting-edge innovations shaking up the industry.
The new coffee brewing method
When it comes to the brewing method, of course, espresso coffee brewing is still very popular but at the same time, a lot of manual brewing methods are also gaining fast currency.
People are becoming more interested in pour-overs. The pour-over method allows you to control the temperature of the water, the speed at which it goes into the grounds, the amount of time it brews and how much coffee it makes. Coffee enthusiasts tend to prefer this method because it allows them to control the taste, texture, temperature and strength of the brew.
Also, there are nowadays many newer ways of brewing coffee that are becoming popular. Every time you brew coffee differently, the flavour changes and you get a slightly different feel when you drink the beverage. That is one side where a lot of innovation is taking place and different brewing methods are coming into fashion.
Cold-Brew Coffee: There is also a lot of innovation taking place with cold-brewed coffee, which is very popular internationally. Cold-brew coffee is fast becoming popular in India as well with brands like Sleepy Owl doing a good job promoting cold-brew coffee. A lot of technological innovation is happening in this space where the time taken to prepare the beverage has been reduced to 30 minutes from the usual process of mixing ground coffee with cool water and steeping the mixture for about 12-18 hours.
“We represent an US company in India called BKON, which has developed a technology to reduce the steeping process to just 30 minutes. This innovation will accelerate the production of cold brew coffee and help to improve the consistency of the beverage,” says Abhinav Mathur, managing director, Kaapi Machines.
Nitro Coffee: Nitro is another interesting innovation that allows cold brew coffee to be infused with nitrogen, making nitro coffee taste almost like a frizzy soft drink. Nitro coffee is becoming popular with coffee lovers who want to move away from sugar and for them it is a great option as it offers the mouthfeel of a soft drink.
This option has become popular in countries like the US, China, and Japan and is now creating ripples in south-east Asia. In India, many new-age cafes like Bangalore-based Araku Coffee serve nitro brew and there are others experimenting with this format.
Ripple Maker: This Coffee Photo Printer Machine is another innovative product introduced by an Israel-based company. Thanks to this machine, the coffee can be transformed into a work of art and it can create customized experiences for coffee lovers. The Ripple Maker instantly prints personalized designs and paintings on coffee, nitro brew, and cocktails. This is a great innovation that aids in sales growth, brand building, and customer relationship strengthening.
Boiler-Less Machine: Coffee machines are becoming boiler-less. The espresso machines come fitted with a big boiler under the hood to constantly keep water at a certain temperature, which makes them bulky and they occupy a lot of counter space. The boilerless machines are compact and they operate on advanced heating technology.
Fully Automatic Milk Coffee Machine: This equipment embodies a great innovation, which prevents wastage of milk. The machine dispenses just the precise volume of milk needed to make the beverage. You just press a button and the milk comes out in precisely the right volume, making the machine a great productivity-related innovation.
Modbar: Modbar is perhaps the most exciting innovation in the coffee machine space, which makes it possible to aesthetically install a commercial coffee machine under the counter while having the entire coffee preparation experience on display. From the moment the order is placed, to the moment the coffee is served, everything is totally visible to the customer. The design and the technology behind it are part of the evolution of the speciality coffee service experience
With the coffee business showing good growth and coffee culture becoming ever more pervasive for both corporate and HoReCa segments, coffee equipment makers are finding themselves in a sweet spot with a long runway for growing their business. The various coffee brewing mechanisms have been the means to bring a refreshing, fine coffee to the table.
This is an excerpt from ‘India’s coffee machine market in fast spin with corporate and HoReCa creating the froth’ published by Sanjay Kumar in the January edition of Progressive Grocer 2023. To read full story, subscribe to the magazine.
