Baristas beware: A robot that makes 100 gourmet cups of coffee an hour has arrived
Baristas beware: A robot that makes gourmet cups of
coffee has arrived
Peter Holley, The Washington Post Published 8:35 am PDT,
Friday, March 22, 2019
Briggo says it has created a fully automated, robotic
brewing machine that that can make 100 cups of coffee in a single hour.
In the food industry, it seems, the robot revolution is
well underway, with machines mastering skilled tasks that have always been
performed by people.
In Boston, robots have replaced chefs and are creating
complex bowls of food for customers. In Prague, machines are displacing
bartenders and servers using an app. In Denver, they're taking orders at a fast
food drive through.
Robots are even making the perfect loaf of bread these
days, taking charge of an art that has remained in human hands for thousands of
years.
Now comes Briggo, a company that has created a fully
automated, robotic brewing machine that that can push out 100 cups of coffee in
a single hour -- equaling the output of three to four baristas, according to
the company.
Using a blend of Latin American beans, the machine --
known as a "coffee haus" -- creates customized cups of gourmet coffee
that can be ordered via an app, giving customers control over ingredients,
espresso shots, flavorings and temperature without any human interaction. The
company says no other business in the world has applied as much technology to
"specialty coffee."
Removing the human element from ordering a cup of coffee
is one of the company's primary selling points.
"No more lines, no more counter confusion, no more
misspelled names," Briggo's website says, flicking at human failings.
Briggo said all eight of its machines are owned by the
company, but they've recently begun offering a licensed business model to prospective
operators. The company didn't reveal how much that business model costs, but
noted that rent and revenue-sharing arrangements are typical when a machine is
placed in a public location, such as an airport.
Kevin Nater, Briggo's president and chief executive, said
the machine would thrive in locations in which convenience is highly valued,
like airports and office buildings, where several of the 10-foot by 4-foot
machines currently operate.
"Imagine you're coming into the security line at the
airport, your flight is coming up, and you know that if you want a coffee
you're going to stand in a long line," said Nater. "From the security
line, you can simply order your cup of coffee and pick it up at the coffee haus
and make it to your flight on time."
"I've never found anyone who wants to stand in line
a long time," he added. "We've just changed the game."
It seems others agree. This year, Fast Company named the
Austin, Texas-based company one of the 10 Most Innovative companies in the
world. Assuming both companies grow, Briggo may someday compete with Cafe X, an
automated coffee bar from San Francisco that uses assembly line-style machines
that promise your cup of joe will be engineered with "robotic
precision."
The machines arrive at a time when ready-to-drink coffee,
such as bottled drinks found in supermarkets and convenience stores, continues
to explode in popularity, according to CNBC.
Nater said he has no doubt his machine makes cups of
coffee as well, if not better, than a human barista. Referring to the robot as
a "high speed, totally controlled food factory," he said that unlike
human workers a machine doesn't get flustered when business gets busy. By
looking at analytics, he said, he can ensure that the robot is hitting
"all of it's quality marks."
But Oliver Geib, a 24-year-old barista at Ceremony Coffee
Roasters in Annapolis, Md., remained skeptical. As coffee is being made by a
barista, he said, subtly gauging the ratio of water to grind as flavor develops
through refined taste tests, is a crucial part of the process.
"All the numbers and data in the world can't
actually tell you how the coffee tastes," Geib said. "A big part of
what a human brings is being able to taste the coffee during the process of
dialing in the flavor."
Fast-food restaurants like Starbucks, Wendy's, Panera and
McDonald's encourage customers to order using self-service kiosks or a mobile
app.
Asked how Briggo would impact employment, Nater said food
service companies have a hard time retaining workers and are often short on
staff, especially in airports where turnover is high.
"We don't think we're replacing people," he
said. "We are creating a high tech retail and marketing business and
developing jobs in the process. We just hired two people in the Bay Area, where
we are opening a new location in the spring."
But automation critics claim that machines ultimately
harm more workers than they help. Last month, Erikka Knuti -- communications
director for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union -- said too many
businesses treat customer service as a line-item cost instead of an investment.
In addition to eliminating jobs, she said, removing people from transactions
degrades the product that businesses are selling.
"Retailers and businesses underestimate the
importance of the customer service interaction -- that point when a customer
hands over their money and they get a warm smile in return that tells them
they're valued," she said.
Asked whether he was worried about losing his job to a
robot, Geib said, "absolutely not." Though he sees the value of
robots making coffee at particular locations when customers are short on time,
he said there's a loyal group of people who will always seek out the slower,
interactive experiences at coffee shops.
"A lot of customers really appreciate watching a
barista carefully pouring water or steaming the milk or adding a little
flourish to their drink," he said. "The social aspect, the atmosphere
and the interaction with the barista, is a big part of the experience of
drinking coffee."
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