How do you think the world of coffee machines will develop over the next few years?

From a technical perspective, the worlds of portafilter and fully automatic coffee machines will continue to merge in waves. Machines will be selected according to customer requirements and usage scenarios. Where communication and experience take centre stage, the portafilter will continue to be an important product category.

However, fully automatic machines will also try to move in this direction. For the consumer, their individual needs take centre stage and these vary depending on the situation. For the operator of coffee concepts, consistent quality and efficiency will be the focus alongside their individual coffee story.

There will no longer be a difference between the two worlds in the cup, but only in the way they work, which will also become less and less visible in many places, be it through delivery services or ghost kitchen approaches.

Reduce and facilitate work, increase availability: Automation will progress even further with fully automatic machines and portafilters. Fewer skills will be required at the portafilter, but it will not be possible to do without skilled craftsmanship in the future, for example when it comes to stylishly blending coffee and milk.

Can the wheel be turned much further? What other technical features are conceivable and how will they change professional work with coffee in the catering industry?"

If we look around the world today, we can already see that the variety and complexity of beverages continues to increase. Special coffees, different types of milk and milk alternatives, different temperatures, the addition of syrups and colours are already in demand. This results in further demands on the technology to at least provide support during preparation. Let's stay with the bean: here too, vending machines will provide even more efficient and precise support in future, for example when it comes to automatically adjusting the temperature, grinding degree and contact pressure to the respective bean type, including its degree of freshness, and to the individual beverage during preparation. The perfect summer drink is then available at the touch of a button. Operators can easily further differentiate their offering and at the same time focus on their guests.

While complexity continues to increase, coffee machines will continue to shrink. At the same time, operators of coffee concepts are being given more and more tools to manage their business efficiently and add value. From IoT-driven analyses and reports to on-demand analyses and recommendations.