Robot Baristas

“What we’ve created is in essence a small food factory that absolutely replicates what a champion barista does,” says Nater. Briggo roasts its own beans — sourced by a pair of coffee supply veterans who between them spent a combined 40 years at Starbucks. “We have calibrated this machine to pull espresso shots to the same specification as an Illy or a Stumptown or an Intelligentsia. We’ve just done it without the human element.”

I don’t know about this whole robots taking over the coffee business, though I’m sure it will have an effect. One of the reasons why I like buying coffee is the real-live human interaction I get from a coffee shop. The person who takes my coffee order every morning knows my name. She asks me how I’m doing. There is a good buzz going on. If there were a human-operated coffee shop down the street from me next to a robot-operated coffee shop, I’d pay the premium to go to the one with humans.

Photo: Briggo

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