Imagine ordering a coffee through a phone app. A timer lets you know exactly when it’ll be ready. You get dressed, commute to work, and then walk into your favorite café. A machine serves your small latte without queue. Perfectly made, no mistakes.
Does this sound like something you’ll be interested in?
The Briggo coffee kiosk and its creators Kevin Nater and Yves Behar think so.
The Briggo is an automated cappuccino machine that makes coffee tailored to your specifications. It contains 250 sensors that assess its own performance to ensure it delivers your perfect cup every time. Like your coffee extra hot? Extra strong? No problem.
“What we’ve created is in essence a small food factory that absolutely replicates what a champion barista does,” Mr Nater said. Really, the Briggo was trained by champion barista Patrick Pierce himself, who hence has left the company but not before embedding his knowledge.
The Briggo allows customers to order their coffee through their mobile, tablet or computer before arriving to the machine. You can save your favorite order, invent custom hot or old drinks, level of steamed milk, and then share your creations with friends over social media or the Briggo app.
The machine measures and monitors every process of the coffee making process. Mr. Nater claims this allows them to track every shot of espresso in every machine. They have control of the entire coffee supply chain and so solve the problem of “variation” in coffee making.
A new barista has to be trained, paid, and given lunch breaks– the Briggo doesn’t have this problem. At just 4.6 square meters it is similar in size to a phone booth, making it perfect for airports, hospitals, businesses and even cafes.
However Mr. Nater says baristas shouldn’t think of the Briggo as their enemy, because it’s about creating a cure for “out-of-home coffee drinkers” that are tired of “an inconsistent experience”.
But there are elements that the Briggo kiosk cannot replicate, the café culture experience for one. The conversation you have with your barista, the regulars you nod to as you enter the cafe, and the smell of freshly ground coffee beans.
Specialty coffee is another area that the Briggo lags behind. It cannot create latte art, use alternative brewing methods, or offer a variety of bean selections. No, Briggo is all about convenience, consistency, and good basic coffee. But that is its strength and point of diversification.
Right now the Briggo coffee kiosk is stationed at the University of Austin Texas. But the company has plans to introduce more Briggo machines across the United States. These locations are yet to be announced, but you may see one near you soon.
Would you consider replacing your local café for a Briggo? Join the discussion below.
"it's about creating a cure for "out-of-home coffee drinkers" that are tired of "an inconsistent experience"."
I don't drink coffee "out-of-home"…unless I'm on the road and it's in some greasy-spoon diner in the middle of nowhere.
I think it would best be suited airports and the like, where people just need anything to stay awake but at decent quality. Don't really believe they would put a dent in the already established cafe/barista experience.