How Barista Attitude’s Storm FRC model puts the barista in the driver’s seat with the ability to adjust pressure profile and control the ultimate flavour profile of coffee.
When Barista Attitude takes over 540 square metres at the Host Milano expo in October, it will be one of the larger coffee manufacturing stands on offer. It will be the first time the Italian machine manufacturer has displayed its complete product line of equipment, and the official unveiling of its Pilot machine.
“At Host Milano 2021, we only had Storm, one prototype of Pilot, and Tempesta was only available to the United States market. A lot has changed in the past four years,” says Jacopo Bambini, Barista Attitude Group Marketing Director.
Barista Attitude’s brand ambassadors Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, Andrea Allen and Emi Fukahori will be on hand to showcase the best features of Barista Attitude’s machines, and how they can improve the barista’s coffee-making experience.
“When we talk about coffee, it’s not just coffee that Barista Attitude cares about, it’s about the overall experience baristas have behind our machines, and how they can utilise the tailor-made features of Barista Attitude machines to address certain needs and impact the final result,” Jacopo says.
“We want our brand ambassadors to send a strong message that our products support the specialty coffee industry, as well as the broader coffee market. Our products embrace all skill levels in the international coffee community. We really consider the needs of baristas and understand that their job is not always easy. That’s why we have solutions in place to help improve their daily routine and their coffee output in the best way possible.”
Jacopo says while the manufacturer may “not be so well known” it is backed by the much larger and experienced group, CMA, which has been manufacturing espresso machines in Veneto, Italy since 1969. The technology, research and development, and service extension behind each Barista Attitude machine, including the World Barista Championship Qualified Espresso Machine Tempesta, Pilot and Storm, therefore has the full technical support and backing of CMA.
Jacopo says Storm is particularly well known in Europe and is the official espresso machine of the Germany Barista Championship, however the Flow Rate Control (FRC) model is equally a suitable machine for the Australian market thanks to its raft of features that support the country’s penchant for milk-based drinks: long steam wands, cold touch, and levers to control the level of stream via dry steam technology.
It is a multi-boiler model with the capacity to control the flow of extraction in each group, and adjust the pressure profiles in different stages of brewing time to further customise the brewing process and control the intended flavour profile. A barista can therefore choose to dedicate a different coffee to each group to achieve a different cup result from the same machine.
All the functions of Storm can be easily controlled and adjusted through the simple- to-use interface on each group, which Jacopo notes has been one of the machine’s best features since its inception in 2017. The user has all the information and opportunity to control and set the pre-infusion, pressure, flow, extraction time and brewing temperature with six parameters available, or use the machine’s lever to make a free style extraction.
“Even if the technology within Storm is complex, the interface and its useability is the connection point between the machine and the barista,” Jacopo says.
“The machine helps the barista express themself. A really skilled barista has the freedom to use the pressure profile in a freestyle way, setting each group to be different to the next, or they can set the profile to get identical results. The barista doesn’t need to compromise anything because the machine will give you the guarantee of consistency in every cup.”
All Barista Attitude machines come with Internet of Things solutions and can be connected to Wi-Fi to access the manufacturer’s Beans2Cloud telemetry platform. This gives the user the ability to change parameters remote, such as water and group temperature, as well as features that monitor and assess best-selling drinks and service needs.
“The main target for Storm is dedicated coffee shops, but more and more we’re experiencing coffee chains utilising the FRC model. They’re looking for a machine that is reliable and one that staff can be trained on easily so staff can take advantage of its capabilities and produce the best coffee experience,” Jacopo says.
“We have had great feedback from the market but equally we have listened to baristas and made small adjustments to features, such as the filter gusset and shower head, not because they weren’t working well, but to improve the features even further.
We are also working on a new group handle that is a little shorter with a new shape, to be even more ergonomic. We always open to listening and introducing solutions that can make the barista’s life better.”
For more information, visit Australian distributor Coffee Works Express www.cwe.com.au or www.barista-attitude.com
This article appears in the October 2023 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
