Barista Group has partnered with Swiss company Tone to bring the next generation in recipe development and boilerless brewing technology to Australia.
When Barista Group General Manager Joe Chalhoub met Tone Founder Holger Welz in 2019 at HostMilano in Italy, he saw the Swiss manufacturer’s potential to develop world class brewing equipment. But when Tone unveiled the Touch 04 boilerless brewer in April 2023, he believed it would deliver precision control, unparalleled energy efficiency, and redefine the future of brewing.
“The Tone Touch 04 is one of the most revolutionary brewers on today’s market and offers the operational capability to take the modern brew bar to the next level,” says Joe. “It transcends conventional brewing machines by enabling baristas to tap into the full potential of their coffee and tea beverages while using 10 times less energy than a traditional brewer.”
The latest iteration in Tone’s line of Swiss precision brewers builds on the Touch 03 boilerless technology and is now optimised for brews from one to four litres.
“The Touch 04 allows the barista to control agitation, flow rates, and pulse patterns at any stage of brewing, including blooming, turbulence, and development, in order to optimise extraction. Unlimited recipes can be created and shared using the Tone Beverage Manager software which is available on iOS, Android, and Microsoft app stores,” Joe says.
“Anyone can press an application- programmed recipe button to start the brewing process, the operator does not have to be a coffee professional.”
The Touch 04 has four recipe buttons that can each be programmed to execute two functions. For example, one can program four coffee or tea recipes and four dynamic water profiles for dispensing set quantities when the brew basket is removed. By optimising water reach and penetration of the coffee bed, the Tone Touch 04 can achieve high extraction and replicate recipes.
“The boilerless standalone brewing system in instantly hot. As a result, it sustainably channels brew water through two highly innovative heating elements that eliminate the need for a traditional heating phase. The tabletop machine comes with a small footprint, as no boiler underneath the counter is needed. Electricity is only used during the brew cycle, so no wastage of energy occurs, saving up to two tonnes of carbon emissions annually per machine,” says Joe.
“The barista or shop owner is empowered to easily adjust brew recipes by changing temperature, brew time, and a host of other parameters to profile various coffee and tea beverages. Through Tone’s Intelligent Brewing System, users can generate different strengths of extraction from the same volume of coffee. This system is a key part of the programmability offered in the Tone Beverage Manager software.” Just like its smaller predecessor, the Tone Touch 04 utilises a black box maintenance concept to simplify service and upkeep.
“All electronical and mechanical parts are built in a black box. If a service is needed, the black box can be exchanged within five to six minutes with no downtime of the brewer,” Joe says.
“The Tone Touch 04 simplifies a lot of steps in the brewing workflow, which allows users to allocate time elsewhere in the business. This innovative product also empowers baristas to effortlessly fine-tune recipes and cater to the diverse preferences of customers.”
The patented Tone descaling valve is built-in to every new brewer. It enables easy monthly descaling of the machines with Tone’s specially developed descaling liquid Green Clean. The process should only take about seven minutes for any barista to complete.
Joe says the custom designed Tone Touch 04 brew basket and corresponding cover offer four key benefits.
“The brew basket carrier is dishwasher safe and can be easily removed. Condensation backflow is directed into the brew basket. The basket detection and locking system ensure safety and security during the brewing process, and optimised water bypass functionality enables simple pre-programmed water dosing and allows for concentrate dilution,” he says.
Barista Group’s partnership with Tone means that it can provide customers with Tone’s full range of brewing products for venues that want the same degree of control over their batch brew or filter at higher volumes.
The Tone 01 is a multifunctional brewing solution that also allows baristas to brew iced and hot coffee or tea in batches up to four litres.
The Tone 02 is like a ‘decked-out version’ of the 01. The main brewing chamber delivers bulk brew coffee and tea, while a side arm extended with two waterspouts jutting out the right of the machine makes it possible to brew Chemex-style coffees.
The Tone 03 single serve brewer uses an electronic continuous slow heating system to ensure water is at the right temperature as it leaves the machine, eliminating the need for a traditional boiler. It produces batches from 250 millilitres up to 1.5 litres in size, making it optimal for single cups or high- end coffees.
Rounding out the Tone line is the Nitro, a plug and play unit that uses an integrated cooler and nitrogen pulled from the air, instead of a canister, to produce nitro cold brew.
“The Nitro is a game changer. Space is crucial in cafés and having a nitro unit you can plug and play is awesome,” Joe says.
“It’s a very simple device that you can fit on any counter. You can even regulate the temperature and amount of nitrogen brought into the coffee from the back as well.”
Although Australia is still an espresso- based, milk-heavy market, Joe sees potential for filter uptake to grow exponentially, especially with Tone brewers making it much easier for a busy café to deliver a filter option.
“I can’t see any coffee shops surviving or being sustainable in the future without having the right coffee, the right equipment, and an offering that is unique to them – like a diverse menu of single origins,” Joe says.
Barista Group customers can place a pre-order for the Touch 04 and expect the boilerless brewer to be available in Q1 2024.
“We believe Tone is strategically positioned where Tesla was 15 years ago. Barista Group sees the future of brewing and espresso manufacturing will go boilerless due to its efficiency and carbon footprint reduction. Afterall, every business should contribute to operating as sustainably as possible, including us,” Joe says.
For more information, visit www.baristagroup.com.au
This article appears in the October 2023 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
