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Latte Art Champion and WMF Professional Coffee Machines Brand Ambassador Daniel Gerlach discusses the future of coffee preparation and how automation can elevate the barista’s craft.
Coffee preparation as we know it is changing. As technology advances, the interplay of automation and traditional craftsmanship is reshaping the coffee experience. And with the rise of the home barista, consumer expectations have never been higher as more people demand consistency and quality in every cup.
This evolving landscape not only highlights the artistry behind coffee-making but also embraces innovative technologies that ensure a perfect brew. As a three-time German Latte Art Champion and owner of one of the largest coffee schools in Germany, Daniel Gerlach knows the international coffee scene well and is tuned into its trajectory.
In his latest role as WMF Professional Coffee Machines Brand and Product Ambassador for WMF espresso NEXT, he’s working to bridge the gap between the world of baristas and automatic coffee machines.
Having begun his career as a barista in 2009, Gerlach believes that with the evolution of training and technology comes the evolution of what it means to craft the perfect cup.
“Anyone learning the barista trade today has a completely different level of knowledge than those in 2009,” he says.
“Back then, we didn’t talk much about things like brew ratios: the extraction time was the most important thing for us. Whether there were 18 or 19 grams of coffee in the portafilter was not so essential. We tried it out and hoped the espresso would run for between 20 and 30 seconds. If it still tasted good, then we had done everything right.”
Fast-forward to today and the landscape has transformed dramatically. Modern baristas are equipped with a technical understanding of coffee that was once rare, employing scales, calculating brew ratios, and measuring TDS values to optimise their craft.
According to Gerlach, the automation of technology enhances the best qualities of both the barista and the equipment. It ensures consistency in every cup while allowing baristas to focus on what truly matters: crafting exceptional coffee to meet rising customer expectations.
“Customers who make a really good cappuccino at home every morning expect at least as good a quality when they visit a café. This makes it increasingly difficult to satisfy these customers and retain their loyalty, especially with frequently changing staff. This should be an incentive for us to keep up to date – not just to keep up, but to help shape the scene,” says Gerlach.
He suggests that easy-to-use semi-automatic portafilter machines such as the WMF espresso NEXT can cater to this.
“When you have to deal with a lot of modern technology – which is useful and helpful – but you have to concentrate too much on how it works, you lose attention for the most important thing: making coffee,” he says.
However, he believes uncomplicated machines like the WMF espresso NEXT provide a solution to the issue of temporary staff by using automation to preserve quality and streamline the training process.
“In view of the shortage of skilled workers, cafés also have employees who are less experienced with classic portafilters,” says Gerlach.
“Customers shouldn’t be able to tell from the taste whether the cappuccino was made by me, for example, or by our 18-year-old temporary worker who is doing a part-time job with us after finishing school.”
The WMF espresso NEXT is designed for all situations where high-quality coffee is important, as well as where it is not possible or feasible to employ a trained barista.
“The main target group here is classic system catering with many locations and frequently changing staff, such as the hotel industry and larger coffee chains,” he says.
“The appearance of the WMF espresso NEXT already suggests high coffee quality, as it looks and works like a portafilter machine. Yet, it’s as easy to use as a fully automatic.”
The machine, which has integrated grinders and monitors extraction, is suitable for a range of baristas with different levels of experience. Inexperienced users can utilise the fully automatic brewing functions to prepare consistently good beverages – provided the quality of the raw materials is right – and then pour milk foam direct from the AutoSteam wand into the cup.
When demonstrating the WMF espresso NEXT, Gerlach says he never has to explain much, which would be completely different with a classic portafilter.
The machine’s capabilities aren’t black and white, either: baristas can still nurture traditional techniques while opting to integrate automated processes. On one hand, he says this helps new staff who are not yet familiar with portafilter machines. And on the other, trained baristas benefit from automated support processes while also demonstrating their expertise using the machine primarily as a portafilter.
“For example, by working with an additional external grinder, the coffee machine only takes care of tamping and levelling as well as the brewing process,” he says.
In environments where it is difficult to produce consistent results, such as venues that experience changes in temperature, automation can aid the barista.
“Nobody, including me, is immune to day-to-day form. The [machine’s] support is particularly noticeable during big events such as trade fair, for example, when we are confronted with very different circumstances,” he says.
“Even for trained baristas, changes in temperature can make it difficult to consistently deliver the same quality – even if the machine has been set up properly before the start of the event. When I worked on the WMF espresso NEXT at this year’s tradeshows, I was pleasantly surprised because it works consistently even under varying conditions thanks to the automatic adjustments.”
In a more standardised environment such as a café, Gerlach says baristas want to be able to influence all relevant factors in coffee preparation easily – from brewing and steam pressure to temperature, grind, and quantity. But once set, these parameters should remain as stable and constant as possible.
“In my opinion, automatic extraction monitoring is one of the most important criteria. After all, coffee is a natural product and is subject to fluctuations. Even I as a barista can’t always give 100 per cent,” he says.
“Without milk dosing, sometimes more, sometimes less milk is poured into the jug which leads to waste – and the quality of the milk foam varies depending on the quantity as well. In the worst case, the jug overflows. This does not happen with an automatic milk dispenser.”
In the foreseeable future, Gerlach is anticipating a renewed emphasis on craftsmanship, thanks to technology such as the WMF espresso NEXT.
“I am convinced this automation will increase coffee quality, even in locations where staff are inexperienced,” he says.
“We can love the craftsmanship, the recipes, the sensory aspects, and still use a certain amount of support to make our lives easier. It’s a bit like changing gears in a car. I love driving manually, but the further the journey, the more grateful I am for the support of an automatic gearbox.”
For more information, visit the WMF website.
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