SEB Professional reveals how fully automatic machines can help baristas and bar staff create an improved experience for customers craving coffee personalisation.
Quality and consistency are non-negotiables in creating a good coffee experience. Whether ordered in a bustling train station, a specialty café, or anywhere in between, the standard of the coffee must meet expectations – lest a customer be lost.
There’s a new dimension to keeping customers satisfied in the modern era. The demand for personalisation – whether through milk alternatives and syrups or the inclusion of different ingredients – is keeping baristas on their toes and customers expecting more.
The rise of functional beverages – drinks enriched with ingredients such as vitamins, protein, or collagen – is also contributing to a new standard of wellness in coffee for the especially health-minded consumer.
SEB Professional – which includes brands Schaerer, WMF, Curtis, and La San Marco – believes automation has a vital role to play in meeting the demands being placed on the coffee industry, and the improvement of technology can only elevate the customer experience.
The influence of Gen Z
SEB Professional says Generation Z craves creativity and customisation in their drinks. Cold drink options and flavoured fusions have become commonplace on café menus alongside classics like lattes and cappuccinos.
Gen Z is also the demographic that is driving the new age of health-conscious coffee habits, the manufacturer says.
Plant-based milks such as oat and almond are becoming a default choice rather than an alternative for many consumers. As a result, beverages like iced almond cappuccinos and iced matcha lattes have become an industry standard – alongside the expectation of delivering quality traditional hot espresso beverages.
SEB Professional says the younger generations also expect seamless ordering and app experiences, as well as social media-worthy drinks that turn their daily coffee into a shareable moment. Providers that can cater to these desires often see strong customer loyalty and engagement.
Cold drink customisation
In this landscape of new drinks and expectations, SEB Professional says automatic machines can take pressure off venue staff and create an improved customer experience.
The Schaerer Coffee Soul was one of the first machines to launch a fully automatic feature for crafting cold coffee beverages. Its Hot & Cold technology cools fresh espresso to between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius during dispensing, enabling the creation of a cold coffee drink.
The Coffee Soul also has setting options to customise the beverage range to individual requirements, whether that be different beans, milk types, or other ingredients.
Schaerer’s patented Best Foam milk system is designed to deliver cold milk-foam and milk, including dairy alternatives, at desired temperatures.
The Flavour Point syrup station also enables syrups, liqueurs, or spirits to be added to the drink.
Finally, both the Coffee Soul and Coffee Skye – a more compact and portable machine – can be equipped with Schaerer’s Twin Milk system. Two separate containers can be filled with different milk types, meaning those operating the machine are able to choose different milks by selecting the corresponding beverage symbol.
Combining freedom and consistency
With traditional aesthetics, award-winning machine design, and a range of automated processes, the WMF espresso NEXT combines the design, and craftsmanship of traditional portafilters with the advantages of automation.
From grinding, portioning and tamping to milk dosing and frothing, the machine is designed to take care of typically time-consuming and error-prone tasks, meaning consistent beverage quality may still be achieved even when staff have differing levels of expertise. All parameters can also be individually adjusted, meaning baristas can have freedom to craft individual creations.
Fore more information, visit schaerer.com or wmf-coffeemachines.com
This article was first published in the September/October 2025 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
