The POUR’D solution from Marco Beverage Systems allows cafés to add new levels of variety to their offerings with cold and concentrated coffee or hot water all served from a single tap.
There are many ways to brew or drink cold coffee, and across the globe, customers are coming to expect a range of options when they visit a coffee shop. Under-counter water system and coffee brewing specialist Marco Beverage Systems saw this demand and set out to create a solution that would allow cafés to seamlessly introduce new cold coffee options to their menus.
Releasing across July and August 2021, the Marco Beverage Systems POUR’D cold coffee dispense system allows a venue to serve ready-to-drink (RTD) cold coffee and cold coffee from concentrate, which can be mixed from a single font. In addition, customers have the option of adding a separate cold or hot water stream to produce anything from chilled drinks and teas to Americanos and hot chocolates.
“The true innovation behind POUR’D is the flexibility it allows. We did extensive research on cold coffee – how it’s brewed, how it’s delivered, et cetera – and we found that different sites and different roasters had different needs,” says Gemma Kiernan, Head of Marketing at Marco Beverage Systems. “The POUR’D meets all of these. It moves cold brew service to front of house, meaning baristas don’t need to go to the fridge or manually mix their concentrate at the start of the day. It also means that one system can deliver cold coffee, a shot of coffee, and hot or cold water. This means that operators can serve multiple beverages from one system.”
The RTD option is very straightforward. It can be dispensed straight from a bag-in-box, urn, or container kept in the fridge, and gives the user a choice of push and hold or hands-free operation.
The concentrate version allows operators to pre-program their beverage choices, volumes, and dilution ratio. Kiernan says using coffee concentrate provides greater versatility than standard cold brew.
“It takes around 10 to 14 hours to make cold brew using traditional methods. It can also be a messy and wasteful exercise, not to mention how much space a cold brewer can take up back of house. By introducing coffee concentrate, a site eliminates the need for brewing, and this saves time, energy, and mess. It also means that different drinks can be made from the same concentrate, for example iced mochas, cold brew, and frappes,” she says. “Concentrate is also a more stable liquid, meaning that it will last longer in the shop – reducing waste. Finally, when brewing RTD on-site, each batch may taste slightly different depending on the skill and attention of the brewer. Concentrate ensures consistency in cold coffee service.”
An operator can set POUR’D to deliver up to three different types of beverages or volumes. POUR’D automates beverage volumes and dilution, so baristas don’t need to take on these tasks. Kiernan says there are many configurations available depending on the site’s needs.
“We’ve seen a big demand from our customers for multi-purpose systems. After such a difficult year, retailers and roasters need to keep an eye on their expenses. This means streamlining speed of service, labour costs, and equipment investment, as well as optimising their space for maximum output and efficiency,” Kiernan says.
Installation can be customised to the site’s needs, but at its most basic, simply includes a coffee source, counter-top font, and POUR’D control box. Regular maintenance is as easy as running a cleaning cycle at the end of the day and usage is as simple as pressing a button after programming beverage types, volume, and ratio at install.
“POUR’D marks our first venture into cold coffee dispense solutions and builds on the sleek counter-top aesthetic you would have seen in our MIX hot water and FRIIA cold water ranges,” Gemma says. “It also gives our customers more choice on their beverage offering. Our purpose is to re-imagine beverage excellence everywhere. This means any beverage in any site is made in the best possible way, for the roaster, the barista, and the customer.
“POUR’D enables us to deliver on this purpose by offering consistent, stylish, and flexible beverage solutions that create a better experience for everyone when it comes to cold coffee service.”
For more information, visit www.marcobeveragesystems.com
This article appeared in the July/August 2021 edition of Global Coffee Report, read more HERE.