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Man vs Machine : Are baristas has-beans?

Reading time: 5 minutes
by Cecily Batten
Coffee is the most popular beverage in the world, and obviously you want to get the best caffeine hit possible. Sadly, we do not all have the chance to drink Italian-grandma-homemade-coffee with artisan moka pots every morning. This is a shame, however, modern machines are beginning to provide an experience that’s not only at the same level as barista-made coffee, but also in many ways increasingly superior.

Firstly, the quality. For a long time, barista-prepared coffee had the upper hand, but this era is over. Machines can now provide high-quality taste, which is why you find more and more Michelin-Starred restaurants turning to machines. 

Then there’s cost and quantity. The bottom line is that going each day to a coffee shop will cost you from £500 to more than £1,000 a year. (Assuming you only drink a cup a day.) For the same expense you can expect 40 times more coffee from a machine.

If your day-to-day life is hectic, then machine coffee also makes sense. Many machines can prepare a cup of your favourite brew in under a minute- saving you valuable time. Also, you don’t always need to worry about mundane tasks such as cleaning, as many modern machines are now so smart they can clean as they go!

As we all know, protecting the environment is a major struggle of this century, and machines are better at this job. While they are improving, coffee shops use disposable cups made with paper and plastic that are complex to recycle. Some machines also use paperless brewing, and by reusing your favourite mug you’ll cut down on waste.

On the sociable aspect, going to the coffee machine in an office will bring employees together, and facilitate conversation. Everyone needs a break from time to time, why not also benefit from getting to know your colleagues at the same time?

If you are still not convinced, just think about this: a coffee made by a machine will always be to a certain standard, a coffee made by a barista depends on their skills, if they are bad, the coffee will be bad.

This article was originally published in 2018.