Since the latter part of the last decade...
there's been a lot of talk about industrial automation, and the coffee industry hasn't been immune. It seems we've started small with automatic tampers, espresso machines, and milk steamers, but the next logical step is replacing the most inconsistent part of the process: the barista. Now after the global events of the last couple years there has been an increased push to remove people from those face-to-face service industry positions creating the perfect entry point for robot baristas.
Of course I'm not against technology designed at making us and coffee better, but I do have my concerns. For one, I personally want to maintain the very real, very skilled craft of coffee. Yet, I worry even more about the potential long term effects that robot baristas could have on specialty coffee at a whole. A simple barista position is the starting point for most of those who have found a passion in coffee.
I don't want to go into all of it here, so hit play on the video above and join the conversation.