With Franke’s advanced automation driving evolution, there’s a new generation of businesses redefining where and how great coffee is served.
The best coffee you drink this week might not come from a café. It could be served at a car dealership, a university campus, or even a logistics depot.
Specialty coffee, once confined to the café, is showing up in places no one expected. As expectations rise, consumers’ preference for excellent coffee is showing up in every part of their day – from study and work to appointments with lawyers or mechanics.
This growing demand is driving a shift across the industry and automation is helping make it possible. That’s where Autesso has carved out its niche.
As one of Australia’s leading workplace coffee specialists and an approved Franke partner, Autesso designs tailored coffee programs for environments where baristas might not make sense but standards still do. With a team of technicians and experts, it’s helping reshape how Australians experience coffee in workplaces, showrooms, depots, and everything in between.
Backed by Franke’s automated technology, this shift is also creating new expectations and new opportunities, for workplaces, roasters, and coffee professionals alike.
Beyond the café
In the past, office coffee was synonymous with instant granules or outdated vending machines tucked into the corner of a kitchen. It was functional but forgettable. Today, coffee plays a very different role.
“We’re often called in to replace an outdated coffee setup,” says Xenia Alexander, Autesso Co-Owner and Managing Director.
“More often than not, it’s a powdered milk machine with an ‘out of order’ sign on it. In its place, we install a Franke, which is a serious investment in quality equipment. That shift alone tells you how much coffee’s role in the workplace has evolved.
“When the pandemic interrupted access to cafés, it didn’t dampen consumers’ appetite for great coffee, it highlighted how much they valued it. That expectation followed them back into the workplace.”
Today, coffee is more than a caffeine hit, it’s a signal of culture, care, and brand experience. In many workplaces, it’s a litmus test for how a business values the everyday experience.
“Coffee features in Google reviews and staff surveys more than you’d expect,” says Xenia.
“It’s consistently one of the things people remember and comment on. It might seem like a small detail, but it leaves a big impression. For both customers and employees, it signals that quality matters here.”
That expectation isn’t limited to high-end offices: it’s showing up in places the industry previously ignored.
“In warehouses and depots, great coffee becomes essential fuel for shift workers with limited access to cafés. In car showrooms it adds a layer of luxury that supports the sales process, and at universities it’s a meaningful student perk,” says Xenia.
The rise and rise of automation
Much of this is possible thanks to the progress of automation. According to Joshua Averes, Autesso Co-Owner and Head of Systems and Operations, Franke’s A Line has helped redefine what automatic machines can do. He says they offer consistency, customisation, and a design aesthetic that rivals traditional café setups.
“Whether it’s a small 20-person office or a high-volume training facility, there’s a Franke machine to suit,” Joshua says.
“From the compact A300 to the powerhouse A1000, the range lets us tailor performance to the environment.
“Anyone can use them. That’s the beauty of one-touch systems, you no longer need a staff member who’s been trained on the machine. Anyone can walk up, press a button, and get a great coffee. It democratises quality coffee across a whole business and means more people actually use it.”
Design plays a large role too, and Franke’s award-winning machines are designed to be on show.
“The look of the machine really matters in a customer-facing space, but it’s something people often overlook,” Xenia says.
“Franke machines feel more like an architectural feature than a piece of catering equipment, and we’ve seen clients build entire fit outs around the machine.”
Dialling in for taste at scale
Despite all the tech, taste remains the most important factor.
“Every sip is a judgment, not just on the coffee but on us and Franke,” says Xenia. “That’s why the in-cup experience is everything.”
Autesso doesn’t just supply machines, it also engineers the experience to suit both the coffee and the setting.
“Anyone can resell a machine,” says Joshua, “but it’s not enough to plug it in and walk away. Like any piece of high-end equipment, they’re incredibly nuanced. When they’re calibrated properly, the result can surprise even the most seasoned coffee professionals.”
And while automation makes these setups possible, it’s far from one-size-fits-all.
“Different workplaces have different needs,” says Joshua. “In a depot, we might adjust the grinder and extraction for speed to keep lines short during quick coffee breaks. In a showroom, it’s all about personalisation and theatre: steam wands, more complex flavour profiles, even custom drinks like dirty chai or Melbourne magic.”
The missing link, he says, has been connecting craft with automation.
“For too long, automatic setups were treated as an afterthought, something functional, not finessed. But great coffee, even with automation, still relies on the human touch. Behind every cup, whether it’s from a traditional machine or a fully automatic, is still a team of people.”
With more than 200 Franke coffee machines currently under management, Autesso supports more of them in the field than any other provider in Australia.
A new opportunity for roasters
This shift presents a real opportunity, not just for businesses but also for specialty roasters.
“In the past, some roasters avoided automatics or passed up opportunities because they didn’t want it reflecting poorly on their brand,” says Xenia. “Now, we’re seeing much more interest in what’s possible.”
Autesso works closely with roasters to get the best out of their coffee in self-service environments. That means calibration, recipe refinement, and constant testing. There’s also growing potential for creative development.
“A lot of coffees taste good through the Franke, but some really shine, and there are reasons for that,” says Xenia. “Extraction time, roast profile, dose, and grind setting – it all plays a role. It’s not always as simple as dropping in any blend. We see this as an exciting area to explore with roasters who want to get the absolute best out of these machines.”
She believes this shift isn’t a threat to industry, but a chance to expand.
“Offices, showrooms, and depots may not have baristas, but with the right machine and support they can still serve high-quality speciality coffee at scale.”
Meeting the demand for choice
In addition to flavour, today’s generation of coffee drinkers expect choice. That was clear at this year’s Melbourne International Coffee Expo, where the fastest-growing trends included dairy alternatives, iced beverages, and personalised recipes.
With machines that can handle up to 250 custom drink profiles, adjustable strengths, and iced modules that cool espresso on demand, Franke’s A Line can cater to this broad and changing set of preferences.
This quality and versatility are why Autesso works exclusively with Franke, a decision that, according to Xenia, is deliberate.
“In this space, there’s no shortage of new brands and lower-cost options popping up, but Franke remains the benchmark. We’ve tested the alternatives, and so far, nothing else has matched their performance over time.”
She points to the A600 as a standout example. “It changed the game when it was introduced and it still surprises us with its reliability. Like the Boeing 737 of the fleet, it just keeps going. We’ve seen machines in the field running well beyond their expected life span. This kind of longevity matters, not just for ROI but for sustainability too,” she says.
And the future?
“As workplaces evolve and specialty expectations rise, the question is no longer whether automation belongs”, she says.
“It’s about how we make it exceptional. With the right machines, the right setup, and the right partners, there’s a huge amount of potential still to unlock.”
For more information, visit coffee.franke.com or autesso.com.au
This article appears in the June 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
