Coffee Machine Technologies and Fiorenzato: partnerships that make sense

Coffee Machine Technologies introduces the Fiorenzato F64 EVO Sense series of value-focused professional grinders.

The team behind Coffee Machine Technologies in Melbourne have been a driving force in Fiorenzato’s success in Australia. The family-run equipment and service provider started working with the Italian grinder manufacturer over a decade ago, helping to build the brand’s reputation for quality machinery for both commercial and domestic settings.

“Fiorenzato is a very old company with a lot of history. Competing against some of the major players, traditionally it hadn’t been considered a high-end brand,” says Carmelo Corallo, National Sales Manager of Coffee Machine Technologies.

“Australia has a much higher consumption of coffee than many other countries and our baristas are more particular and less forgiving. For this reason, many companies trial their equipment here before launching it internationally. When we first started working with Fiorenzato, we showed them the benchmark of quality in Australia and helped them to reach it.”

It took a few months and a lot of back and forth between Italy and Australia, but eventually the grinders Fiorenzato shared with the Coffee Machine Technologies team were hitting the mark. Since that day the companies have worked closely to offer equipment that fulfils the needs of Australia’s fastidious cafés, roasters, and hospitality venues – as well as passionate home brewers.

“John [Colangeli, Coffee Machine Technologies Founder] put in a huge amount of work. A lot of feedback that came out of Australia has developed Fiorenzato into what you see now,” says Carmelo.

“To this day, we are in constant communication with the team in Italy. They’re always asking for feedback and it’s important for them to know what’s going on in individual markets.”

As part of this continued drive for innovation and quality, in August 2024 Coffee Machine Technologies received the first grinders in the new F64 Sense range. The series, which includes the F64 EVO Sense and F64 EVO PRO Sense, was debuted at HostMilano in October 2023, receiving international interest for its grind-by-weight technology. Australia will be one of the first countries to take it to market when Coffee Machine Technologies launches it in January 2025.

The prototypes that arrived earlier this winter have been dispatched to some of the equipment specialist’s key clients to be road- tested ahead of the launch.

“We strive to test all new products with our clients who have been our biggest supporters. They won’t sugar coat their feedback and will give us their honest opinion. Coming from a manufacturing background, I know it’s essential to trial the products in the environments in which they’ll be used,” says Carmelo.

“Being able to identify any issues before it’s launched on a large scale gives us the opportunity to fix them and make any market-specific adaptations. If you start selling a $3000 product that isn’t performing, you’re going to start getting it back very quickly – and that will come with a lot of heat.”

An evolution of the XGi series, the new professional Sense range builds on the successful AllGround Sense domestic collection. According to Carmelo, the weighted grinder has been designed with value and consistency as priorities.

“Whenever we create something for coffee companies, we build it with quality in mind to ensure they get value out of it. Even though we offer servicing as part of our business, we don’t build things for them to break or be thrown away. We want them to last and be passed down generations,” he says.

“The F64 EVO Sense has Dark-T blades which were introduce to Australia in June 2024. A normal commercial coffee grinder might only get through 700 to 900 kilograms of coffee on one set of standard blades, but the Dark-T blades can process over 4000 kilograms before they need to be replaced. That’s a huge amount of value from a service point of view, and users have peace of mind that it’s not going to break down after a year and put them out of service for however long it takes to get fixed.”

Developed to enhance grinding performance, the Dark-T burrs are an evolution of Fiorenzato’s M340 burrs. Their durability is a result of a titanium, aluminium, carbon, and nitrogen coating designed to deliver a lifespan five times that of traditional burrs. As well as reducing maintenance, the burrs provide a larger grinding surface to avoid damaging the coffee beans and preserve optimum flavour.

Value is also considered in the price point of the grinder. Carmelo says grind- by-weight grinders offering speed and precision with minimal waste often come with a much higher price tag. Coffee Machine Technologies has worked with Fiorenzato to keep manufacturing costs down to ensure the new range is affordable.

“Most grind-by-weight grinders cost around $5000, but this range will be priced around the $3000 mark,” he says.

“It’s a great fit for all kinds of settings, whether the top-end of specialty or fast- paced restaurant environments. People are looking for reliability and consistency in a grinder, and that’s one of the things Fiorenzato can provide.”

Carmelo highlights the brand’s anti-static technology, which is integrated into the F64 EVO Sense series, as a game-changing innovation in grinder maintenance.

“It’s amazing because many grinders make a lot of mess, but Fiorenzato’s anti- static guard makes the machine very clean and very fast. The grinding chamber can also be removed easily so the machine itself is simple to clean and maintain,” he says.

“The difference between the two grinders is that the PRO can release the top collar for cleaning without disturbing the position of the grind.”

The team at Coffee Machine Technologies are excited to share the Fiorenzato F64 EVO Sense and PRO models with their clients across Australia and predict they will be as popular as the AllGround Sense and XGi series that preceded them.

For more information, visit coffeemachinetechnologies.com.au

This article appears in the October/November 2024 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.

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