Coffee Machine Technologies discusses the Australian designed Viper, an independent milk steaming device that aims to provide a better customer experience.
The last decade has seen an evolution in the development of coffee consumption in Australia. Hand-held coffee tampers are becoming a thing of the past, ready-to-drink coffee has been embraced beyond a sugary caffeine hit, and there’s more milk varieties on the shelf than one can count.
That’s where dedicated products like the Viper can assist. This innovative tool is an independent milk steaming device that provides baristas with greater flexibility and output through its ability to consistently texture milk with its own under bench boiler.
“This not only eliminates the need for another coffee machine on the bench, but by separating the steamer from the machine, it ensures that pressure is not being taken away from the coffee machine, thereby promising the perfect extraction. This also allows a café to use any single boiler heat exchange espresso machine,” says John Colangeli, Founder and Managing Director of Coffee Machines Technologies.
“It is designed for any business that demands the very best from its equipment and strives for success. The Viper milk steamer aims to add value to the coffee machine while saving baristas and businesses time and money.”
According to the company’s research, traditional coffee machines were not designed to produce the volume of milk-based coffees that are consumed in Australia. After closely studying deficiencies in workflow across hundreds of businesses, the Viper was born in 2012 from a desire to modernise the coffee making process.
“It has been apparent that the production of steamed milk is unable to keep up with the number of doses of coffee that are extracted. This causes a bottle neck in the workflow, at the same time making it very uncomfortable and inefficient for multiple people to work on a coffee machine at once,” says John.
The Viper’s official title, ‘Vapore integrato per ergazione rapida’ meaning ‘built-in steam for quick delivery’ in Italian, embraces the steamer’s ability to streamline workflow and increase efficiency.
“The Viper milk steamer allows cafés and its baristas to expand and optimise their workflow and helps them to continually keep up that high performance across both high- and low-volume stores,” John says.
Since Coffee Machines Technologies created the Viper, it has been patented and developed into different sizes to accommodate different businesses. “It is now a key piece of equipment in any successful coffee shop,” he says.
The Viper milk steamer is customisable with a variety of standard finishes and colours to match any venue’s brand or fit-out.
It won Best New Australian Made Product Award at Fine Foods Australia 2015, and has seen success in the wider market from large-scale quick-service restaurants to boutique coffee roasters including Chaitime, Zarraffas, Gong Cha, and McDonalds.
“We didn’t expect to win the award. We entered because it was a new product that we were extremely proud of. We knew that we were up against some other really big products, so to achieve the award was a huge honour,” says Coffee Machine Technologies’ National Sales Manager Carmelo Corallo.
The reward for winning is a licence to use the Australian Made logo. The iconic green-and-gold kangaroo logo is Australia’s only registered country-of-origin certification trademark for the full range of genuine Australian products and produce.
“The Viper steamer is made in Victoria using all Australian-made components, right down to the packaging and badges. We didn’t outsource overseas manufacturers, we spent $80,000 to maintain the manufacturing and be in control of how the equipment was constructed,” says John.
It’s not just in Melbourne or Australia that Viper has seen success. The product has excelled on the global arena where Coffee Machine Technologies currently exports to, including the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Germany, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Canada.
“We launched the Viper overseas at Host Milano in 2017, which allowed the product to gain international recognition. We were able to find distributors to resell the Viper all over the world,” Carmelo says.
“The coffee industry is heavily dominated by Italian manufacturing. We wanted to continue that collaboration with the Italian coffee community in a whole new way but with the same level of quality manufacturing. By creating something Australian-made and presenting it in Milan, we were turning the tables and bringing something new to the industry.”
The company has continued to develop innovative ideas and introduce new technologies to the market, creating more reliable and cost-effective solutions. This includes Australian designed Tech-Bar, an under-the-bench modular espresso machine which hit the market more than five years ago.
“We are a world industry leader and proud to be at the forefront of innovation in all types of coffee equipment,” says John.
“The global coffee community keeps a close eye on Australia, it’s a testing ground for many products. Australia’s reputation for appreciating specialty coffee means people are keen to support Australian- made products and be a part of that culture.”
Coffee Machine Technologies has built its reputation as one of Australia’s first, independent service companies and today, is a leader in international and domestic markets for coffee equipment service, repairs, and sales.
The company ensures personalised service by understanding each of its customers’ requirements and offering preventative maintenance solutions.
“Nowadays, excellence lies in being able to manage changes and where possible anticipate it. Coffee Machine Technologies is made up of motivated people who are committed and passionate in offering outstanding solutions and exceeding expectations,” says John.
In future, Coffee Machine Technologies will continue to service nationally and build its strength throughout New South Wales and Victoria, with coverage in the Mornington Peninsula, Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula, and the Melbourne CBD with its head office in Tullamarine.
The distributor is also shifting its focus to automation and developing more products to streamline workflow even further.
“We’re seeing the trend of automation ramp up, especially since the pandemic, due to lack of staff. We want to contribute to this space and increase people’s knowledge and skill levels. Stay tuned,” says Carmelo.
For more information, visit www.coffeemachinetechnologies.com.au
This article appears in the June 2023 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
