One café in the Sydney suburb of Barangaroo is leaning into the efficiency gains of Barista Group’s Übermilk One by installing six of the liquid dispensers – but why?
In a busy café, efficiency is the name of the game. Whether there’s one, 10, or even more customers waiting for a coffee, there’s an expectation that it comes out fast, at temperature, and at a high quality.
Greater efficiency demands are only fuelling innovation. The Übermilk range, supplied in Australia by Barista Group, is a piece of technology that has been quietly evolving in recent years, changing the way cafés texturise and dispense milk and other liquids.
Starting with the Übermilk One – introduced to market in 2017 – the range has now expanded to include the Übermilk Plant-Based. The next generation of the machine, the Übermilk Plus, was also soft launched to Australia in late 2025, and is being positioned as an all-in-one machine.
Reiss Kyriakides from Barangaroo’s Espresso X has leaned into the Übermilk way of life since installing his first Übermilk One in 2017. Since then, he’s installed five more, with the sextet of machines sitting alongside each other on the bench.
Reiss says the machines have been a game-changer in the workflow of his café.
“We came across the Übermilk about 10 years ago because one of my friends in the industry was using it at the time,” he says.
“We got in contact with [Barista Group Owner] Joe Chalhoub and organised a trial, and the rest is history. Ever since then we’ve been using a lot of his products.
“We have three Übermilk Ones – two full-cream and one skim – and we’ve got three plant-based – for almond, oat, and soy.”
The six Übermilks are a sight to behold lined up on the benches of Espresso X. Placed front and centre next to a La Marzocco commercial machine, they’re impossible to miss.
With the Übermilk One possessing the ability to pour one kind of milk, the way Reiss uses of the machines has necessitated the installation of six of them, but he says the capacity they’ve added to those working behind the bar have helped the business continue to ramp up its operations.
“The Übermilks just help expedite things from an efficiency point of view,” says Reiss. “You have the exact amount of milk ready on demand, and it’s quicker than steaming milk. That isn’t the most important part of it though.
“Instead of steaming the milk and being occupied with that, you have time to do something else, whether that be call out a coffee, pour another coffee in between, or interact more with the customer.
“It frees up more time to be able to look after other aspects of the shop.”
The Übermilks are a sight customers have become accustomed to, unique to Espresso X. They’re a talking point for first-time visitors.
Reiss says customers’ approach to automated technology like the Übermilk has changed since the installation of his first almost six years ago.
“Since there’s six of them now, they’re always in your face and customers always ask about them, so we explain to them what they are,” he says.
“When we first rolled it out about 10 years ago there were some concerns from customers about having a machine making such a crucial part of their coffee, but it’s being adopted more and more over the years.”
Espresso X’s adoption of the Übermilk – and other Barista Group-provided technology – comes from an alignment between Reiss and Joe, Barista Group’s Owner.
Since the pair first crossed paths in 2017, Espresso X has also installed a Markibar Izaga W grinder alongside its slate of Übermilks, being one of the first cafés in Australia to test out the grind-by-weight technology.
“We’re always looking for new things and better ways to innovate. We’re always searching for more ways to work more efficiently, more consistently, and make the coffee taste more consistent,” says Reiss.
“We started with a single Übermilk One for full-cream milk, and we kept expanding with more of them. Now, because we’re so busy, we usually have all the Übermilks running at the same time. They’re very good.”
For more information, visit baristagroup.com.au
This article appears in the February 2026 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
