La Cimbali’s S60 is breaking barriers with its speed of operation and milk- texturing ability, determined to prove it can compete with the skillset of a barista, even if it is a fully-automatic machine.
Australians have a penchant for milk-based coffee thanks to their close proximity to dairy production and high standards of coffee production. When it comes to milk texturing, there is little room for error, and that includes fully-automatic coffee machines.
“In recent years, fully-automatic machines have quickly become an alternative [option] to traditional machines, fitting into contexts where the quality of the coffee and milk foam is fundamental,” says La Cimbali Group Strategic Product Marketing Director, Luigi Morello.
“Customers now aim to make a cup of coffee close to those made by experienced baristas.”
To help transfer that same experience to coffee shop chains, large hotels, fast food outlets and takeaway venues where productivity and cup quality are key, is La Cimbali’s S60 with new patented technology High Quality Milk (HQM).
This technology froths and heats cold milk by means of steam, without worrying about water coming into direct contact with the milk.
“This guarantees the possibility of obtaining different levels of emulsion without any presence of water in the milk,” Luigi says. “The S60 respects milk and keeps its drinks pure.”
With HQM, users can follow personalised recipes by customising temperature levels of dairy and plant- based milks to achieve different textures and densities.
A temperature sensor on the manual steam wand ensures a more accurate preparation of milk-based drinks. It indicates each temperature reached during the process via the machine display.
A thermal-insulated material on the Turbosteam Cold Touch protects the automatic steam wand to eliminate the risk of burns and is easy to clean.
Luigi says increasingly advanced milk-frothing systems are changing the game of fully automatic machines, which have “substantially flattened the gap” in comparison to a barista’s coffee making skills.
“The average quality of professional equipment has significantly increased. Today, a coffee shop that uses a fully- automatic machine knows that the main driver is not the price, but the quality of the product. This is a benefit because these machines possess the ability to satisfy customers accustomed to traditional machines,” he says.
“We are absolutely convinced that the quality of the S60 coffee is comparable to that of a traditional machine.”
La Cimbali Branch Manager ANZ Oceania Angelo Caruso says that there was a time in the Australian and New Zealand market when fully automatic machines were not really considered a substitute for a traditional coffee offering, mainly due to the quality of coffee and milk produced at that time. However, a lot has since changed.
“There is a newfound respect and acceptance of automated coffee solutions. Gruppo Cimbali has led the way globally to change this mindset, thanks to S60 technologies such as its Perfect Grinding System, HQM Milk Technology, Turbo Steam, and Smart Boiler, just to name a few,” Angelo says. “These technologies have closed the gap between barista-made and automated coffee drinks. For such a discerning coffee market like ANZ, the S60 is certainly a solution that will satisfy all lovers of coffee.”
The S60 was launched in 2019 with the aim of renewing La Cimbali’s top-of- the-range fully-automatic machines from an aesthetic, design, and technological point of view.
“The intention was and still is, to respond as effectively as possible
to contexts that require a high daily consumption of coffee-based beverages with a product that, with all the typical functionalities of Gruppo Cimbali’s fully- automatic machines, becomes the perfect substitute for traditional machines,” Luigi says.
Thanks to the S60’s combination touchscreen, Thin-Film Transistor display, and push buttons that help facilitate the barista’s work, Angelo says the machine maintains high productivity and consistency, even at peak times.
“The S60 helps create a positive environment for the barista, where stress is managed by machine automation,” Angelo says.
What may surprise the user, Luigi adds, is the speed at which the S60 prepares several drinks in sequence, as well as the way the steam wand precisely facilitates a barista’s work, all while facilitating customer contact.
To assist with volume, the S60 features grinders with the PGS, which continuously monitors the coffee delivery parameters by automatically correcting grinding and dosing if necessary. Luigi says this feature ensures consistency in delivery and optimal extraction quality.
The one-litre boiler maintains constant temperature. It allows the user to work with high volumes at optimal speed, and control the temperature of the coffee group per recipe.
Luigi considers the Carosello coffee group to be the S60’s most significant feature.
“For years, it has allowed us to distinguish ourselves from others in the market, mainly because its highly performing functions allow for optimal productivity,” he says.
The group is preheated, made of metal, and composed of four cylindrical chambers that rotate on a central pin, always leaving a chamber ready for immediate use. Thanks to its Turbo Grinding function, the group brews and dispenses a drink while simultaneously preparing ground coffee to be dispensed for the next drink, reducing the total time of the process.
The S60 also provides the option to adjust the dose of ground coffee and espresso in each cup, making it possible to control every parameter of espresso extraction.
As the ANZ coffee industry navigates its way out of the global pandemic, suffering from staff shortages, Angelo says automation is the solution.
“Today more than ever, an automated solution is not only required but increasing in demand within the HORECA space. This is due to the ease of use and low barista skill required to prepare these beverages, as well as the quality of drink produced at the simple push of a button,” he says.
For individual sites, and business with multi-sites, the S60 can provide management with a clear view of its coffee operations thanks to telemetry solutions.
La Cimbali’s new Internet of Things (IoT) platform called Art.In.Coffee, also provides functional analysis of the machine’s performance via a new user interface, usable via smart device.
“The platform makes it possible to conduct business intelligence through outlining detailed insights on the consumption of drinks over time by consumers and anticipating maintenance issues. In addition, it can provide consumption analysis in terms of energy waste reduction,” Luigi says.
Going one step further, Cimbali Group operators and coffee machines can connect globally through a new innovative support system called The Global Remote Program, developed in partnership with Team-Viewer.
The tool provides immediate support without the need for the physical presence of an operator.
“Our technicians can remotely perform various operations, such as checking the performance of brewing and grinding, controlling the settings, checking for anomalies, and much more,” Luigi says.
With all the tools and functionalities needed to operate at speed and to peak performance, Luigi says all that’s left to do, is for customers to explore the S60 and experience its capabilities for themselves.
“We must learn to look at fully- automatic machines without bias. Our industry is changing a lot in terms of new shapes of hospitality, and these machines are an important and convincing answer. We are in a moment of change that we must understand, not resist,” Luigi says.
“We believe it is only a matter of time before the consumer will begin to see an increasing amount of fully-automatic machines in bars, restaurants and pastry shops. The gap, in terms of performance in the most advanced models, has already been substantially filled in comparison to traditional machines.”
For more information, visit www.cimbali.com or distributor Service Sphere servicesphere.com.au
This article appears in the August 2022 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.