How technology is changing coffee

So the technology behind automated coffee equipment, how much has that changed from those early days of Coffee Nation in terms of what you can do now?

You know, this is probably controversial.

I don't think it's changed that much.

And I qualify that by saying there is no doubt that the coffee equipment that we have available to us today across a wide range of machine manufacturers is just simply better.

It's easier to use.

It's easier to clean.

It's more consistent.

It's more reliable.

It's also expensive and it's also expensive to run.

So I'm not... doubting and not challenging the technology improvements that have been seen.

But, you know, when I was buying my coffee machines from Seattle in 1999, you know, we were flying in Boeing 747s and we were driving leaded cars.

We're now, 20 years later, driving self-driving cars, electric cars.

That technology in general has moved quicker than technology in coffee is my sense.

And I think there's way more that you can do.

There's way more to give in this than And I think perhaps the last three or four years has seen a much more accelerated change in technology that's been applied in coffee shops.

So I think we'll see a lot more.

So the machines

maybe have got more consistent and more variety.

I mean, you get more versatile machines.

For sure.

Because the way that you're able to allow a semi-untrained person to be able to use different milks, different powders, different mixers.

So the coffee machine is less of the theater now and is more of the sort of process of production.

And I think there's no doubt there's been some improvements.

But I bring people back to that principle that says there's plenty of the bits of technology that have accelerated with way more impact.

Right.