Barista Tech’s new system gives precise control of flavour extraction
98.5% of a cup of coffee is water – yet when it comes to choosing flavour, the emphasis is always on the bean. Barista Tech has launched a new water treatment system that allows operators to create the best tasting coffee ever. The Café Station 1, developed and manufactured by Bluewater in Sweden, is both a reverse osmosis (RO) system and a remineraliser. It connects to the coffee machine just like a standard water treatment system, but that’s where the similarities end. Operators can customise the mineral content of the water the machine uses – and improve the flavour extraction to make the perfect coffee.
The Café Station 1 is controlled via a smart phone App. The unit’s RO system removes all minerals, creating a blank canvas for operators to base their coffee flavour on, no matter how hard or soft the mains water is. The water is remineralised before it goes into the coffee machine. To change the profile of the mineralisation to suit a particular coffee, the user simply swipes through the alternatives on the app – light, medium, bold and original.
For example, Kenyan coffee is known for its berry-driven sweetness, juicy body and intense acidity. The Café Station ‘light’ setting emphasises the juicy character, while maintaining a sweet and bright acidity. For more body and less acidity, choose the ‘bold’ setting. Meanwhile, Brazilian coffee is bolder and has less acidity than Kenyan. Using the ‘original’ setting will emphasise the coffee’s classic chocolate and caramel notes, while minimising the bitterness.
The Cafe Station doesn’t only give users precise control over the flavour of their coffee. No matter the state of the local water, the coffee is completely consistent, so the flavour profile of the coffee is always the same, day to day, even across multiple sites, even if they are in different countries around the world. In addition, because the minerals used in the Café Station don’t create scale, the system protects the machine and means there’s no need to descale.
“We’re talking about transforming the way we brew coffee,” says Pete Gray, managing director of Barista Tech. “The improvement in taste and consistency make it a real game changer. I can’t think of a development in coffee brewing in recent years that comes anywhere near the significance, impact and potential of the Café Station.”
The Café Station1 is available in a variety of capacities and can be upgraded if demand increases or menus change.
Barista Tech is part of HTG Trading. For more information visit www.baristatech.co.uk.
Brands supplied by Barista Tech include Bluewater, Conti, Egro, La Cimbali, La Marzocco, 3M, Marco, Nuova Simonelli, , Rancilio, Ripples, Schaerer, and Synesso. Barista Tech and its sister companies, Taylor UK, Hubbard Systems and HTG Service, are part of HTG Trading, which has over 40 years’ experience as a foodservice equipment supplier.