Wake up and smell the coffee

There’s an old photograph of architectural grandee Le Corbusier, standing at a gas stove in a small, modestly furnished kitchen, pouring a cup of freshly made coffee. An everyday ritual for millions of us worldwide, it’s somehow fascinating to see that even creative giants – this one kitted out in checked overcoat, bowtie and signature heavy-rimmed glasses – partake of the brewed bean to make them feel good about themselves. Something so modest, yet somehow wonderful.

‘Make It Wonderful’ is how trusted brand Franke, headquartered in Switzerland and in business since 1911, puts its invitation to users to engage with the innovative, high-end products that it develops and manufactures, among them systems for kitchens, quick-service restaurants, washrooms and, of course, coffee systems. Indeed, it stands by the wonderfulness of the solutions it offers so much so that it recently made the slogan the cornerstone of a branding campaign to communicate the value of what it makes beyond the functional. (Even architects, it seems, are interested in how products make them feel.)

With Swiss quality at its heart, Franke Coffee Systems has secured itself the enviable position of second-largest provider globally of solutions for coffee-making outside the domestic kitchen. The Franke Group as a whole has, in addition to its alpine headquarters in Aarburg, over 70 subsidiary companies, enjoying a local presence in 39 countries across four continents. A brand that’s continually specified for commercial spaces and which time and time again sets new industry benchmarks, it clearly speaks the language that both its customers and their coffee-savvy end-customers love.

Froth. But without all the froth.

Franke takes coffee seriously. 2015 saw the launch of its new generation of fully automatic coffee systems in the form of the A200 and the A600 models, both of which work just as hard on user experience as they do on the quality of that brewed goodness that ends up in your cup. Choice, robust materials and clean lines communicate a premium offering to customers, with the A600’s intelligent, large-display touchscreen also providing a highly intuitive interface – ideal for both self-service environments and restaurants. In the latter, staff often have to deal with large and complicated, not to mention continuous, customer orders. As Franke Coffee Systems CMO Roman Köppel explains, ‘While in service mode, personnel can enter in a number of different drink requests simultaneously, and the A600 will just carry on making drink after drink. This relieves the pressure on the service team and ensures that full capacity is reached.’

Taste is elevated to the next level, too, with an optimally synchronised system of ceramic grinder, patented brewing unit and in-house developed, high-performance Foammaster milk system guaranteeing users a beverage that’s consistently gourmet-standard. Franke’s Foammaster technology allows the one system to dispense a myriad hot and cold drink creations, quickly, easily and in any order. From Le Corbusier’s coffee of choice, the espresso, through latte macchiatos and other coffee variants, to flavoured milks, all predilections are catered for. But we’re not talking just set-menu stuff. Foammaster also allows restaurateurs to craft their own drink compositions, programming the system to deliver bespoke beverages for, say, one-off events, seasonal periods or, indeed, regional differences. A thoroughly designed experience, from hardware, through software to, if you will, tasteware.

Bean counting.

As coffee culture continues to grow, so does the range of places where a cup of the good stuff is consumed. Beyond the gastro sector, coffee oils the wheels of collaborative working in the corporate world and other contract settings. But, while capsule coffee machines have, for some time, allowed the blessed bean to be enjoyed cleanly and with the minimum of fuss, in terms of taste there’s been room for improvement. Partnering up with capsule specialists Krüger, Franke have launched the K-fee PROFESSIONAL SYSTEM, which sees barista-standard coffee become the new benchmark for this kind of beverage-delivery system.

Both the C200 and the C250 capsule machines – strong on exterior design styling and on internal technology – use capsules that are larger than the industry standard, which means they are able to deliver the kind of coffee you’d expect to receive in a restaurant. What’s more, they also incorporate Franke’s award-winning Foammaster wizardry, which delivers superior froth at the touch of a button. And their automatic cleaning system means, as you’d expect from the Swiss, top-notch hygiene at all times.

While dyed-in-the-wool baristas might turn there noses up at coffee from a capsule, there’s no doubt their noses are turned on by Franke’s semi-automatic, traditional espresso machines, which deftly marry a more traditional, stainless-steel styling with leading-edge technology. The T200, T400 and T600 models are perfect for those who like to truly author their coffee down to the finest detail. Independent brewing groups allow the flexible programmability of drink settings, with the T400 featuring a temperature-regulation function, making it possible to set different temperatures for each brewing group – invaluable to the busy, yet exacting, barista, who needs to be able to prepare multiple coffees at the same time. The T600, meanwhile, possesses two temperature levels and a manually controllable air supply, while the T600 Take Away, as its name suggests, is designed for establishments that offer coffee to go – its more generous front aperture means it can accommodate everything from small espresso cups to big mugs.

When even the most steadfast of tea-loving nations, such as China, witness the expansion of coffee chains into their markets, you know that the bean-based commodity’s stock-in-trade is well and truly up. This presents great opportunities for brands like Franke, which is not only capitalising on the opening of doors in different regional markets, but who’s also witnessed major growth in convenience stores and petrol stations globally, thanks to its ability to expertly combine considered, aspirational design with coffee-connoisseurial know-how. ‘Consumers have an increasing awareness for quality and expect a good coffee at home, at work and, indeed, at all “out of home” consumption points,’ explains Roman Köppel. ‘This means a new demand for high-end coffee machines that can be operated with ease, and whose efficiency means reduced staff costs in the service sector.’ The perfect blend, thanks to those nice people in Aarburg.