Coffee Haus: a vending machine that really knows coffee

Coffee that comes from a vending machine is rarely good. If it is tasty, it’s because it is so loaded up with sweeteners (Cookies n’ Cream “Latte” from 7-11, anyone?) that you could never actually determine if there was coffee in it or not. But there is a lot of potential for a machine to actually make great coffee as long as it can be calibrated to properly pull shots, steam milk and put them together in just the right way. In fact, there should actually be less room for error with a machine-made latte than a man made one – so why don’t we have great vending machine coffee yet?

We might soon, since the Briggo Coffee Haus is planning to expand. Briggo is a company that is setting out to mechanize the coffee-making process by getting timing, temperatures, ingredients and recipes all down to a fine science. The result is that their Coffee Haus can pour a latte like a champion barista. The mechanized coffee kiosk takes orders via a touch scree or iphone app and prepares each drink fresh to order. It has the feel of a “real” coffee shop, right down to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, so it doesn’t feel as cold or sterile (or outdated) as a regular vending machine.

The Coffee Haus is not aiming to replace traditional coffee shops. It is actually aimed at places where quality coffee and quality coffee shop experiences are difficult to come by, such as airports, college and corporate campuses and hospitals. They might replace poor quality coffee vending machines and little kiosks that might only serve off brand black coffee alongside their muffin and granola bar selection (you know you’ve seen them, they’re outside almost every hospital), meaning that you might actually be able to look forward to a good cup of coffee the next time you have some time to kill in what would normally be a coffee desert.