this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2024
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We already have fully automatic coffee machines - and they make shit coffee. Adding a robotic arm will not help because it's not about mechanical control it's about getting the process right and consistently repeatable. And that can be done without AI if anyone wanted to invest enough money.
Most coffee places use automatic coffee machines, as long as they have good beans the coffee is good. Getting the correct weight of grounds and tamping them down is not a process difficult to automate.
You are objectively wrong about coffee. You are leaving out a whole world of variables that easily effect the coffee and are the difference between a bad coffee shop and a great one. Water quality, water temperature, grind size, grind consistency, tamp pressure, bed consistency are all huge and we haven’t even gotten to roasting the beans, dialing in an espresso machine for a certain bean, etc…
Most coffee shops use automatic machines for their drip coffee and nothing else
I didn't leave the other variables out. A human in the loop doesn't change grind size or consistency. A human in the loop doesn't change water quality, or temperature. A human in the loop won't change bean quality.
Tamp pressure is more consistent with automated machines vs humans. It is much easier to dial in a shot for particular beans/roast, you can literally dial it in, that's why coffee shops use automatic machines. Those machines are not the cheap ones they can cost up to $10k. Over half the coffee shops in my area use automatic machines.
I've never been in a coffee shop without an automatic/one-touch espresso machine. The last one I tried - a place that roasts their own beans and offers a range of classes and Specialty Coffee of America certifications - I asked if they could make me a "bad" espresso, and they basically said, "Nope, you're gonna get whatever the button gives us."