Last Updated on November 15, 2021 by John Moretti
Espresso machines are quite the innovation for those that love their coffee. If you have ever gone to Starbucks, you will realize they all use similar espresso machines; what exactly do they use them? If you’re like many other coffee lovers who want to know what Starbucks espresso machines are using, don’t worry; I looked into it!
Starbucks espresso machines are made by a Swiss-based company called Thermoplan. The Swiss company started producing their devices in 1999 and is still used in their stores around the world. The specific espresso machine they use is called Mastrena, explicitly made by Thermoplan.
You can say that Starbucks stays true to their Swiss company, entrusting their coffee machines to be made by them. It shows commitment on their part, allowing all customers of Star Bucks to enjoy their coffee happily.
Starbucks Espresso Machines
Starbucks has used the Swiss companies machines since 1999; their espresso machines are uniquely made just for Starbucks usage. Their espresso machine is called the Mastrena. This type of brand espresso machine was developed exclusively for Starbucks. The coffee machines used are automated with built-in grinders and a computerized menu that makes creating espressos seamless and quick.
To think of having a Starbucks espresso machine, one must be prepared for the price of buying one; it costs around $18,000 – $40,000 to get your hands on one. These high-quality espresso machines are designed for ease of use, versatility, and fast speed of production. Unfortunately, though the device produces good drinks, it’s not the best due to time prohibitions.
Another excellent quality of the Starbucks espresso machines that considers maintenance is that baristas can easily clean the device on their own. The design allows for quickly removing specific components to enable the user to clean the machine. Also, repairs would be more straightforward as they can be taken apart and put back together without a struggle.
The Mastrena is designed for high-performance usage, making it perfect for commercial purposes, as it can rapidly produce the same quality of espresso over and over again. If you’re a coffee manager, you know just how important it is to be able to rely on your equipment every single day your shop is open.
The espresso machine Mastrena isn’t just used for making those waking up espressos but have has an utterly automatic coffee making system that can produce cappuccinos and lattes alike. The barista has to put the cup at the bottom and press start to make a great cup of coffee for customers completely hands-free every time.
Why Do They Only Use Mastrena?
Before Starbucks became the massive coffee force today, in the 1990s, they used a coffee machine called the Linea by La Marzocco. This coffee machine used an elementary format, having regular portafilters, smaller coffee bean hopper, and more. The coffee machine required a barista to understand the expertise behind coffee making, and therefore needed skill to be used.
Since Starbucks grew to its size today, it couldn’t afford to teach every employee how to use its coffee machines adequately enough to keep up with the demand. Therefore they swapped the old coffee machine to an automated one that doesn’t require any coffee-making background.
Hence, the move to their super-automatic machines only required the barista to push a button and leave the rest to the coffee machine to make on its own.
They then partnered with the Swedish company Thermoplan AG to design a coffee machine, which led to the Mastrena being born. The Mastrena, with its ease to use of computerization, made Starbucks capable of producing coffee at rapid speed.
It is all thanks to the Mastrenas design, with fully automated features and having a big hopper for the coffee beans to be constantly fed into the machine. With that massive hopper attached, it won’t be necessary to fill it up with new coffee beans frequently; it can run all day or even week without needing any form of recipe replacements.
It is why Starbucks has stuck with this coffee machine over the years, as the industry has a helping hand to get their production rates to where they want to be through Thermoplans unique coffee machines.
Is Starbucks Coffee The Best?
Due to the high rate of producing coffees per day, Starbucks doesn’t create the best coffee. Their coffee beans are roasted at higher temperatures than most roasters to produce large quantities of beans quickly. Therefore, making the bitter taste, some people have picked up on over the years.
Look, their coffee isn’t bad, but other small independent shops that make coffee differ in quality. It all comes down to the ‘love’ factor that they put into their products, with these smaller shops brewing your coffee with care to give you the best-tasting coffee you can get that tastes smooth and elegant.
On top of that, you are more likely to find different types of coffee made products at these smaller shops than at Starbucks that sticks with the basics.
It’s like a beer craft place compared to a six-pack of Budweiser you can get at a local store. So you see the difference, an actual fanatic coffee shop that loves what they do will give a large variety of flavors at a high quality compared to Starbucks quick coffee automated machines.
Wrapping Up
Starbucks does have a unique espresso machine that will be difficult to get your hands on if you’re looking for one. The Mastrena is specifically designed to cater to all Starbucks’ needs and maintain coffee quality while producing the most daily.
To have a company like Thermoplan that focuses on creating quality products for their clients to be a part of Starbucks is unique to find in any enterprise, as two companies help work off of one another. It all leads to giving you a good cup of coffee every morning without any delays to start you off on the right path.
