Franke Coffee Systems at the 2018 UNITI expo

“Real espresso” can only come out of a traditional espresso machine? That is now a myth and a thing of the past. iQFlow™ is a disruptive Franke technology which revolutionizes the traditional espresso concept.

A perfectly prepared espresso is a must-have for fans of the Italian way of life and it is also the basis for most popular milk-based coffee specialties such as cappuccino or latte macchiato. Preparing an espresso perfectly is an artful science in itself for which a variety of factors have to be taken into account: The coffee beans’ grind-coarseness, the machine’s water pressure, water quantity, water quality and temperature, tamping pressure and method, extraction time, these are just a few of the factors which have to align perfectly in order to produce an excellent espresso. However, coffee in itself is a natural product and no bean and no harvest are always alike – this means that the above mentioned parameters require constant monitoring and readjustment in order to ensure that the quality of your coffee beverages always remains at the same level. This requires profound knowledge and experience from the personnel operating and adjusting the machine countless times during the daily operation of your shop(s).

In order ensure beverage quality at the highest possible level, even when the staff handling the coffee machine are not trained as professional baristas (something which, more often than not, is the case at service stations) Franke Coffee Systems now employs a new and patent pending technology called iQFlow. iQFlow not only makes the day-to-day handling of your coffee operation easier and more fun but also more efficient and successful, bringing enjoyment to a new level!

"You have to taste it"

According to a recent study by the German Coffee Association (Deutscher Kaffeeverband e.V.), more than 50% of the coffee drinks sold in the out-of-home market are milk-based [1]. An espresso builds the basis for most of these drinks. In order to assure that your latte macchiatos, cappuccini and other milk-based coffee specialties also taste like delicious coffee and not just like foamed milk, the quality of your espresso must be perfect.

This is exactly where iQFlow comes into play:

Through this dynamic system the machine monitors itself in real time while preparing the coffee. A predetermined brewing time for each beverage is set and thus eliminates the need to constantly readjust the machine’s grind-setting. This not only ensures a constant in-cup-quality, but also opens the door to various possibilities in terms of flavor profiles with one and the same coffee. During the brew process, predetermined reference points are compared to the actual values being produced by the machine - adjustments are made instantly and “on-the-fly” and not retrospectively – it is this self-adjustment in real-time which makes this technology unique.

Thanks to the way it works, significantly more flavors and aromas are extracted – giving you more options in terms of flavor profiles.

In the day-to-day operation of your business this means that your customers’ coffee will not only be prepared at a constant quality-level tailored to each specific beverage type, but that your customers will find the same quality they have come to know from your operation each and every time they visit your shop(s).

[1] Deutscher Kaffeeverband e.V., 2017, So trinkt Deutschland Kaffee außer Haus: Nutzerprofile, Einstellungen und Konsummuster, S.24