The Morning Machine
The Morning Machine is for all coffee nerds and home baristas out there. With a choice of recipes, customisable settings and a mobile app, this coffee capsule machine will make the daily grind more exciting.
There are many ways to make a cup of coffee. You can reach for the instant freeze dried variety, pop in a kopi-o bag or simply pour hot water over coffee grounds in a paper filter. For those who have a little more time to spare, there’s the French press (where ground coffee is soaked, steeped and strained in hot water), siphon, moka pot, percolator and a host of other methods and equipment dedicated to making the perfect cup of joe. There’s also the espresso machine that allows you to create barista-quality coffee at home.
Coffee capsule machines are the newer kids on the block. These little pods of coffee have made it even easier to load up on caffeine – just drop one into the machine, press a button and let it do its thing.
But that’s the problem for coffee connoisseurs – it’s just too easy. For this group, it’s all about getting the best brew from the best beans, be it one that’s assertive and full-bodied, or a drink that’s more mellow and smooth. That means getting the water temperature right and adjusting the brew ratio and grind size, among other things. The one-size-fits-all approach won’t do.
The Morning Machine fills this gap. Specialty coffee pioneers Leon Foo of PPP Coffee and Andre Chanco of Yardstick Coffee believe that “convenience can be delicious” and want your morning coffee to be the best version of what it can be. So they created a machine where you have full control on how you want your coffee to taste by creating your own recipes.
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS
At first glance, it’s a sleek minimalist contraption that will easily find a place in any (cluttered) kitchen. Going by its looks, it’s already a winner, having clinched the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2021. If you are familiar with capsule machines, you’ll find that the basic parts of the Morning Machine are not too different, with the capsule slot on top, water tank at the back, and used capsule container, drip base and tray at the front.
What’s different is the OLED screen and the dial control. Turn the dial either way to choose your recipe. There are 10 default settings, ranging from the Morning Machine’s flagship recipe Bloom & Brew, to Short, Long and even Kyoto-style Drip. You’ll also see recipe details such as temperature, coffee output and pressure profiles.
Temperature affects the different compounds in coffee – higher temperatures tend to produce a cup with higher body, bitterness and sweetness. The Morning Machine uses the temperature setting to alter the taste balance and aroma of the coffee.
Each recipe also comes with different pressure profiles (a first for coffee capsule brewing) which, like temperature, can affect the flavour. The machine features traditional espresso pressure profiles, but you can adjust it through the accompanying Morning mobile app. Plus, you can control the output for each coffee thanks to the built-in scale. Choose a shorter cup for a more intense taste or a longer cup (with higher weight output) for a milder flavour.