- Specialty coffee emerged in response to the increasing industrialisation of coffee
- Ironically, the sector now leans heavily on automation to scale, coming full circle
- The shift to automation has a human cost – by 2030, up to 25% of the US workforce could lose their jobs to machines
THE specialty coffee industry, once defined by its emphasis on craftsmanship and the artistry of small-scale production, is undergoing a radical transformation.
What started as a rebellion against the commodification and industrialisation of coffee has now shifted toward the very practises it once stood against: automation, scalability, and mass production.
While marketing continues to cling to words like “artisan” and “hand-roasted,” the industry’s new focus is on consistency, efficiency, and automation. As specialty coffee expands into global markets, its original ethos is being sacrificed in favour of standardisation, raising questions about the future of craftsmanship in this beloved industry.
The goal? Achieving uniformity in flavour, texture, and quality – no matter where or when the coffee is brewed. Automation minimises human intervention and enables companies to decrease the risk of error, cut staff and reduce costs – and is closely linked to the “skimpflation” phenomenon.
The global automation market is projected to be worth over $40 million by 3031. Large coffee chains have been investing heavily in automation – Starbucks alone recently invested $450 million – and the trend is now catching on in the specialty sector.
Recent studies show the rising importance of consistency for the consumer. For specialty coffee, automation can offer higher consistency in all stages from sourcing to roasting to extraction and brewing.
Automatic tampers, milk steaming machines and batch brewers are now standard in many artisan coffee houses. Automated roasting systems such as IMF and Loring, which control every step of the process with minimal human intervention, are now the standard in many roasteries across the US and Europe.
Roasters are turning to these systems for their ability to deliver repeatable results, batch after batch. This is not just a trend in large operations; even small roasters are scaling up and adopting automation to compete on consistency.
In coffee shops, precision brewing systems are growing in popularity, allowing baristas to replicate complex brews, ensuring that customers receive the same experience whether they visit the shop once or a hundred times – but it also aligns with business goals to cut costs and reduce staffing needs.
In an industry that originally celebrated the artistry of the barista and roaster, automation has become the key to staying competitive.
The trend to automation is also visible in sourcing, as many buyers move away from the unique microlots traditionally beloved by the specialty sector, turning instead towards more basic, high-quality specialty lots.
Last year’s Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide shows that there were around 900 fewer microlot contracts purchased annually during the period 2020 to 2023, whereas the number of contracts for lots over 40,000 lbs increased by roughly the same amount.
Buyers who once sought out rare microlots and experimental varieties are now prioritising reliable, high-quality lots that can deliver consistency across all batches. This move away from “fancy coffees” to more dependable offerings is another sign that the industry values reliability over uniqueness.
Despite the reality of automation, many coffee companies continue to market themselves with terms like “hand-roasted” and “artisan-brewed,” even though much of the production process is now in the hands of machines .
The rise of specialty coffee, from craft to scale
The specialty scene emerged in response to the increasing industrialisation of coffee. The sector was guided by a belief in skill and craftsmanship, honouring the barista and roaster as artisans.
The focus was on nurturing small, niche businesses that offered a unique product in contrast to the mass-produced coffee that was all around. The overwhelming success of the specialty scene is proof of the commercial value of the human touch in coffee.
However, as small coffee houses start to scale up, the larger operations mean more staff and a higher risk of human error. Achieving consistency becomes both more important and more difficult. If you are serving a high volume of cups each day, how do you ensure each one hits the right standard?
To meet the growing demand, automation crept in. Roasteries adopted automated systems to maintain quality while reducing the need for skilled labour, and coffee shops invested in machines that could brew with precision.
One noticeable example is Blank Street Coffee, which opened its first outlet in the USA in 2020 and now has 40 across the country, as well as expansion in the EU and UK. The brand’s small retail spaces centre around highly automated espresso machines from Swiss brand Eversys, which can produce thousands of cups with minimal barista intervention.
For example, the ShotMaster Pro model can produce 700 espressos per hour, eight at a time, allowing Blank Street to gain a reputation for quality and convenience.
“The specialty sector has been forced to embrace automation and consistency due to wider economic issues including a decreasing labour supply,” says Professor Jonathan Morris, Director of Research Culture and Environment at the University of Hertfordshire, Research Professor in Modern European History, and author of Coffee: a global history.
“Generally the labour force is a problem, in areas beyond coffee and beyond hospitality, for reasons including COVID and a reappraisal of what people want in their working lives.”
In this context, training becomes a costly exercise that does not guarantee a return on its investment. As coffee houses scale up, their costs rise and it makes business sense to invest in assets you know you will keep, rather than people who may come and go.
“Training takes time,” Jonathan explains. “There are significant skills to be gained, and if you have difficulty finding labour or you have difficulty retaining it, then there are obvious advantages in being able to automate. You can set up machinery as a kind of capital asset that will retain its value. Once you’ve trained the machine, it doesn’t walk off or decide to go to university or open a rival coffee house.”
This shift, while economically advantageous, created a dissonance between the industry’s narrative and its operations. Even as “hand-roasted” and “artisan-brewed” remain common marketing buzzwords, they are increasingly disconnected from the industry’s reality.
What happens when the machines take over?
The rise of automation in specialty coffee has had profound implications for the people who work in the industry, with a clear impact on jobs.
A 2024 study revealed that 45 million people or around a quarter of the workforce will lose their job to automation by 2030. As with other great jumps in technology, labour demand shifts away from jobs that have been replaced by the technology towards workers who can serve as complements.
Roasters, who once needed a deep understanding of the roasting process, are now increasingly reliant on automated systems to handle the complexities.
Baristas, whose ability to create a perfect brew once set them apart, now operate machines that do much of the work for them. This raises concerns about job security in an industry that has long been celebrated for its craftsmanship.
Historically, customers valued the interaction with a skilled barista or the knowledge that their coffee was roasted by hand. As machines take over, some of that connection is lost. Specialty coffee was born out of a rejection of mass production, yet it is now embracing the same principles it once stood against.
As machines take over roles that were once the domain of skilled baristas and roasters, what happens to the human element that originally defined the craft?
According to Jonathan, the specialty coffee sector has long exemplified a deep-rooted tension between the appreciation for artisanal craftsmanship and the pursuit of scientific precision.
“On one hand, specialty coffee puts the roaster and barista centrestage and is all about elevating craft, art, talent and individual accomplishment,” he says. “On the other hand, the sector values very precise techniques for everything from roasting to brewing, and is very focused on scientific ideas, or the belief that this is the right way to do something.”
“We’re using tools in coffee all the time, and we should recognise the craft that goes into this – in other words, the knowledge and technical skill involved in knowing how to programme the roaster to get the best possible flavour from the coffee. The craft becomes programming automation, rather than crafting the product directly.”
This ongoing debate reflects the industry’s evolving priorities, as some champion the skill and artistry behind each cup, while others emphasise the consistency and control that science and technology bring to coffee production.
There’s also the question of whether this is all cyclical. Just as specialty coffee itself emerged as a response to the industrialisation of coffee, could there be a backlash against the current trend toward automation?
As consumers seek authenticity in the products they buy, the emphasis on consistency and efficiency may lead to a renewed focus on craftsmanship and the human touch. Consumers are still hungry for niche, hand-roasted products, and may end up feeling deceived if the “artisan” label on the bag does not reflect reality.
Specialty coffee continues to be a commercial success but its future is unclear. As the original wave of small-scale coffee houses scale up and automate, does this create a gap for a new movement of coffee rebels? Will the scene eventually give way to a new incarnation of craft, and what might that look like?
Coffee Intelligence
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