Do baristas still need milk frothing skills with automatic coffee machines?

In January 2024, the Specialty Coffee Association named the Thermoplan Black&White4 CTS the official fully automatic espresso machine for the World Latte Art Championship from 2024 to 2027. It is the first time a fully automatic machine has appeared on that competition stage. Reaction online was immediate, with some baristas calling it unfair to manual skill and others calling automation inevitable.

The decision sits inside a broader move toward automation across the coffee industry, where automatic milk frothing and automatic latte art have become recurring topics. SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos framed the four-year partnership as bringing more equipment into the World Coffee Championships. The open question is how the barista role changes when the machine handles texture and pouring.

In 2024, the Specialty Coffee Association announced that the Thermoplan Black&White4 CTS would become the official fully automatic espresso machine for the World Latte Art Championship — the first time a fully automatic machine has appeared on that competition stage. The news quickly sparked heated discussion on social media: does a world latte art champion really not need to know how to steam milk? Some netizens felt this undermined baristas' artistry, while others believed automation is an irreversible trend. What kind of performance can a fully automatic machine actually deliver? And how will the role of the barista evolve? This article walks you through the background of the event and the views of all sides, and explores the balance the coffee industry must strike amid the wave of automation.

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As technology continues to iterate, the coffee industry is gradually moving toward automation. Topics such as automatic latte art and automatic milk frothing have frequently become focal points in recent years, and fully automatic coffee machines are one of the most closely watched elements.

On January 11, 2024, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) announced that the Thermoplan Black&White4 CTS had been selected as the official fully automatic espresso machine for the World Latte Art Championship from 2024 to 2027. This means a fully automatic espresso machine will appear for the first time on the stage of the World Latte Art Championship (WLAC).

SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos said of this: "This is an important step for the coffee industry in bringing more equipment into the World Coffee Championships process. We are delighted to join hands with Thermoplan over the next four years to advance our shared goal of promoting coffee excellence around the world."

Once the news spread, netizens quickly posted on social platforms joking that "the world latte art champion doesn't even need to know how to steam milk," which immediately triggered a great deal of discussion.

In the comments section, some people, from a business perspective, thought this might be a good thing, but from a competition perspective felt it was "a bit like cheating," as it would greatly diminish baristas' artistic expression and technical content. Other netizens disagreed, believing that full automation is simply the general trend, and that "the reason baristas resist this now is nothing more than feeling that their skills will be replaced by machines and their own value relatively diminished."

On the other hand, some netizens had already tried this competition-designated fully automatic espresso machine and pointed out that using the steam wand to froth milk still requires manual operation by the barista, and that just as with a semi-automatic espresso machine, you still need to find the right angle — except that the fully automatic machine can set relevant parameters, allowing baristas to be more "focused on the latte art creation itself."

In addition, some believe that the emergence of fully automatic espresso machines can greatly reduce human error in steps such as dosing, tamping, and grinding, thereby significantly improving product consistency.

Although automation performs well in providing consistent espresso and delicate milk texture, the barista's own "programming" ability remains indispensable — data such as grind size, extraction pressure, dose, and water volume all need to be set by a person in order to make a truly excellent cup of coffee. As the coffee industry continues to develop, the trend of automation is merely a microcosm of its constant adaptation and advancement.

In addition, the next World Latte Art Championship is scheduled to be held from June 27 to 29, 2024, at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. At that time, the Black&White4 CTS will be available for competitors to use for the first time.

For the coffee industry, the balance between technological progress and human touch is crucial. Fully automatic espresso machines may raise some concerns, but they are also a sign of industry progress and growth.

Coffee professionals have no choice but to keep learning, keep growing, and keep up with the pace of change and development in the industry, while maintaining a clear understanding of their own career plans. People from different industries and different ages see different things; youth is not a limitation, and there is no need to confine yourself to it.

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