Congratulations Max Cui, our 2024 Aotearoa Barista Champion

New Member Profile – Flow Coffee

We interview Scott Nightingale, CTO of Flow Coffee, allied member.

Tell us about your company?
Flow Coffee is about making every coffee that goes over your counter excellent.  We’re a hi-tech start-up with a focus on consistency in coffee execution.
How do we do that?  We’ve invented a clever box that tracks every coffee you make, giving the barista immediate feedback on where each coffee sits according to your recipe.
That data is pushed up to the cloud giving organisational visibility on coffee execution and insights into where the opportunity for improvement lies.

Photo courtesy of @alturacafe_
How long have you been trading?
We’re fresh as.  We’ve only been trading a year but we’re gaining traction beyond our wildest expectations.
Tell us about your role?
I am the original founder and creator of the technology.  A coffee geek from way back.
When I took the plunge from IT into running my own cafe, I immediately discovered how hard it is to maintain the standards I would pride myself on at home in a busy cafe environment.
I get to dream up solutions to the problems that make our jobs harder as baristas, cafe owners and coffee professionals, and leverage exciting tech to break new ground in the coffee industry.
What is the best part of your job?
Working with all the things I love.  Amazing people, great coffee, and exciting technology.

Photo courtesy of @alturacafe_
What is the biggest challenge your business faces?
Change is hard.  We’re asking people to see their business in an entirely new light.  We’ve never had visibility of coffee production like this before.  That requires us to go on a journey of discovery with our clients on what this means to their business.
What is your favourite part of the industry?
The community of coffee professionals.  Coffee has always been about people for me.  We connect over coffee and I love that.
What is the biggest change you’ve seen in the industry since your company has been operating?
Technology.  It’s not just changing the coffee industry, it’s changing every industry on the face of the planet.  Let’s make a change for good not evil.

What change would you like to see?
I’m an addict, I can’t give up my coffee just because I’m out of the major city centres.  My dream is to see great coffee become accessible to all.  To see the curtain pulled back and everyone empowered to make the best coffee they can.
What would be your dream ‘coffee experience’?
I experience my dream coffee experience every day.  It’s sharing an amazing cup of coffee with someone who cares about coffee as much as me.  At that moment I am complete.
Name two coffee legends would you want to have coffee with and why?  What would you drink?
Scott Rao and Matt Perger.  I’ve idolised you both.  Learnt so much from your generous contributions to coffee.  I’ll drink whatever you’re making, hit me up 🙂

Get in touch with Scott via https://flowcoffee.co.nz/

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