The real competitor to low cost labour: Automation, and the perfect cup of coffee

Gone (will be) the days of cheap industrial coffee machines - meet the Briggo coffee kiosk and a threat to Starbucks (qz via Instapundit):

“What we’ve created is in essence a small food factory that absolutely replicates what a champion barista does,” says Nater. Briggo roasts its own beans—sourced by a pair of coffee supply veterans who between them spent a combined 40 years at Starbucks. “We have calibrated this machine to pull espresso shots to the same specification as an Illy or a Stumptown or an Intelligentsia. We’ve just done it without the human element.”

Another surprising factoid: "In France, Italy and the UK, more than 135 Michelin-starred restaurants serve their customers coffee brewed from capsules."