In this month’s edition of What’s Bean Brewing? We put the spotlight on precision, passion, and state-of-the-art machines. We’ll introduce you to the Sanremo D8, a machine designed for flawless pours and barista brilliance. Then, step inside our very first Barista Hub event, where collaboration and creativity took centre stage. Finally, we explore the coffee trends shaping 2025, and how roasters can innovate whilst staying true to their craft.
Make your move
The Sanremo D8 is designed to raise the game of baristas, a machine that plays smart so you can stay one move ahead.
Built for consistency you can rely on, the D8 gives you steady pours without the complexity of a multi-boiler system. That means every espresso tastes just as good as the last, keeping customers coming back for more. Its intuitive controls and shot timers take guesswork out of the equation, letting baristas focus on speed, creativity, and connection rather than fine-tuning settings.
Customisation is where the D8 really comes alive. From colourways and finishes to tailored functions, you can shape it to reflect your brand and fit your workflow perfectly. Behind the controls, the machine’s smart connectivity and live telemetry let you monitor performance, spot potential issues early, and reduce downtime, providing peace of mind that your business won’t miss a beat.
With its sleek design, dependable performance, and adaptability to match your ambition, the D8 is more than a coffee machine, it’s your partner in growth. Whether you’re serving your first customer of the morning or managing a busy afternoon rush, the D8 gives you the confidence to deliver every cup with precision, consistency, and style.
Collaboration brews at Sanremo UK’s first-ever Barista Hub event
London, August – The aroma of freshly ground coffee and the hiss of steam wands set the scene at Sanremo UK’s London showroom, inside, a dynamic crowd of around 30 baristas had taken over for the first-ever Barista Hub event, an evening designed not for bosses or sales reps, but for the talented, passionate people who actually make our coffee every day.
More than just a meet-up, the event was and is a direct response to a long-standing need within London’s vibrant coffee scene. The whole idea for the Barista Hub came from a pretty simple truth about the coffee world. For many baristas, opportunities for professional growth remain limited to their own cafés. Dedicated training spaces are scarce, often costly, and big industry gatherings tend to focus on high-level business talks, leaving baristas on the sidelines. The Barista Hub flipped that script, providing an open, collaborative space where baristas could experiment, make mistakes, and learn from one another without pressure.
The night was powered up by strong industry support. Heartlands Coffee Roasters, based in North Wales, supplied a lineup of outstanding single-origin beans – from a vibrant anoxic natural Colombian to a thermal shock process – giving participants the chance to dive deep into flavour profiles and brewing variables.
Minor Figures, pioneers of oat milk, kept fridges stocked so latte art practice could mirror real-world café conditions. Their high-quality product allowed baristas to feel, taste, and perfect the subtleties of texture and stretch.
Meanwhile, Islands Chocolate added an indulgent twist, offering hot chocolate tastings and engaging with baristas to learn more about coffee culture.
What set the event apart was its spirit of genuine exchange and the experts who came to hang out and help. Nathan from Heartlands guided attendees through coffee nuances while sharing insights on career paths in roasting and specialty coffee. It’s not often that a barista gets to chat with the managing director of a large roastery in such a relaxed and down-to-earth environment.
Josh from Minor Figures gave practical demonstrations and tips on texturing and pouring oat milk, while Gus and Jonas from Islands Chocolate immersed themselves in learning as much as they taught.
Sanremo UK’s own Stew and Zoë were on hand to field machinery and technical questions, but just as importantly, they listened. What challenges are customers bringing to baristas? What frustrations arise behind the counter? This two-way dialogue created a feedback loop with the potential to shape products, training, and industry priorities.
Moments of pure collaboration unfolded everywhere. Huddled around a Sanremo D8 Pro, cheers erupted when a barista cracked the elusive “Bunny” latte art pattern, their teacher, another barista they’d met just an hour before. A communal whiteboard became a canvas of wisdom and a living document of shared knowledge – pour diagrams, latte art sketches, and technique notes evolving in real time.
The Sanremo UK team encouraged feedback with posters, pens, and sticky notes, empowering baristas to directly contribute their ideas and feedback. This initiative allowed baristas to take ownership of the event’s direction, leaving suggestions and improvements for future gatherings. The feedback will be used to better tailor upcoming Barista Hub events to what baristas truly want and need, ensuring they are more engaging and beneficial for everyone involved.
All in all, the event was a massive success. It was a space where coffee was spilt without judgment, countless lattes were poured in the name of progress, and V60s were brewed just for the joy of it. By the end of the evening, it was clear the Barista Hub had become more than a workshop. It was a celebration of the barista craft.
The message was unmistakable – London’s coffee community has been craving a space like this. The Barista Hub proved that when the industry invests directly in baristas, the result is more than improved skills; it’s a stronger, more connected, and empowered community.
Next-gen coffee culture
For years, specialty coffee has focused on purity, bringing out the natural flavours of the bean through careful sourcing and precise brewing. But the coffee landscape is evolving fast, and consumer demand is shifting with it. As new trends gain momentum, roasters and coffee businesses are faced with a choice: stick to the playbook of quality and origin, or explore how these movements can complement their offering.
Product diversification is driving much of this change. Today’s consumers want variety on tap, and cafés are experimenting with coffee-adjacent drinks and new creations such as iced lattes, matcha, and ready-to-drink options. These drinks offer convenience without compromising flavour, and are quickly becoming a key revenue driver, keeping younger audiences buzzing for more.
At the heart of these changes is Gen Z, who are reshaping what coffee culture looks like. For them, coffee isn’t always the star of the show, it’s the base for customisation and creativity. From syrups and foams to alternative ingredients, each drink becomes a little act of escapism and self-expression. Black coffee, once the hallmark of purists, is being nudged aside by flavoured, cold, and functional alternatives that are as playful as they are personal.
So, should roasters capitalise on these trends? Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But what matters most is balance. Chasing every fad risks losing authenticity, but ignoring new consumer habits could mean missing out on connecting with the next generation of coffee lovers. The key is finding ways to engage with trends without compromising the fundamentals of specialty coffee: quality, consistency, and flavour.
Ultimately, the future of coffee may not be about choosing between tradition and innovation, but about expanding the possibilities of what coffee can be. Whether it’s cold formats, matcha, or functional ingredients, the possibilities are wider than ever. Both the challenge and opportunity lie in crafting drinks that are playful and precise, pushing the craft of coffee forward while keeping every cup delicious, consistent, and true to its roots. That’s where the right machine makes all the difference. With Sanremo, baristas get the consistency and precision they can rely on, leaving space for creativity to take centre stage.
