Wetherspoon's uses Bunn technology to serve Lavazza filter coffee
The JD Wetherspoon pub chain has announced a huge project which involves nine hundred pubs using Lavazza coffee through a brewing and grinding system devised by Bunn, the American specialist in filter brewing equipment.
"The important thing is that Wetherspoon's has done it the hard way, the proper way - putting two Bunn units, a brewer and a grinder, in each site. For the coffee trade, it will be amazing that such a big company has made a decision at senior level to do filter coffee properly."
The modern filter coffee process with the Bunn brewing machines works with a smart grinding system, by which the grinder communicates with the brewing machine, automatically adjusting its grind when necessary. The brewed coffee is delivered into a vacuum holding flask, which will keep coffee in perfectly acceptable condition for a couple of hours.
"This is not 'bulk brewing' in the sense that many companies think of it," Kither said. "It is brewed in batches of four litres, which will be good for a couple of hours. The staff can then either dispose of the coffee or give it away, and brew fresh.
"The operational benefit to the use of filter coffee in high-footfall sites is that it is very quick to serve.
"We have been advocating filter coffee to Wetherspoon's for a long time, as a queue-buster and as a practical means of serving a good cup of coffee. They considered the idea very seriously for a couple of years.
"We're still measuring the take-up, but bar staff like it because it's easy, and it's quicker than serving a Coke, and it does what customers want - it produces a good cup of coffee."
Lavazza is already the supplier of the pub chain's espresso coffee, and the new filter machines will use the brand's Tierra Rainforest Alliance coffee.
