In traditional cafe setup, milk steaming/texturing is one of the most time-consuming tasks. Milk often gets steamed to inconsistent temperature and texture, especially in busy times.
It takes a skillful barista sticking on one job for around 20 seconds for each cup. After pouring, in many cases there's leftover steamed milk to be wasted. In result, it comes to extra wage cost and COGs.
What is MilkPal?
MilkPal is a bench top milk steaming/texturing/dispensing solution. It doesn't add excessive amount of water like traditional milk steaming with steaming wand does.
It dispends hot textured milk at pre-set temperature with different pre-set air ratios, also plain cold milk and cold milk with foam.
It gives exact pre-set amount of textured milk to minimize the wastage.
Milk line gets connected to a container in under-bench fridge, MilkPal directly sources any type of milk from the container.
Why it is on our bars?
We have MilkPal units in our own and several P&R partner cafes and our for speed, consistency, and also to minimize the wastage.
In most cases, MilkPal is used for full cream milk, which can be 50~70% of milk-based beverage sales.
It allows baristas to have enough time to deal with other tasks without worrying about milk temperature and texture, as a result it gives a better workflow and time efficiency.
For transparency we don’t have any stake in MilkPal sales, however we do suggest it as an ideal solution for busy cafe businesses who are looking for consistent quality and time efficiency.
What it does it do well?
MilkPal dispenses consistently well textured milk for advanced level of latte art without adding excessive amount of water, by just touching the pre-set buttons on the screen.
It can have multiple pre-sets with different air ratios as required. It dispenses the exact pre-set milk amount as well, minimizing the wastage.
The speed of dispensing is very competitive compared to other milk solutions in the market.
It has a very simple daily cleaning process as well, simply using cleaning chemical and water, the unit process the entire cleaning cycle on its own, baristas just have to clean the drip tray and nozzles manually at the end.
It also has an automatic rinsing system after certain idle time (pre-set : 6 minutes), to prevent nozzle blockage.
MilkPal units also have a visually slim and neat look on bench tops.
What it does not do?
One MilkPal unit only can be used for one type of milk. Baristas still have to manually steam other milks apart from the one connected to MilkPal.
Baristas sometimes need to check the milk container in the fridge and manually refill it. When the tip of milk line is not fully submerged in the milk, MilkPal dispenses milk with excessive air, as it draws air instead of milk.
Baristas are still required to be trained in pouring and latte art skills.
MilkPal only can be used on one set temperature, for extra hot or warm beverage orders it might still need to be steamed manually.
The installation can be a hassling process as it requires a power supply of 220–240V, 15-16 amps, water filtration system (usually the existing one for coffee machine can be extended), under-bench fridge and drainage close to the unit.
It’s also a big investment, although rental options are available. Of course we’re more than happy to discuss pricing and payment options. Fundamentally, it’s important to consider the potential labour savings alone, the numbers can stack up fast.
Who should look at it?
High-volume coffee business owners who are looking for a better workflow, consistency on quality and better wage cost and milk wastage handling.
Coffee businesses that have one type of milk dominates at least 50% of milk-based beverage orders.
Coffee businesses that often get negative customer feedback for inconsistent milk temperature and texture.
Businesses that have enough budget to invest and enough bench top space.
Conclusion
I’m Ted, I manage P&R Brisbane store and look after our Queensland Accounts. My team and I use the MilkPal everyday. It really is a great solution for a better work flow and quality control.
But like any equipment investment there're multiple factors to consider before getting it on your bench top.
In any case, I'd suggest cafe owners track an into down, have a play with it, see it in action do your research. And of course we’d love to help you achieve more consistent delicious and profitable coffee sales.
