Ublend in Italy — After HOST Milan 2025 on to La Marzocco - Accademia Visit

October took us to Milan, the beating heart of the global coffee and hospitality world, for the HOST 2025 Exhibition — a showcase of innovation, design, and craftsmanship from every corner of the industry.

This year also marked Brambati’s 80-year anniversary, a milestone we were proud to celebrate. After more than a decade of working together, it was special to see firsthand how Brambati continues to evolve — blending tradition with cutting-edge technology that supports our roasting operations back home. From advanced roasting control systems to the next generation of sustainable energy solutions, it’s clear they’re shaping the future of coffee production in a way that aligns beautifully with our own direction.

A Journey Through Craftsmanship — The La Marzocco Factory & Accademia

After wrapping up an incredible few days in Milan, we made our way south to Florence — home of espresso, and the heart of our long-standing partner, La Marzocco.

Visiting their headquarters never gets old. After more than 12 years of working together, it still feels inspiring every single time. You walk through those factory doors and immediately sense it — the pride, the precision, the sheer attention to detail that defines everything they do.

The production floor is a masterclass in craftsmanship. Raw stainless steel becomes art in motion — cut, welded, polished, tested, and re-tested until it’s perfect. Nothing rushed. Nothing left to chance. Each machine feels personal, built with care and intention. What really stands out now is how tradition and technology blend seamlessly. The human touch hasn’t disappeared — it’s been amplified by smarter tools, cleaner design, and tighter quality control.

Then came Accademia — La Marzocco’s stunning home for innovation and heritage, built inside their original factory. It’s hard to describe without smiling. There’s an indoor coffee plantation growing under natural light. A museum full of history and prototypes that trace nearly a century of espresso evolution. And tucked away in one corner, the Officine Fratelli Bambi workshop, where a small team of craftspeople build one-off espresso machines that look more like sculptures than appliances. You can feel the soul of the brand in every corner of the space.

But what really had us buzzing was what’s next. The new generation of La Marzocco equipment is genuinely exciting — bold, thoughtful, and built to make cafés more consistent, efficient, and creative than ever.

What’s Coming in 2026 — A Sneak Peek

The Jay Grinder

A compact powerhouse that just makes sense. With 68 mm flat burrs, it’s perfect for cafés doing up to 25 kilos a week. The standout feature? A magnetic burr chamber that pops open in seconds — no screws, no tools, no stress. Clean it, close it, get back to work. It’s sleek, solid, and absolutely made for busy baristas who care about their grind quality.

Sistema 400 Software

This is the future. A connected system that lets you see everything — from recipe consistency to maintenance alerts — across your machine network in real time. Imagine knowing when a filter needs changing before it fails, or tracking shot profiles from your phone. It’s smart, proactive, and built to keep quality on point, day in and day out.

ModBar Pour Over

This one stole the show. It takes the elegance of hand brewing and pairs it with precision automation. Baristas can still pour by hand when they want, or switch to pulse-programmed recipes for consistency at volume. With space for up to 15 custom brew profiles, it’s perfect for cafés chasing both craft and speed. It’s beautiful, functional, and a serious crowd-pleaser.

La Marzocco continues to push boundaries without ever losing sight of what makes espresso special — the balance between human craft and intelligent design. It’s the same balance we strive for at Ublend: respecting the art while embracing the science.

These new tools will open up new ways for our café partners to control flavour, manage quality, and tell their coffee story with even more confidence. The road ahead looks exciting — smarter machines, tighter consistency, and even better coffee in every cup.