How Benchmark Coffee uses Flo-Smart to serve its signature milk-based drinks

Challenge

• Fast turnaround times are essential for keeping visitors happy.
• Benchmark has signature drinks that it needs to prepare consistently every time.
• Manual milk dispensing is time-consuming and prone to spillage or over-pouring.

Solution

• Flo-Smart dispenses a serving of milk for iced coffee in under six seconds.
• Its automated dispensing profiles ensure each serving is the same as the last.
• Benchmark can speed up its service times and minimise ingredient waste.

Benchmark Coffee is one of the United Arab Emirates’ leading specialty coffee shops, with its own micro-roastery and café based in the Sharjah region. Its focus is on quality over volume – the slogan of “coffee experience, redefined” is proof of these values. 

To uphold this reputation for excellence, Benchmark Coffee chose Flo-Smart to dispense milk for its coffee. The system has helped the team speed up its service without sacrificing the quality and craft that made it outstanding in the first place.

To learn more, I spoke to Gibson Abdiel Theodorus. He is a competition-level barista and the Head of Coffee at Benchmark Coffee. Read on for his insight.

How does Benchmark Coffee use Flo-Smart in its coffee shop?

The team mainly uses Flo-Smart systems to quickly and efficiently dispense milk for its flat whites and lattes. It also has its own signature iced coffee alongside matcha lattes on its drinks menu, so the team requires fast and efficient milk dispensing.

“For us at Benchmark, Flo-Smart just made sense,” Gibson tells me. “It fits perfectly with what we value – simplicity and efficiency, both at the same time.”

With Flo-Smart, you can dispense a preset portion of milk, iced coffee, or other liquid in under six seconds. This greatly simplifies your drinks service, meaning businesses like Benchmark can serve their signature drinks to more customers.

“It’s made a huge difference in our workflow,” Gibson says. “With just one press, we get exactly the amount of milk we need. It’s super quick and super smooth.”

The ease of use is another factor that makes Flo-Smart suitable for businesses like Benchmark Coffee. You can choose between automatic or semi-automatic options based on preset jug sizes, or press-and-hold manual dispensing.

It means staff of all experience levels can use the system without extensive training, empowering them to take pride in drinks service. “We use the manual mode most, but the features are solid,” he adds.

This consistency is crucial when Benchmark’s customers have an expectation for excellent coffee. Since it was founded in 2024, the roaster has developed a reputation for impeccable service and high-scoring coffees. It even operates its own omakase, an exclusive private room where customers experience a three-course coffee tasting menu. To convey this reputation and cement itself as a leader of the UAE’s specialty coffee scene, it needs to meet these expectations across all consumer touchpoints.

For these reasons, Flo-Smart has become a staple of Benchmark Coffee’s countertop. Its efficient and consistent milk dispensing makes it easier than ever for staff to prepare lattes, matcha, and more.

How else has Flo-Smart helped Benchmark Coffee?

Flo-Smart has done so much more for Benchmark Coffee than just speed up milk service. Gibson has also observed improvements in cleanliness, ingredient handling, and portion control.

For businesses like coffee shops that are constantly serving customers, hygienic work surfaces and equipment are essential. Without robust cleaning methods and systems that are easy to maintain, it can jeopardise your reputation and turn away potential customers.

With semi-automated and fully hands-free cleaning programmes, Flo-Smart eliminates these concerns. The stainless steel nozzles are food-safe and easy to wipe down as well, ensuring your system is as hygienic as possible. “It’s always easy to clean, and stays looking neat all the time,” Gibson explains. 

This cleanliness is central to Benchmark’s intended customer experience. Its Sharjah café was designed by Mula, a local design agency. The minimalist interior design allows customers to focus on the coffee rather than the location itself.

Systems like Flo-Smart, which are compact, visually appealing, and easy to clean, align perfectly with these values. “The design looks amazing and blends right into our bar setup,” Gibson says.

Depending on how you use the equipment, it can also represent a significant cost saving. “If you use the automatic dispensing setting for exact quantities, you can definitely save money,” he says. This setting eliminates over-pouring, spillage, and ingredient waste that can eat into a coffee shop’s profit margins.

Most of all, though, it’s the crucial time savings that Gibson appreciates most. Preparing Benchmark’s signature iced coffee would otherwise take much longer – manually pouring a serving of milk and a shot of espresso – so Flo-Smart has proved invaluable.

This speed extends beyond simple dispensing into ingredient management. You can connect Flo-Smart systems directly to a refrigerated line, going directly from bladders to the dispenser. “The refrigerated line has been a game-changer,” he tells me. “It’s so fast to get the exact amount of milk you want.” 

Benchmark Coffee has a reputation for being one of the UAE’s leading specialty coffee roasters – so it needs equipment to meet those high standards. By using Flo-Smart at its coffee shop, it can meet customer demands for signature milk-based drinks without compromising on quality.

To get a quote for your own Flo-Smart beverage dispensing system, visit our website or get in touch with us directly.

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