Espresso with Black&White4 fully automatic coffee machine on wooden table in front of stone wall

ISQ – Intelligent Shot Quality

Coffee quality from early to late

Thermoplan's fully automatic coffee machines guarantee a consistently high quality of all coffee drinks. The specially developed intelligent shot quality technology ensures the perfect taste of the coffee despite possible deviations. This includes, for example, a decline in bean quality due to storage in the containers for too long.

With ISQ technology, sensors continuously measure certain parameters and compare them with a previously defined reference product. Then the settings of the fully automatic coffee maker are automatically adjusted to match the values of the reference product.

This means that you always enjoy your coffee in the highest quality - regardless of the time of day or the age of the coffee beans.

Smart Control for Every Cup

Great espresso is the result of the perfect interplay between grind size, coffee dose, and water volume. Achieving this ideal balance - known as the “sweet spot”, typically requires years of experience, even for professional baristas. However, consistently high coffee quality is essential for delighting guests and remaining competitive in the market.

With the Thermoplan ISQ system, Intelligent Shot Quality, you can make perfect espresso anywhere in the world, even without extensive barista experience. ISQ precisely controls the entire extraction process and ensures consistently outstanding results with every cup.

You decide what makes your perfect espresso: your coffee, your taste preferences, the cups you use, and the drinks you serve. The unique ISQ system reliably supports this coffee experience and takes consistency to a new level.

ISQ works methodically, precisely, and quickly. It compensates for external factors such as fluctuating temperatures and humidity, variations in the beans, and the natural wear and tear of the grinders.

This simplifies the barista’s role: keeping the coffee fresh, keeping the machine clean, and ensuring regular maintenance. The result is the best possible coffee experience for every guest, every time.

Das Rezept

Ein klar definiertes Rezept ist entscheidend, um den Sweet Spot dauerhaft und zuverlässig zu erreichen. Dafür legt der Barista die wichtigsten Parameter für die Espressozubereitung fest:

Mahlgrad
Kaffeemenge
Extraktionszeit
Getränkemenge in der Tasse

Auch das ISQ-System arbeitet mit diesen Parametern. Die zentralen Werte für den ISQ-Algorithmus sind dabei die Extraktionszeit und die Dicke des Kaffeepucks, die direkt mit der verwendeten Kaffeemenge zusammenhängt.

So schafft ISQ die Grundlage für konstant präzise Extraktionen und Espresso in gleichbleibend hoher Qualität.

Dunkle Kaffeemaschine mit einem beleuchteten Latte Macchiato

Black&White4 CTS Kaffeevollautomat mit Dampflanze

Der ISQ-Prozess

ISQ überwacht das hinterlegte Zielrezept kontinuierlich in Gruppen von jeweils fünf zubereiteten Produkten. Innerhalb jeder Gruppe wird der Wert mit der grössten Abweichung nicht berücksichtigt. Auf dieser Grundlage nimmt das System automatisch präzise Korrekturen vor:

Extraktionszeit, über die Anpassung des Mahlgrads
Dicke des Kaffeepucks, über die Anpassung der Kaffeemenge

Dieser Prozess wiederholt sich den ganzen Tag über. So bleibt die Espressoqualität konstant, während sich dein Team auf das Wesentliche konzentrieren kann: exzellenten Kaffee, zufriedene Gäste und den Erfolg deines Unternehmens.

Warum kontinuierliche Anpassungen wichtig sind?

Eine präzise Kaffeeextraktion wird von zahlreichen Faktoren beeinflusst. ISQ erkennt und kompensiert diese Veränderungen laufend, vergleichbar mit einem besonders erfahrenen Barista.

Compensating for Influencing Factors

ISQ can compensate for the following factors, among others:

Factors related to coffee:

Coffee is a natural product and is constantly changing.
Fluctuations in roast consistency affect extraction.
The moisture content of the beans can vary.
Coffee oxidizes over time in the bean hopper and loses its freshness.

Factors Related to the Machine and Environment:

The wear on the grinding discs changes over the machine’s lifespan.
The espresso machine is also subject to natural wear and tear.
Temperature and humidity fluctuate throughout the day.
The condition of the machine, especially regular cleaning, affects the result.

ISQ ensures that these factors remain reliably under control and that every cup meets quality standards.

Recommendations for Use

For best results, we recommend enabling ISQ for the recipe you make most often. This recipe serves as a reference for automatic adjustments and helps ensure consistent coffee quality over time.