It is 7:02 AM. You have eleven minutes before you need to leave, and you are staring at the portafilter, trying to remember whether you added the right amount of coffee. The scale is somewhere in a drawer. The shot runs fast. You pull it anyway. There is no time to dial in another one.
That moment captures the gap between café espresso and home espresso. Good beans matter, but so does everything that happens between grinding and taking the first sip.
At IFA 2026 in Berlin, KAXFREE is showing three machines built around one idea: using smart technology to bring more professional-level control to home coffee making. The SP1 Max is for people who want to control every shot. The SF1 Max is for households that want the right coffee with minimal effort. The SE1 Elite is for anyone who wants cold brew without ice, dilution, or an overnight wait. All three are at Hall 8.1, Booth 224.
SP1 Max: helping home baristas read the shot
Semi-automatic espresso gives you control over almost every variable. Dose, grind, pressure, temperature, pre-infusion. That control is what makes espresso interesting. It is also what makes consistency difficult when you are still learning.
The SP1 Max does not remove those variables. It makes them visible.
On the 7-inch touchscreen, everything shows up in real time: the extraction curve, the dose of ground coffee, the weight of the brew, and the temperatures of the coffee and milk. You see when a shot runs fast or the milk gets too hot, cutting guesswork and much of the anxiety around extraction.
Two built-in scales track both the coffee dose and espresso yield as you work, so you can see the numbers directly on the machine instead of reaching for a separate scale. The integrated grinder uses commercial-grade 64mm precision-machined stainless-steel flat burrs with 18 grind settings, giving users enough range to make meaningful adjustments as they dial in different beans.
HyperTurbo FTH heating brings the machine to extraction-ready temperature in about three seconds from startup. Six NTC sensors and dual PID algorithms manage temperature consistency. In KAXFREE Labs testing, brewing temperature remained within ±1°C under stable flow.
A 19-hole showerhead and 936-hole metal water screen spread water evenly during pre-infusion, helping keep extraction consistent from shot to shot.
Dual Pressure Profiling lets you build pressure curves for different beans, with segmented or real-time adjustment across extraction stages. The curve appears live on the touchscreen, which tilts from 0 to 55 degrees.
The interface runs on Dynamic OS. Voice prompts and animated tutorials guide you through each step without taking over. Smart Mode offers four presets: Espresso, Americano, Milk Coffee, and Cold Brew. When you want to go further, Master Mode opens access to pre-infusion timing, pressure profiling, and additional brewing parameters.
MilkSense monitors milk temperature with an NTC sensor and stops at your preset target. You focus on the pour, not on guessing when the foam is ready.
The machine also connects to the KAXFREE App for bean tracking, cleaning status, and OTA updates that keep adding capability long after it leaves the box.
That is the appeal of the SP1 Max. It does not automate the craft out of espresso. You still pull the shot. You just know what is happening.
The SP1 Max is a Red Dot Award winner and is expected to launch in November.
SF1 Max: 28 drinks, one household
Some mornings, coffee is a hobby. Other mornings, everyone wants something different and nobody has time to fuss with the details. That is where the SF1 Max makes sense.
The fully automatic machine, which launched in late August, comes with 24 built-in drinks, plus four additional recipes available through the app.
Its Hot & Cold 2-in-1 Milk Tank produces hot and cold foam from the same container. One person has a cappuccino at 7 AM. Someone else makes a cold milk coffee at 3 PM. No container swap.
A 6.86-inch touchscreen gives the machine a tablet-style interface, with clearer visuals and simple navigation for selecting and adjusting drinks.
Master Mode lets you customize strength, volume, temperature, and milk foam time. That matters in a shared kitchen, where everyone can shape their own drink instead of settling for one default.
The SF1 Max also includes Digital Barista. Enter the roast level, roast date, and when you opened the bag, and it suggests a starting recipe based on the beans' freshness and roast level. The same coffee can extract differently as it ages, so the feature gives you a useful starting point without requiring you to work it out yourself.
The app handles scheduling, remote start, saved customized recipes, usage history, and maintenance nudges. Set a schedule once, and your drink can be ready before you leave the house.
Together, the drink selection, customization, and app controls make the SF1 Max an easy fit for households where everyone takes their coffee differently.
SE1 Elite: 6°C cold brew in under five minutes, with easier cleanup built in
The problem with cold brew is not the taste. It is the wait. Iced coffee is faster, but melting ice dilutes the flavor. The SE1 Elite removes that trade-off.
CryoExtract Technology combines high-pressure pulse extraction with low-temperature water to release aromatic compounds while preserving the smooth, low-acidity character of cold brew. It delivers coffee directly at 6°C in under five minutes, with no ice required, turning cold brew from something you plan ahead into something you can make on demand.
The SE1 Elite is built for more than cold brew. The SE1 Elite offers 30 built-in drinks, dual 250g bean hoppers for keeping two roasts ready, a 500ml milk tank, and an 18g brewing system for a fuller-bodied cup. Switching from cold brew to a milk drink or a different bean takes a few taps rather than another machine.
Cleaning is another practical advantage. KAXFREE's removable Brew System allows both the Brewer and Tamper to be taken out for rinsing. Many fully automatic machines only allow the Brew Unit to be removed; this one gives users access to both core components, making it easier to reach areas where coffee residue can collect.
Automatic descaling and Brew Unit deep-cleaning programs handle routine maintenance, while a smart water-filter assistant tracks filter replacement. The electrically adjustable grinder recommends a suitable setting and moves into position automatically, reducing trial and error. And when you want the fastest option, an NFC-enabled cup triggers brewing when you place it on the machine.
KAXFREE at IFA 2026
KAXFREE is backed by KALERM Group, with 16 years of coffee machine research, development, and manufacturing behind it. The company holds 311 patents and has shipped over 1,000,000 units across 180-plus countries.
KAXFREE's home fully automatic machines come with a two-year standard warranty. Register in the app within 30 days of purchase, and coverage extends to three years at no extra cost.
Live demos and tastings run at Hall 8.1, Booth 224, through September 8.
KAXFREE's pitch is simple: smart technology that makes great coffee easier at home. The SP1 Max helps you understand the shot, the SF1 Max simplifies everyday coffee, and the SE1 Elite turns cold brew from an overnight plan into a five-minute decision.
