第2183期:AI Tries Hand at Blending Coffee in Finland

Human experts spend years roasting and tasting coffee from many places to learn about the beans. They might then combine a coffee bean from Africa with another one from South America to come up with a new blend.人类专家花费数年时间从许多地方烘焙和品尝咖啡，以了解咖啡豆。 然后，他们可能会将非洲的一种咖啡豆与南美的另一种咖啡豆结合起来，制成一种新的混合物。

But, a coffee roasting company in Helsinki, Finland is hoping that artificial intelligence, or AI, can help ease the workload.但是，芬兰赫尔辛基的一家咖啡烘焙公司希望人工智能能够帮助减轻工作量。

Kaffa Roastery recently launched its “AI-conic” blend at the Helsinki Coffee Festival. The blend is a mixture of four kinds of beans, including Fazenda Pinhal from Brazil. It is the result of a joint project by Kaffa and Elev, a local AI business.Kaffa Roastery 最近在赫尔辛基咖啡节上推出了“AI-conic”混合咖啡。 该混合物由四种咖啡豆混合而成，其中包括来自巴西的 Fazenda Pinhal。 它是 Kaffa 和当地人工智能企业 Elev 联合项目的成果。

Elev told The Associated Press that its computer models, similar to ChatGPT and Copilot, created a blend that would “push the boundaries of conventional flavor combinations.”Elev 告诉美联社，其计算机模型与 ChatGPT 和 Copilot 类似，创造了一种混合物，可以“突破传统风味组合的界限”。

Svante Hampf is the founder of Kaffa Roastery. He and his partners wanted to do an experiment to see what blend the computer would produce.Svante Hampf 是卡法烘焙工坊的创始人。 他和他的合作伙伴想做一个实验，看看计算机会产生什么混合物。

“We basically gave descriptions of all our coffee types and their flavors to AI and instructed it to create a new exciting blend,” Hampf said.“我们基本上向人工智能提供了所有咖啡类型及其口味的描述，并指示它创造出一种新的令人兴奋的混合物，”汉普夫说。

The “AI-conic” blend combined beans from Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia and Guatemala. It is described as “a well-balanced blend of sweetness and ripe fruit.”“AI-conic”混合咖啡豆融合了来自巴西、哥伦比亚、埃塞俄比亚和危地马拉的咖啡豆。 它被描述为“甜味和成熟水果的均衡混合”。

Hampf said he thought the combination was “somewhat weird.” He was surprised that the AI program chose to make the blend out of four different kinds of beans. Most humans choose only two or three beans.汉普夫说他认为这种组合“有点奇怪”。 他对人工智能程序选择用四种不同种类的豆子进行混合感到惊讶。 大多数人只选择两到三种豆子。

However, after the first blind test of the new blend, Kaffa’s coffee experts agreed that the AI-assisted blend was perfect. There was no need to change.然而，在对新混合咖啡进行第一次盲测后，Kaffa 的咖啡专家一致认为人工智能辅助混合咖啡是完美的。 没有必要改变。

Elev’s Antti Merilehto said “AI-conic” is an example of “how AI can introduce new perspectives to seasoned professionals.”Elev 的 Antti Merilehto 表示，“AI-conic”是“人工智能如何为经验丰富的专业人士引入新视角”的一个例子。

The International Coffee Organization says that the 5.6 million people in Finland drink the most coffee per person in the world. And the roasters at Kaffa said they hope the AI project will help to bring more things to the strong coffee culture in the country.国际咖啡组织表示，芬兰 560 万人的人均咖啡饮用量位居世界第一。 Kaffa 的烘焙师表示，他们希望人工智能项目能够为该国浓厚的咖啡文化带来更多东西。

Hampf called it a “first step,” adding, “I think AI has plenty to offer us in the long run. We are particularly impressed of the coffee taste descriptions it created.”汉普夫称其为“第一步”，并补充道，“我认为从长远来看，人工智能可以为我们提供很多东西。 它所创造的咖啡口味描述给我们留下了特别深刻的印象。”