Baratza Highlights the Artistry and Romance of Grinding with Jazzy Animation

With the launch of its Encore ESP Pro coffee grinder, Baratza turned to New York-based branding and marketing agency Red Antler to establish grinding as a ‘grounding ritual’, and position the grinding tool as just as important as the brewer.

The result is a meditative animated campaign that focuses on the intimate details of the morning coffee-making ritual, instead of leaning into typical lifestyle tropes. The hero film’s soft, almost spectral visuals from artist Marine Buffard are accompanied by an equally soothing jazz soundtrack composed by Cleod9, the team also behind the voiceover and sound design.

Speaking to LBB, Red Antler’s senior art director and group creative director, Sam Trimble, and group creative director, Jason Moran, say that the Breville-owned coffee equipment brand wanted to reach coffee drinkers who weren’t sure a new grinder would really improve their cup, and help guide them into specialty coffee.

“Through a poetic voiceover and granular animation, we highlighted the artistry and romance of grinding, making the small details feel monumental and emotionally resonant,” they say. “We were inspired by the granular texture of coffee grounds, using airbrush and pointillism influences, rich coffee-toned palettes, and tactile illustration to bring the sensory world of grinding to life.”

Using animation also allowed the teams to start production while the product was still being finalised, and as soon as there were some rough animatics to work from, the Cleod9 team got to work.

“We did come in early, which is always our preference,” says Cleod9 founder and lead composer Ian McLeod. “Building the track ahead of time helped us avoid any temp love with the client. It also allowed for more conversations with the creatives, which helped us lock into a particular style, rhythm and pace.”

The combination of product and creative brief aligned authentically with Ian and the team’s own morning ritual, which became a “tremendous influence” on the composition and sound design of the spot. “To be honest, it became a self-reflection exercise more than a sound brief,” adds Ian.

“We actually use the Baratza grinder each morning for espresso, so incorporating those sounds into our foley and sound design made it that much more authentic,” Ian continues. “Overall, I think the soundscape is tastefully restrained. Animations tend to be jam-packed with sounds, but this piece is a slow build and makes an effort to bring you into the room. We were really conscious of that across all the sound elements.”

As for the music, Cleod9 are self-proclaimed ‘jazz heads’, and so found it easy to explore different sounds and references for the project. “If there was a North Star for inspiration, it was probably the Bill Evans Trio,” says Ian. “He really encompasses that golden hour of jazz, a calm complexity that just makes you feel at peace.

“Instrumentation-wise, we kept it simple: brushed drums, piano, woodwinds. Ben Sloan (Cleod9 composer) is a drummer by trade, so he started by building the drum rhythm first. I think another key element was the saxophone. We recorded a session player to help us add texture and flourishes at certain moments in the piece.”

Handling music, voiceover, and sound design in-house was an advantage for Cleod9, with Ian sharing that it’s something they’ve started doing a lot more of: becoming a holistic “sound partner” for nimble agencies. “We could build the music and slow it down knowing when certain sound design moments would take centre stage,” he explains, “like the pouring of the beans or stacking coffee cups.”

“Overall, it just makes the process more fluid and efficient,” he adds. “We can discuss music and SFX on the same call, review those choices at earlier stages in the edit, and make any changes a lot quicker. It seems to make a real impact on the final product.”

Beyond the hero film, the campaign also lives on with branded Influencer packs, an expo takeover, website assets, and social cutdowns [below], creating a cohesive visual world that carries the grounding story across every touchpoint.