Choosing An Espresso Machine
Choosing An Espresso Machine
Choosing An
Espresso Machine
How To Choose and Espresso Machine (the correct way)
If you are considering purchasing an espresso machine, there are three important steps to follow in order to choose the right one for your needs. They are as follows: 1. Consider your personal or business needs when choosing an espresso machine 2. Determine the type of shop or business the machine will be used in 3. Think about the types of drinks you will be serving, the number of hours the machine will be in use, and the number of employees who will be using it Keep in mind that choosing the correct espresso machine can lead to long-term financial and social benefits, as it is an important tool for any business or personal use.
People always ask us, what is the best espresso machine and the answer is-it really depends. As you will see down below, it depends upon who you are and what results you desire to achieve with your machine.
This needs to be said because so often people want to begin by addressing the financial aspect of espresso machines thinking along the lines of “what will fit in my budget?” While this is important to consider, it really needs to come later as the best machine for you might not always be the least or most expensive one.
Following these three steps will help you greatly in your search for a new espresso machine.
Step One: Consider your business vs personal needs.
Focusing more upon your future business goals will allow for a greater sense of direction towards the best machine for you.
Step Two: Determine your shop type.
Are you searching for an espresso machine to use in a coffee shop/cafe, a restaurant/bakery, a church, an office space, or at your home? This will be fundamental in determining the best machine for you.
Step Three: Think Drinks, Hours, and Employees.
Lastly, determine what types of drinks you are going to serve, how many drinks you expect to make per hour, and who will operate the machine to produce all of these drinks each hour.
Once all of this is figured out, then it is time to see what your budget will allow for.
Below, we’ve provided more detail for each type of environment where an espresso machine might be at to help you in your selection process.
Coffee Shop/Cafe-
If you are using an espresso machine at a coffee shop or cafe, the machine will likely see a higher volume and frequency of use in comparison to any other environment. This is simply due to the fact that statistically, coffee shops and cafes sell more coffees each day than any other environment. A coffee shop should serve (in excess) of at least 150 drinks per day with a goal of at least 300 per day.
In this type of environment, the next thing to consider is, what kinds of drinks will be sold there? For instance, if you are wanting to sell more milk based drinks, it would be beneficial to chose an espresso machine with a larger steam boiler as it will be able to keep up with the increased demand of steam required to froth all of the milk based drinks.
Now understanding the need for a high capacity rated machine, it is now beneficial to think of who will be using the machine. It’s no secret that Starbucks uses what are called Super-Automatic Espresso Machines. These are espresso machines where you simply press a button and it makes your coffee for you. The largest benefit to these machines is the fact that they require less skilled operators to make the drinks since a press of a button is all that is required to make espresso. Additionally, the footprint of Super-Automatic Espresso Machines is typically much smaller than the combination of a traditional machine and grinders. The debate between these Super-Automatic machines vs the more Traditional Espresso Machines has been around for a while and while largely a personal preference, they do have an impact upon the overall feeling that one would desire their shop to convey.
Super-Automatic Machines:
These machines tend to cost more initially, but can make drinks with greater ease and consistency, therefore requiring less skill to operate. They have the ability to make a drink in one step; grinding and brewing the espresso as well as steaming the milk, all with one push of a button. By connecting the machine to an external refrigerator it is able to draw milk in and froth it automatically. This automation increases profit by eliminating time spent handling milk jugs and ensuring no wasted milk is left over by the barista after the creation of the drink. Additionally, these machines tend to carry a slimmer profile overall in width than many other traditional machines.
Traditional Espresso Machines:
Additionally, a large benefit to these machines is that a barista is responsible for making each drink themselves as opposed to a machine. This also means that the cleaning of the machine is therefore directly controlled and visible by the barista. These two things serve as a large benefit to both the barista and customer. A third reason people like traditional espresso machines over Super-Automatic machines is that they tend to have less parts which results in a longer lifespan and lower maintenance costs.
Grinders:
Lastly, it is important to consider what kind of grinder you need to purchase. If you are not purchasing a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine (with a grinder built in) you will need (at the minimum) one grinder. Typically, when people first start out looking at espresso machines, they tend to focus only on the espresso machine itself and give little thought to the grinder. However, it is actually of equal importance to consider a grinder when purchasing an espresso machine since it plays an extremely large part in how the overall shot of espresso is actually extracted. We typically recommend two grinders to pair with any espresso machine. The first grinder would be the larger of the two (if they were different sizes) and it would be used for regular espresso. The second grinder would be/could be smaller than the first, and would be used for decaf beans.
Restaurant/Bakery-
*There will always be customers in restaurants and bakeries who will buy espresso based drinks if they are available for them to purchase.
Understanding this, a restaurant or bakery could benefit from having a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine (since it is capable, versatile, and easy to use) or either a single or double group traditional machine (that wouldn’t require much space) that could be paired with a nice grinder.
A Church-
Some churches are larger than others and as a result should be treated accordingly. Larger churches should be treated like a large coffee shop (and sometimes even more than that) and small ones should be treated like a small coffee shop. When thinking about installing an espresso machine at a church, it is a good idea to estimate that at least 20% of the congregation will purchase drinks. Where this differs from a traditional coffee shop is that the majority of all of these people tend to come at one time (most often between services). For a 1,000 member church, this would mean 200 people would be expecting to be served within a fifteen to twenty-five minute window.
*Also, because an amount of drinks this large cannot be served using a single group machine in that amount of time, it would be wise to consider purchasing either two two group machines, a three group machine and staffing it with multiple volunteers, or simply getting at least 2 or more Super-Automatic Espresso Machines. The same concept would apply to smaller churches as well however the overall scale of things would simply be reduced. The main thing to consider with placing an espresso machine in a church environment is simply how many people are expected to come and get drinks at one time. This will really help to determine which machine you would best meet your needs. Additionally, it is important to consider who will be operating these machines. For example, if there are multiple volunteers, it would be easier for them to simply press a button on a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine rather than having to train each new person on how to use, maintain, and take care of a traditional espresso machine.
An Office Space/Conference Space-
If you are using an espresso machine for an office space, the simplest and most often easiest solution is to use a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine. Unless you are going to hire a manager to run your own office coffee shop, you do not want Karen to break your nice, new, and expensive espresso machine. Also, even if you do hire someone to run a cafe in the office, it is still typically easier overall to go with a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine.
Home-
A commercial based home machine really shines in its greater flexibility regarding the control in creating each drink. Also, if you ever envision yourself having friends over and would like to make them coffees or have a large family, a commercially rated espresso machine will likely be a better option for you because it will help make drinks significantly faster (sometimes even up to four or five times the overall speed). This too is something else worth considering.
Ultimately, while choosing an espresso machine for your home is up to you, really, the choice is yours when selecting a machine for any environment whether it be your home or coffee shop. We’ve written this article to help you out the best we can in your journey to select an espresso machine. You yourself know better than we do where you want to go and what you are wanting to accomplish. Our goal is to be here for you along the way whenever you need something. Of course this is just a broad overview of espresso machines and their potential environments. There are still other topics that have not really been touched on here such as lever machines, wifi compatibility, pre infusion, volumetric programming, flow profiling, doser vs. doserless grinders, 220v vs 110v, water connectivity, and on and on.
Please refer to these other articles for more help in the selection process. Also if you would like to further discuss purchasing a new machine or grinder, feel free to give us a call and talk to us about it! (336) 669-2460.
Here Are More Helpful Links In Purchasing Your Next Espresso Machine:
How To Choose and Espresso Machine (the correct way)
If you are considering purchasing an espresso machine, there are three important steps to follow in order to choose the right one for your needs. They are as follows: 1. Consider your personal or business needs when choosing an espresso machine 2. Determine the type of shop or business the machine will be used in 3. Think about the types of drinks you will be serving, the number of hours the machine will be in use, and the number of employees who will be using it Keep in mind that choosing the correct espresso machine can lead to long-term financial and social benefits, as it is an important tool for any business or personal use.
People always ask us, what is the best espresso machine and the answer is-it really depends. As you will see down below, it depends upon who you are and what results you desire to achieve with your machine.
This needs to be said because so often people want to begin by addressing the financial aspect of espresso machines thinking along the lines of “what will fit in my budget?” While this is important to consider, it really needs to come later as the best machine for you might not always be the least or most expensive one.
Following these three steps will help you greatly in your search for a new espresso machine.
Step One: Consider your business vs personal needs.
Focusing more upon your future business goals will allow for a greater sense of direction towards the best machine for you.
Step Two: Determine your shop type.
Are you searching for an espresso machine to use in a coffee shop/cafe, a restaurant/bakery, a church, an office space, or at your home? This will be fundamental in determining the best machine for you.
Step Three: Think Drinks, Hours, and Employees.
Lastly, determine what types of drinks you are going to serve, how many drinks you expect to make per hour, and who will operate the machine to produce all of these drinks each hour.
Once all of this is figured out, then it is time to see what your budget will allow for.
Below, we’ve provided more detail for each type of environment where an espresso machine might be at to help you in your selection process.
Coffee Shop/Cafe-
If you are using an espresso machine at a coffee shop or cafe, the machine will likely see a higher volume and frequency of use in comparison to any other environment. This is simply due to the fact that statistically, coffee shops and cafes sell more coffees each day than any other environment. A coffee shop should serve (in excess) of at least 150 drinks per day with a goal of at least 300 per day.
In this type of environment, the next thing to consider is, what kinds of drinks will be sold there? For instance, if you are wanting to sell more milk based drinks, it would be beneficial to chose an espresso machine with a larger steam boiler as it will be able to keep up with the increased demand of steam required to froth all of the milk based drinks.
Now understanding the need for a high capacity rated machine, it is now beneficial to think of who will be using the machine. It’s no secret that Starbucks uses what are called Super-Automatic Espresso Machines. These are espresso machines where you simply press a button and it makes your coffee for you. The largest benefit to these machines is the fact that they require less skilled operators to make the drinks since a press of a button is all that is required to make espresso. Additionally, the footprint of Super-Automatic Espresso Machines is typically much smaller than the combination of a traditional machine and grinders. The debate between these Super-Automatic machines vs the more Traditional Espresso Machines has been around for a while and while largely a personal preference, they do have an impact upon the overall feeling that one would desire their shop to convey.
Super-Automatic Machines:
These machines tend to cost more initially, but can make drinks with greater ease and consistency, therefore requiring less skill to operate. They have the ability to make a drink in one step; grinding and brewing the espresso as well as steaming the milk, all with one push of a button. By connecting the machine to an external refrigerator it is able to draw milk in and froth it automatically. This automation increases profit by eliminating time spent handling milk jugs and ensuring no wasted milk is left over by the barista after the creation of the drink. Additionally, these machines tend to carry a slimmer profile overall in width than many other traditional machines.
Traditional Espresso Machines:
Additionally, a large benefit to these machines is that a barista is responsible for making each drink themselves as opposed to a machine. This also means that the cleaning of the machine is therefore directly controlled and visible by the barista. These two things serve as a large benefit to both the barista and customer. A third reason people like traditional espresso machines over Super-Automatic machines is that they tend to have less parts which results in a longer lifespan and lower maintenance costs.
Grinders:
Lastly, it is important to consider what kind of grinder you need to purchase. If you are not purchasing a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine (with a grinder built in) you will need (at the minimum) one grinder. Typically, when people first start out looking at espresso machines, they tend to focus only on the espresso machine itself and give little thought to the grinder. However, it is actually of equal importance to consider a grinder when purchasing an espresso machine since it plays an extremely large part in how the overall shot of espresso is actually extracted. We typically recommend two grinders to pair with any espresso machine. The first grinder would be the larger of the two (if they were different sizes) and it would be used for regular espresso. The second grinder would be/could be smaller than the first, and would be used for decaf beans.
Restaurant/Bakery-
*There will always be customers in restaurants and bakeries who will buy espresso based drinks if they are available for them to purchase.
Understanding this, a restaurant or bakery could benefit from having a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine (since it is capable, versatile, and easy to use) or either a single or double group traditional machine (that wouldn’t require much space) that could be paired with a nice grinder.
A Church-
Some churches are larger than others and as a result should be treated accordingly. Larger churches should be treated like a large coffee shop (and sometimes even more than that) and small ones should be treated like a small coffee shop. When thinking about installing an espresso machine at a church, it is a good idea to estimate that at least 20% of the congregation will purchase drinks. Where this differs from a traditional coffee shop is that the majority of all of these people tend to come at one time (most often between services). For a 1,000 member church, this would mean 200 people would be expecting to be served within a fifteen to twenty-five minute window.
*Also, because an amount of drinks this large cannot be served using a single group machine in that amount of time, it would be wise to consider purchasing either two two group machines, a three group machine and staffing it with multiple volunteers, or simply getting at least 2 or more Super-Automatic Espresso Machines. The same concept would apply to smaller churches as well however the overall scale of things would simply be reduced. The main thing to consider with placing an espresso machine in a church environment is simply how many people are expected to come and get drinks at one time. This will really help to determine which machine you would best meet your needs. Additionally, it is important to consider who will be operating these machines. For example, if there are multiple volunteers, it would be easier for them to simply press a button on a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine rather than having to train each new person on how to use, maintain, and take care of a traditional espresso machine.
An Office Space/Conference Space-
If you are using an espresso machine for an office space, the simplest and most often easiest solution is to use a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine. Unless you are going to hire a manager to run your own office coffee shop, you do not want Karen to break your nice, new, and expensive espresso machine. Also, even if you do hire someone to run a cafe in the office, it is still typically easier overall to go with a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine.
Home-
A commercial based home machine really shines in its greater flexibility regarding the control in creating each drink. Also, if you ever envision yourself having friends over and would like to make them coffees or have a large family, a commercially rated espresso machine will likely be a better option for you because it will help make drinks significantly faster (sometimes even up to four or five times the overall speed). This too is something else worth considering.
Ultimately, while choosing an espresso machine for your home is up to you, really, the choice is yours when selecting a machine for any environment whether it be your home or coffee shop. We’ve written this article to help you out the best we can in your journey to select an espresso machine. You yourself know better than we do where you want to go and what you are wanting to accomplish. Our goal is to be here for you along the way whenever you need something. Of course this is just a broad overview of espresso machines and their potential environments. There are still other topics that have not really been touched on here such as lever machines, wifi compatibility, pre infusion, volumetric programming, flow profiling, doser vs. doserless grinders, 220v vs 110v, water connectivity, and on and on.
Please refer to these other articles for more help in the selection process. Also if you would like to further discuss purchasing a new machine or grinder, feel free to give us a call and talk to us about it! (336) 669-2460.
Here Are More Helpful Links In Purchasing Your Next Espresso Machine:
How To Choose an Espresso Machine (the correct way)
If you are considering purchasing an espresso machine, there are three important steps to follow in order to choose the right one for your needs. They are as follows:
1. Consider your personal or business needs when choosing an espresso machine
2. Determine the type of shop or business the machine will be used in
3. Think about the types of drinks you will be serving, the number of hours the machine will be in use, and the number of employees who will be using it
Keep in mind that choosing the correct espresso machine can lead to long-term financial and social benefits, as it is an important tool for any business or personal use.
People always ask us, what is the best espresso machine and the answer is-it really depends. As you will see down below, it depends upon who you are and what results you desire to achieve with your machine.
This needs to be said because so often people want to begin by addressing the financial aspect of espresso machines thinking along the lines of “what will fit in my budget?” While this is important to consider, it really needs to come later as the best machine for you might not always be the least or most expensive one.
Following these three steps will help you greatly in your search for a new espresso machine.
Step One: Consider your business vs personal needs.
Focusing more upon your future business goals will allow for a greater sense of direction towards the best machine for you.
Step Two: Determine your shop type.
Are you searching for an espresso machine to use in a coffee shop/cafe, a restaurant/bakery, a church, an office space, or at your home? This will be fundamental in determining the best machine for you.
Step Three: Think Drinks, Hours, and Employees.
Lastly, determine what types of drinks you are going to serve, how many drinks you expect to make per hour, and who will operate the machine to produce all of these drinks each hour.
Once all of this is figured out, then it is time to see what your budget will allow for.
Below, we’ve provided more detail for each type of environment where an espresso machine might be at to help you in your selection process.
Coffee Shop/Cafe-
If you are using an espresso machine at a coffee shop or cafe, the machine will likely see a higher volume and frequency of use in comparison to any other environment. This is simply due to the fact that statistically, coffee shops and cafes sell more coffees each day than any other environment. A coffee shop should serve (in excess) of at least 150 drinks per day with a goal of at least 300 per day.
In this type of environment, the next thing to consider is, what kinds of drinks will be sold there? For instance, if you are wanting to sell more milk based drinks, it would be beneficial to chose an espresso machine with a larger steam boiler as it will be able to keep up with the increased demand of steam required to froth all of the milk based drinks.
Now understanding the need for a high capacity rated machine, it is now beneficial to think of who will be using the machine. It’s no secret that Starbucks uses what are called Super-Automatic Espresso Machines. These are espresso machines where you simply press a button and it makes your coffee for you. The largest benefit to these machines is the fact that they require less skilled operators to make the drinks since a press of a button is all that is required to make espresso. Additionally, the footprint of Super-Automatic Espresso Machines is typically much smaller than the combination of a traditional machine and grinders. The debate between these Super-Automatic machines vs the more Traditional Espresso Machines has been around for a while and while largely a personal preference, they do have an impact upon the overall feeling that one would desire their shop to convey.
Super-Automatic Machines:
These machines tend to cost more initially, but can make drinks with greater ease and consistency, therefore requiring less skill to operate. They have the ability to make a drink in one step; grinding and brewing the espresso as well as steaming the milk, all with one push of a button. By connecting the machine to an external refrigerator it is able to draw milk in and froth it automatically. This automation increases profit by eliminating time spent handling milk jugs and ensuring no wasted milk is left over by the barista after the creation of the drink. Additionally, these machines tend to carry a slimmer profile overall in width than many other traditional machines.
Traditional Espresso Machines:
Traditional machines tend to start out with a lower price point than Super-Automatic Machines and work up in price. While they require an increase in overall skill level to create drinks, they offer the advantage of greater customization.
Additionally, a large benefit to these machines is that a barista is responsible for making each drink themselves as opposed to a machine. This also means that the cleaning of the machine is therefore directly controlled and visible by the barista. These two things serve as a large benefit to both the barista and customer. A third reason people like traditional espresso machines over Super-Automatic machines is that they tend to have less parts which results in a longer lifespan and lower maintenance costs.
Grinders:
Lastly, it is important to consider what kind of grinder you need to purchase. If you are not purchasing a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine (with a grinder built in) you will need (at the minimum) one grinder. Typically, when people first start out looking at espresso machines, they tend to focus only on the espresso machine itself and give little thought to the grinder. However, it is actually of equal importance to consider a grinder when purchasing an espresso machine since it plays an extremely large part in how the overall shot of espresso is actually extracted. We typically recommend two grinders to pair with any espresso machine. The first grinder would be the larger of the two (if they were different sizes) and it would be used for regular espresso. The second grinder would be/could be smaller than the first, and would be used for decaf beans.
Restaurant/Bakery-
Restaurants and bakeries tend to differ from coffee shops and cafes because their main focus is centered around the creation of their food and/or baked goods as opposed to coffee. In an environment such as this, coffee would serve to compliment the food items on the menu where as a standard coffee shop might offer small food items to compliment their large lattes and frappe-like blended drinks. However, this is not to say that a restaurant or bakery cannot serve espresso based drinks and make money off of them.
*There will always be customers in restaurants and bakeries who will buy espresso based drinks if they are available for them to purchase.
Understanding this, a restaurant or bakery could benefit from having a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine (since it is capable, versatile, and easy to use) or either a single or double group traditional machine (that wouldn’t require much space) that could be paired with a nice grinder.
A Church-
Serving espresso in a church could be similarly compared to the Wild Wild West. You might not be sure of what you are going to run into, but when you run into it, you definitely want to be prepared.
Some churches are larger than others and as a result should be treated accordingly. Larger churches should be treated like a large coffee shop (and sometimes even more than that) and small ones should be treated like a small coffee shop. When thinking about installing an espresso machine at a church, it is a good idea to estimate that at least 20% of the congregation will purchase drinks. Where this differs from a traditional coffee shop is that the majority of all of these people tend to come at one time (most often between services). For a 1,000 member church, this would mean 200 people would be expecting to be served within a fifteen to twenty-five minute window.
*Also, because an amount of drinks this large cannot be served using a single group machine in that amount of time, it would be wise to consider purchasing either two two group machines, a three group machine and staffing it with multiple volunteers, or simply getting at least 2 or more Super-Automatic Espresso Machines. The same concept would apply to smaller churches as well however the overall scale of things would simply be reduced. The main thing to consider with placing an espresso machine in a church environment is simply how many people are expected to come and get drinks at one time. This will really help to determine which machine you would best meet your needs. Additionally, it is important to consider who will be operating these machines. For example, if there are multiple volunteers, it would be easier for them to simply press a button on a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine rather than having to train each new person on how to use, maintain, and take care of a traditional espresso machine.
An Office Space/Conference Space-
If you are using an espresso machine for an office space, the simplest and most often easiest solution is to use a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine. Unless you are going to hire a manager to run your own office coffee shop, you do not want Karen to break your nice, new, and expensive espresso machine. Also, even if you do hire someone to run a cafe in the office, it is still typically easier overall to go with a Super-Automatic Espresso Machine.
Home-
Lastly, if you are planning on using an espresso machine at your home, the espresso machine you chose is really up to you. More times than not, if a person is purchasing an espresso machine for their home, they will begin by purchasing a more mass-marketed, mass-produced machine that could be found in a local kitchen/home store near their where they live. These machines are sold in large numbers each day for their ease of use and affordability. The downside to these machines is that they are often built with and comprised of mostly plastic pieces. The downside to the plastic components found in these machines is that they tend to break quicker and more often in comparison to the metal components found in more commercially built machines. The manufacturers of these mass produced home espresso machines are aware of this and as a result, have built this into their business model. The low initial cost of these machines allows for and in many cases necessitates for the consumer to purchase a new espresso machine roughly every 3-5 years due to all of the plastic components wearing down and breaking. With a commercial home machine, this is not the case. If properly maintained, a home commercial machine could easily last 10+ years.
A commercial based home machine really shines in its greater flexibility regarding the control in creating each drink. Also, if you ever envision yourself having friends over and would like to make them coffees or have a large family, a commercially rated espresso machine will likely be a better option for you because it will help make drinks significantly faster (sometimes even up to four or five times the overall speed). This too is something else worth considering.
Ultimately, while choosing an espresso machine for your home is up to you, really, the choice is yours when selecting a machine for any environment whether it be your home or coffee shop. We’ve written this article to help you out the best we can in your journey to select an espresso machine. You yourself know better than we do where you want to go and what you are wanting to accomplish. Our goal is to be here for you along the way whenever you need something. Of course this is just a broad overview of espresso machines and their potential environments. There are still other topics that have not really been touched on here such as lever machines, wifi compatibility, pre infusion, volumetric programming, flow profiling, doser vs. doserless grinders, 220v vs 110v, water connectivity, and on and on.
Please refer to these other articles for more help in the selection process. Also if you would like to further discuss purchasing a new machine or grinder, feel free to give us a call and talk to us about it! (336) 669-2460.