Help deciding on Equipment for Guest House

[SupaMonkey]

Hi Guys,
We're opening up a 13 bedroom guest house here in South Africa and are looking to get a decent coffee machine for us to serve customers.

At max capacity, you're looking at 26 people (13 bedrooms with 2 people in it each) - which I doubt will ever happen. Furthermore, it will mostly be breakfast that will be the busiest time I'm sure and even then - I dont see them all simultaneously asking for coffee at the same time.

We want to get a decent machine, but definitely dont want to spend more than about 4000$ absolute maximum - and hence why we're looking at second hand and demo machines.

Locally, we can get a few brands but not everything I've read on these forums. La Cimbali are what we are leaning towards in between the M20-M30 ranges (m20/m21/m29/m30 etc). But we can also get these brands locally:
La Spaziale
La Scala
La Cimbali
Faema
Rancilio
Wega
La San Marco
Carimali
Brasilia

Short of thinking we need something with 2-3 portafilters, cup warmer, a steam wand and a hot water wand (which is just about standard at this level of machinery) - I really dont know what I should be looking out for? Certain boiler size I should be looking out for? Something else?
Any suggestions on machines or specific equipment features that I should be keeping an eye out for would be great - thanks!

 

[PinkRose]

Most of the bed and breakfast places I've stayed in only offered drip coffee with their breakfasts. The coffee was freshly ground, freshly brewed, and it was exceptional, but it wasn't espresso or espresso based drinks.

Do you find that people want espresso based drinks with their breakfasts?

Since most of your coffee activity will be for breakfast, maybe it would be worth going in a whole different direction and using a good drip coffee setup instead.

 

[SupaMonkey]

Hi PinkRose,
Sorry for my ignorance, but Im not familiar with the term 'drip coffee'. Do you mean a super-automatic machine? We havent written that route off - though it would have to be super reliable and be able to work hard and not break down on us.

Our guests will be mostly European and hence the espresso route.

 

[CoffeeQueen86]

Drip coffee is like coffee you would make at home, aka "regular" or I have also heard "plain" coffee.

Just curious, will you have a barista on staff, or will you learn to make the espresso drinks yourself?

 

[Bob_E]

Do you have Bunn in South Africa? I would keep it simple and look for a small commercial pour over machine. A couple hot plates would be nice during the morning rush, or if you also want to offer decaf...
Pourover Brewers - VPR

 

[PinkRose]

Sorry for my ignorance, but Im not familiar with the term 'drip coffee'. Do you mean a super-automatic machine? Our guests will be

Maybe I should have written brewed coffee instead of drip coffee.

No, I wasn't thinking about a superautomatic espresso machine.

Fetco, Bunn, etc. make nice commercial brewers. If you go that route, you'd need to get a good grinder so you can grind the beans right before brewing.

Some roasters that supply the coffee beans also supply the equipment. Have you thought about that?

 

[SupaMonkey]

Bob_E - No, we dont have Bunn's - and from what I can tell, thats filter coffee which isnt what we're really looking for.
PinkRose - Now I know what you're talking about No, dont think we want to go this route. Our visitors will be the kind that like their coffee, so I really think we should go the proper espresso / cappuccino route.

As for having a barista on staff, unlikely. Though we could send someone in for training - though its hardly rocket science.

 

[PinkRose]

As for having a barista on staff, unlikely. Though we could send someone in for training - though its hardly rocket science.

You should seriously re-think the rocket science part of that statement.

And it sonds like you need to do some research on making espresso and espresso based drinks. It's not as easy as you think.

Since you believe that your quests will prefer "proper" espresso, you're going to need to provide them with exceptional espresso.

You're going to need to have a trained barista on staff every morning during the breakfast rush. - Unless you plan to get a super automatic machne that a trained monkey could operate. And then the espresso will still be mediocre and nothing for your guests to rave about.

 

[CoffeeQueen86]

Thank you Rose. I hate when people downplay being a barista. I bust my butt everyday to craft perfect espresso beverages for my customers, that keep them coming back for more. If you won't bother hiring someone who knows what they are doing, go with the super automatic machine. All you have to do is push buttons to pull the espresso. And hey, I even hear they have auto steam wands as well, so you don't have to bother creating delicious velvety foam!