View entire thread: Used Equipment?
Posted by Josh on 2008-09-26 13:07:55 Post Subject:
used equipment is a GREAT idea.
however if you have no mechanical inclination you may just save money buying new.
I took my time buying equipment over the last year and have been able to come across some amazing deals. I’ve spent 20% of what I thought I would on operating equipment and furniture.
One of the coffee brewers that I got for next to nothing ended up over filling its boiler, turns out the water inlet valve was bad, it was an easy fix and a cheap replacement part but I know there are allot of people who wouldn’t want to or know how to deal with that kind of thing and end up spending up to a couple hundred getting it fixed. I’ve also had espresso machines completely apart and decaled. got it back together and it works great. Commercial coffee equipment actually is very basic. don’t let the big stainless steel box intimidate you, there is nearly nothing inside
be carefull with commercial refrigerators though. especially with older ones, when a compressor goes out it can be more expensive to replace than buying another one
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Posted by Josh on 2008-09-26 13:07:55 Post Subject:
used equipment is a GREAT idea.
however if you have no mechanical inclination you may just save money buying new.
I took my time buying equipment over the last year and have been able to come across some amazing deals. I’ve spent 20% of what I thought I would on operating equipment and furniture.
One of the coffee brewers that I got for next to nothing ended up over filling its boiler, turns out the water inlet valve was bad, it was an easy fix and a cheap replacement part but I know there are allot of people who wouldn’t want to or know how to deal with that kind of thing and end up spending up to a couple hundred getting it fixed. I’ve also had espresso machines completely apart and decaled. got it back together and it works great. Commercial coffee equipment actually is very basic. don’t let the big stainless steel box intimidate you, there is nearly nothing inside
be carefull with commercial refrigerators though. especially with older ones, when a compressor goes out it can be more expensive to replace than buying another one
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View entire thread: Light-commercial coffee machinery...
Posted by rickb33952 on 2007-06-22 22:15:16 Post Subject: Re: Light-commercial coffee machinery...
Hello all, first post from me. I was drawn here because I''''m looking to set up a cafe in the near future - with coffee generating at least some of the profits. Unfortunately, I don''''t know a great deal about the industry, so I''''ve got some questions I wanted to ask specifically about coffee machines.
Firstly, bog-standard filter coffee. I''''d like to offer my customers a nice cup of plain old coffee for a reasonable price - any reccomendations for a good machine that could serve up maybe 300 cups of coffee a day? Cost is a major consideration, as I don''''t have a lot of money to throw around (~$500 tops). Also, those machines with the jugs just don''''t seem that professional, are there any good machines that can just produce it from a spout? Or do I even need a seperate one - can espresso machines make normal coffee too?
Secondly, espresso - I''''m a bit more willing to fork out for an espresso machine (~$2000), as I would charge more for espressos and related drinks. I''''m currently looking at the Fiorenzato Bricoletta range (http://www.cofcaf.co.uk/catalog/bricole ... b763b9b7b5) but I''''m unsure which particular one to go for. I know I''''ll want to choose a mains-plumbed model to save on noise, but I''''m torn between automatic and semi-automatic.
Now, I can learn to use a coffee machine, I''''m sure, but I might have a high turnover of staff - how much harder is it to use a semi-automatic or a fully manual machine when compared to just pressing a button? Also, how much better is the coffee?
Also, a grinder - do I need to buy a seperate grinder, or can I just use ground coffee (or machines with inbuilt grinders)? Does it make much difference tastewise?
Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I also have an interest in light commercial coffee equipment. I am a bit further along in the process and my needs were slightly different.
First, if you purchase a light comercial machine for regularly making 300 cups a day, you will be pushing the machine too hard and you will be dissapointed in it''s ability to produce at a speed matched to 300 cup per day machines.
Second, for producing a high quality coffee, an Americano is not what I would make. I would draw a cafe creme or cafe swiss which is a long draw to a larger puck to produce a 6 oz beverage. It is very popular in Europe.
Third, I would expect your staff will need training on any commercial equipment, especially to avoid maintenance problems and safeguarding the health of customers by properly operating and cleaning the equipment. The lowest cost to train and operate will be a super-automatic. Oh, there are some super-automatic machines that make quite good espresso.
Lastly I also feel that you need to budget a bit more. I purchased a super-automatic and have been testing it for several different coffee business operations. My budget was for a light commercial machine that retails from 6-7k US Dollars including a few accessories.
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Posted by rickb33952 on 2007-06-22 22:15:16 Post Subject: Re: Light-commercial coffee machinery...
Hello all, first post from me. I was drawn here because I''''m looking to set up a cafe in the near future - with coffee generating at least some of the profits. Unfortunately, I don''''t know a great deal about the industry, so I''''ve got some questions I wanted to ask specifically about coffee machines.
Firstly, bog-standard filter coffee. I''''d like to offer my customers a nice cup of plain old coffee for a reasonable price - any reccomendations for a good machine that could serve up maybe 300 cups of coffee a day? Cost is a major consideration, as I don''''t have a lot of money to throw around (~$500 tops). Also, those machines with the jugs just don''''t seem that professional, are there any good machines that can just produce it from a spout? Or do I even need a seperate one - can espresso machines make normal coffee too?
Secondly, espresso - I''''m a bit more willing to fork out for an espresso machine (~$2000), as I would charge more for espressos and related drinks. I''''m currently looking at the Fiorenzato Bricoletta range (http://www.cofcaf.co.uk/catalog/bricole ... b763b9b7b5) but I''''m unsure which particular one to go for. I know I''''ll want to choose a mains-plumbed model to save on noise, but I''''m torn between automatic and semi-automatic.
Now, I can learn to use a coffee machine, I''''m sure, but I might have a high turnover of staff - how much harder is it to use a semi-automatic or a fully manual machine when compared to just pressing a button? Also, how much better is the coffee?
Also, a grinder - do I need to buy a seperate grinder, or can I just use ground coffee (or machines with inbuilt grinders)? Does it make much difference tastewise?
Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
I also have an interest in light commercial coffee equipment. I am a bit further along in the process and my needs were slightly different.
First, if you purchase a light comercial machine for regularly making 300 cups a day, you will be pushing the machine too hard and you will be dissapointed in it''s ability to produce at a speed matched to 300 cup per day machines.
Second, for producing a high quality coffee, an Americano is not what I would make. I would draw a cafe creme or cafe swiss which is a long draw to a larger puck to produce a 6 oz beverage. It is very popular in Europe.
Third, I would expect your staff will need training on any commercial equipment, especially to avoid maintenance problems and safeguarding the health of customers by properly operating and cleaning the equipment. The lowest cost to train and operate will be a super-automatic. Oh, there are some super-automatic machines that make quite good espresso.
Lastly I also feel that you need to budget a bit more. I purchased a super-automatic and have been testing it for several different coffee business operations. My budget was for a light commercial machine that retails from 6-7k US Dollars including a few accessories.
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View entire thread: Coffee Industry Marketing
Posted by keys00 on 2005-05-22 19:07:14 Post Subject:
James - I am interested in commercial coffee equipment. I have looked at my latest edition of Appliance magazine and see the statistics that seem to pertain to home coffee equipment. You mentioned that commercial grade coffe is declining at 3-5% a year and specialty coffee is increasing. Did you get this info from Applicance Magazine or another source? I don't see it broken out this way in Appliance Magazine.
Thanks for your help!
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Posted by keys00 on 2005-05-22 19:07:14 Post Subject:
James - I am interested in commercial coffee equipment. I have looked at my latest edition of Appliance magazine and see the statistics that seem to pertain to home coffee equipment. You mentioned that commercial grade coffe is declining at 3-5% a year and specialty coffee is increasing. Did you get this info from Applicance Magazine or another source? I don't see it broken out this way in Appliance Magazine.
Thanks for your help!
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